I have always loved custom motorcycles. I like anything from the simplistic to the sublime. I like simple custom painted motorcycle jobs, racers, choppers, cruisers and hogs. Custom Harley Davidson's, however, are my favorite. I have dreamed of owning a custom Harley Davidson motorcycle ever since I was a boy.
I think it started off with my uncle. He was a huge motorcycle aficionados, and an amateur custom motorcycle builder as well. My parents loved him because he would get me off of their hands on the weekends, and I loved him because he was always working on something interesting. I would go over to his house and see the garage strewn with Harley parts.
My parents were extremely fastidious, having to put everything in its proper place at all times. My uncle, however, had a very different philosophy of life. He loved to make a mess, particularly when he was involved in something hands-on. And he was always involved in some sort of hands-on project or other. Most of his motorcycles actually weren't custom Harley Davidson bikes.
He was a big fan of Indians, and he had one he was always working on. I watched him restore that Indian motorcycle together from ground up and considering most or all of the parts were delivered in 44 Gallon Drums of oil it was impressive to say the least but I was waiting for him to build a Harley. It wasn't too long before my prayers were answered.
He actually got an order for a custom Harley Davidson from one of the neighborhood kids. Although there were more highly ranked custom motorcycle builders out there, there was not anyone else who would do a good job for such an affordable price like my uncle would.
You see, he didn't build custom motorcycles for a living, but as a hobby. It was a labor of love for him, and as such he would always do a solid job. That is how he got the custom Harley Davidson order in the first place. Some kid had inherited his dad's old bike, and wanted my old uncle to fix it.
Not having the skills himself, he asked my uncle to help him out. I spent the whole summer helping him build that bike. My body was always streaked with grease from those custom motorcycle parts that I was handling. I was restless and grubby, but I was a happy kid. As a matter of fact, it was one of the best summers that I ever had!
Needless to say I've owned my current Harley for over 10 years now and I always tell people that my biggest regret was that I didn't buy it 10 years earlier. Yes it is customized but not in a show bike sense, it looks fantastic but more for touring I have ridden my Harley though every major city in Australia and will continue to do so until I die.
OH! and I am going to do a full custom of my own NOT a Harley though an Indian (not restore) but fully customize from the frame up in honor of my Uncle.
I love keeping up to date on new models and other Harley news and I know my Blog Harley Davidson Collectibles will help you keep up to date as well!
About the Author
Living on the Gold Coast in Australia I'm a devoted Husband and Father running my own import & distribution business. Finding different strategies marketing my own business, I now enjoy submitting knowledge filled articles of my own experiences and methods that I have found useful.
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