Harley Davidson's Sportster has long been a favourite of custom builders, perhaps because it has been around for so long. This job from Lord Drake Customs, however, might just be the best yet.
Lord Drake Customs' 'Bultracker 13' Harley Sportster Scrambler
It might be made largely of iron and have the gravitational mass of a small planet, but somehow the idea of making a scrambler version of the Harley Sportster doesn't seem all that outlandish, especially when it looks as good as this one!
Fran Manen is the owner of Lord Drake Kustoms (LDK) and he has a thing for Spanish Bultacos, which were the king of the off-road hill in the 1970s. He's also rather good at building stunning one-off scrambler customs. He's built a couple based on the Harley Sportster before but this is the first time he's gone full-retro on a Sportster Scrambler.
He's called this one the Bultracker 13 and it is, in a word, perfect!
Taking inspiration from the Bultaco Matador, Fran started with a Sportster 1200 and began to work his magic. It's difficult to know where to start, so beautifully is this machine detailed.
The wheels are the most obvious change: spoked 18" rear and 21" front , clothed in Continental Off Road tyres. That alone would be enough to give this Sporty a different enough look, but there is so much more.
It's difficult to say if the front forks are standard H-D: the spec sheet merely says 'Modified by LDK'. They certainly look longer than stock forks but that could simply be a result of the larger front wheel. The rear suspension units are longer by 2".
The Supertrapp exhaust system is perfect, giving a very flat-track look to the bike. The tank and fenders are custom made for the Bultracker, also by LDK. In fact, Lord Drake has made a lot of the parts: hand levers, front turn signals, side number plates, front frame grille and seat, in addition to the tank and fenders.
But it's the way it has all been put together that makes it all so special. There's not one jarring note on the whole bike, unless you're not a fan of the gold accents dotted around the bike. The use of stock Harley switchgear also looks a little clumsy.
But who am I kidding? Just the stance of this build makes it worth its weight. Even if it will never get a spot of dirt between the rubber blocks on its tyres, it looks as if it could quite easily handle it, which is definitely the point of such a build.
It's quite easily the best-looking Scrambler custom I've ever seen. Maybe it helps in that there is a Harley that isn't a million miles away from this - I'm talking about the XR750, of course - and sos that has prepared us for a Sportster-based scrambler.
Whatever way you put it, this is just lovely!
Lod Drake Customs will build you your very own Bultracker 13 if you've got a donor Sportster. Contact them here