Visiting the West Coast over the past several winters for new bike test rides, a fascinating phenom has emerged. Whether visiting motorbike hangouts like Alice’s Restaurant up in Santa Cruz or the Rock Store near Malibu, the crowd inevitably includes a couple (or more) customized Harley-Davidson adventure bikes. And while we’re not much interested in the clunky, dual-sport roadsters currently popular on the roads, it’s the manner in which H-D’s water-cooled wonder is being modified that’s grabbed our attention.
With one of the best V-twin powerplants ever produced on a domestic motorcycle, the Pan America has been frequently drafted into service as a high-performance cafe racer. We first saw this unexpected use of the Revolution Max 60-degree engine platform when it was first being raced in Motoamerica’s Super Hooligan series a few years back. Competing teams like Saddlemen Racing stripped away all the luggage and oddball ADV styling on the 145-horsepower bike, revealing the bones of a truly formidable street and track racer. It only makes sense given the high-spec hardware installed on the Pan, from it’s inverted, fully-clickable Ohlins forks to the ride-by-wire throttle and variable riding modes to a highly tunable engine; all these elements add up to a machine with some serious performance capability.
Meanwhile back in Milwaukee, the folks behind Harley-Davidson’s marketing arm have bene loath to release a newfangled V-twin that appeals to cafe racers and canyon carvers for reasons we can only imagine. The stump-pulling Sportster S was a step in the right direction and despite its compromised rear suspension system that limits rear wheel travel to a paltry 1 3/4 inches, the engine – even in this de-tuned state- is still impressive.
Many fans of the American brand are hoping the new RMCR Cafe racer that’s bene on display at custom shows finally reaches production, but the masses are skeptical and for good reason. H-D pulled the plug on their own factory streetfighter labeled The Bronx after positive public reactions a couple of years back and Indian unceremoniously discontinued production on their brilliant and very rapid FTR 1200 street tracker after just five years in showrooms.
The bikes we’re seeing on the roads in So Cal prove that customizers and fast bike fans are eager to throw a leg over a domestically-produced performance bike and aren’t waiting around for the OEM’s to produce one. It’s a fun, funky trend that few saw coming and if this blossoms into a full customizing wave, it would be a welcome addition to the motorcycle game.
