The world’s biggest custom competition just hit the accelerator with more categories to compete in and more countries taking part. Our Custom Kings have been designing, building, crafting and fine tuning to create bikes that are truly unique.
Battle of the Kings is back and it’s bigger than ever. Not only are we taking the competition global but we’ve added even more bikes into the mix and with over 10,000 parts to build with, you’re free[er] than ever to be unique.
For our BOTK 2019 entry we chose the Street Rod. Ever since it was released, we have been talking about its potential as a bike that can be used off road; it’s been begging for some MX type bars and a high flowing 2-1 exhaust system, alongside some off-road inspired tyres for when the road meets the dirt. Inspiration also came from my MX-riding days and helped influence me to aim the Street Rod towards dirt and make the ultimate Scrambler.
There haven’t been major changes to the chassis and component areas, just little changes, for example, panel work, tyres, headlights. It’s got an old Fat Bob® headlight with a Trike main and dipped beam LED set up, not forgetting the change in colour and different exhaust, which warranted a Stage 1 tune.
In my view the stand-out area is the front end, going from a standard Street Rod to what it looks like now with the relocation of the indicators, headlights, front end and the rear hugger from a 2018 Fat Bob.
The Battle
Our Custom Kings have designed, crafted, personalised and perfected their bikes. With over 100 unique custom creations, your challenge is voting for your favourite.
The performance bagger scene growing in the states is what caught our attention and the drive to build Street Reaper for BOTK 2019 – it isn’t every day you see a performance Touring model on UK roads. The Road Glide we chose now has genuine Harley-Davidson bodywork to enhance the bike’s looks. These include a wrap-around front fender, stretched side panels and front spoiler kit. This is all wrapped in a one-off custom paintjob by Surrey Customs.
Performance-wise, a Screamin’ Eagle Stage II torque cam along with a heavy breather and Bassani Road Rage II 2-1 exhaust are united with a Dynojet Target Tune in order to get maximum power from the motor in all conditions. ӦHLINS shocks ramp up the handling and to give the bike a more aggressive feel we have fitted 10-inch Kraus risers with FM Fly Moto style bars.
There are lots of detail parts we have gone to the trouble of getting painted that you have to look twice to see. – speaker grills, screen, vents, headlight surrounds, caliper inserts and pin striping on the rims.
The Challenge
Battle of the Kings is a Harley-Davidson custom competition featuring the very best Custom Kings from across the globe. Their challenge is to take our standard Harley-Davidson model and turn it into something unique. Over 200 dealers from more than 30 countries will compete to create bespoke, ground-breaking Harleys, using only their imagination, skill and a budget no bigger than half the cost of the original model.
The voting
The battle kicks off with a public vote to shortlist each country’s favourite bike. That shortlist is whittled down to one, as each country crowns its National Winner.
The journey doesn’t stop there, the National Winners then go head-to-head as bikes from across the world face each other to make it through to the final. Who makes that decision? You. We open another round of public voting to find the very best of the best.
The final is held at EICMA, as a panel of experts then pick the ultimate winner: this year’s champion in the Battle of the Kings.
There are times when a modified bike simply stops you in your tracks and I’d like to think “The Mustard” does just that – for many reasons. Not just because of its unique look or stance, but because, when you look closer, it isn’t that far removed from a stock Forty-Eight, which is what we were aiming for. This then allows a lot more customers and Harley admirers to have the same, albeit with slight changes to make it truly their own. Additions like rearset pegs and lower handlebar are all possible for those who want them.
Everybody takes inspiration to achieve an end result, we here at Shaw are no different. For The Mustard, ours came from some images of a modified Porsche. The lines, tones and rear light and exhaust layout tickled us enough to produce something similar. And before anyone asks, The Mustard wheels are standard items with neat inserts and tasty font for the Harley branding.
