This Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200C Hosts South Garage’s Custom Goodness

Look, the folks over at South Garage mean business, alright? This revered firm is located on the outskirts of Milan, Italy’s capital. Besides crafting some seriously rad rides, they also distribute an assortment of fashionable casual apparel that’ll have you looking as classy as it gets.

As to their tasty one-off magic, these magnificent pieces of top-grade machinery are genuinely ravishing! The workshop never fails to delight us with their breathtaking exploits. SG’s projects house a unique blend between gorgeous classic styling and modern equipment, brought together by the crew’s meticulous abilities and sheer dedication. Needless to say, these moto surgeons are no strangers to the mesmerizing realm of custom two-wheelers.

While browsing their portfolio, I stumbled upon a heavily modified 2006 Sportster 1200C from Harley-Davidson’s range. One thing’s for sure, this beast does a splendid job at dropping jaws and raising pulses. In fact, let’s take a minute to dive in for a closer examination of South Garage’s achievements, shall we?

To give you a better idea as to how far their venture has come, we’ll begin by reminding ourselves of the stock cruiser’s main features. Let me tell you, this bad boy eats tarmac for breakfast. It is put in motion by a feral Evolution V-twin colossus, with a compression ratio of 9.7:1 and two valves per cylinder. The air-cooled behemoth prides itself with an astronomical displacement of 1199cc.

At around 3,500 revs, this nasty animal is capable of generating a crushing torque output of up to 79 pound-feet (107 Nm). A five-speed transmission is tasked with channeling the engine’s power to the rear wheel by means of a belt final drive.

The entire structure is supported by a set of 39 mm telescopic forks up front, coupled with dual coilover shock absorbers and a double-sided steel swingarm at the rear. Stopping power is handled by a single 292 mm (11.5 inches) rotor and a two-piston caliper at the front, joined by an identical brake disc and a single-piston caliper on the opposite end. HD’s machine crawls on a pair of chromed aluminum wheels, hugged by Dunlop rubber.

Now, it goes without saying that Harley’s vicious leviathan isn’t your typical donor for a cafe racer-oriented overhaul. South Garage kicked things off by treating its suspension to a complete makeover. The team disposed of Sportster’s standard items to make room for a fresh package from Ohlins' inventory and a custom alloy swingarm.

That handsome fuel tank and aluminum tail section have been hand-shaped in-house. Additionally, the unique tail section hosts an integrated lighting kit, while the tank was honored with a Monza-style flip-up filler cap. To round out the aggressive riding stance, SG’s pros even went as far as manufacturing rear-mounted foot pegs and one-off handlebars that wear Biltwell grips.

Furthermore, you will find an array of sweet aftermarket components, such as a gauge cluster from the Motogadget catalogue and a 5-inch (127 mm) Lucas headlight module, as well as top-of-the-line Brembo brakes. The gargantuan Evolution powerplant breathes with ease, thanks to a new titanium exhaust system and free-flow air filters.

Finally, this stunning creature was named Kimera. It received an intricate finish that incorporates a mixture of oxblood, brushed alloy and polished silver paintwork. To be quite frank, this reborn entity is absolutely majestic!

I’d recommend that you pay South Garage a visit on their Instagram and Facebook profiles. I’ll have to admit their extensive lineup had me scrolling for a fair chunk of time.