Sportster scrambler

Quite a few bikes have quirks that can trap the unwary builder. The strange frame curvature on the Honda CX500 is one of them, and the height of the Harley Sportster motor is another. The venerable V-twin is an unusually tall engine, which makes it difficult to get a straight line from the base of the tank to the back of the seat. And it’s even harder to create a low-slung, slammed effect. But Uwe Kostrewa has managed to pull off both tricks, and deserves a round of hearty applause. Uwe…

Greg Hageman's known as the guy that convinced us that Yamaha Viragos can look good. But we've never seen a Harley-Davidson custom from the American builder. Which is strange; the Sportster is arguably a better (and more popular) platform than the Virago. And Greg sure knows his way around them—he's a qualified, master-level Harley technician. “I started in '99,” he tells us, “and took every single tech class the factory offered until 2011. So I was fully aware of the capabilities of what I…

One of the coolest things I get to do is manage the Burly Brand. Have been part of this thing for about five years and enjoy every minute of it. http://www.burlybrand.com With that comes an opportunity design parts and build bikes to market them (a rarity for marketing geeks at my level) Not a bad gig at all. This project began as a concept for a couple of new parts, including a crossbar style handlebar, a vintage moto peg and tall shocks, all designed with the Sportster in mind. Pegs…

The Scrambler We Wish Harley Had Built...Introduced back in 2007, the Sportster XL1200N Nightster was a blacked-out, lowered version of the regular Sportster -- something of a "factory custom." Though it was mainly an aesthetic exercise, the Nightster garnered strong praise from riders and rev

The Scrambler We Wish Harley Had Built...Introduced back in 2007, the Sportster XL1200N Nightster was a blacked-out, lowered version of the regular Sportster -- something of a "factory custom." Though it was mainly an aesthetic exercise, the Nightster garnered strong praise from riders and rev

When she's not running the @motolady website, Alicia Mariah Elfving likes to build bikes. Here's her latest, a stunning Harley Sportster ready for the dirt. Who fancies a ride?

Think of a scrambler motorcycle, and most folks will picture a modern Triumph or a vintage BSA. Not a Harley. But David Zemla, who runs Burly Brand, decided to take a different tack. Could a Sportster be reconfigured for bombing down fire roads? After a lot of trial and error, not to mention a few wrong turns and dead ends in the build process, the answer is a definite ‘yes.’ Zemla’s 2006-model Harley XL883 had previously enjoyed a sedate life, transporting a retired teacher to and from the…

For Sale: The XL883 "Harley Hater Special" Street Scrambler...The Sportster is the most versatile of Harley-Davidson's air-cooled machines. While the bike may be marketed as an entry-level cruiser, when you strip down the machine to the bare essentials, the bike makes a great platform for a V-tw