Takuya Aikawa is on a roll. There hasn’t been a operating of the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show in the previous couple of years that he hasn’t introduced at the very least one medal residence from. His accolades embrace two ‘Best of Show’ awards, a ‘Best Detail Work’ award, and an entire bunch extra.
And in case you’re questioning—sure, this 1968 Harley-Davidson FL is a medal-winner too. Aikawa-san constructed it final 12 months, took it to Mooneyes, and got here residence with the ‘Best Motorcycle American’ trophy. And it’s straightforward to see why.
Takuya runs Sureshot—a workshop located in Chiba, simply east of Tokyo. Sureshot repairs, companies, and customizes Harley-Davidsons, however their principal focus is dyno tuning. That efficiency angle has shone by way of on their previous couple of customs; lithe machines that look quick, even when they’re constructed utilizing classic donor bikes.
This previous Harley shovelhead is a beguiling (and deliberate) mixture of previous and new. Takuya needed to construct a customized bike loaded with elegant particulars, however he needed to make use of the fashionable manufacturing methods that Sureshot has employed lately to create them. The result’s a shocking bike that hides an astonishing quantity of ingenious particulars.
Most of these particulars are straight from Takuya’s creativeness, since Sureshot’s consumer left the styling as much as the workshop. His solely requests had been that the bike ought to have a inflexible body, an electrical starter, and an everyday foot shifter slightly than a hand shifter. (He in the end needed the bike as straightforward to experience as a thin, vintage-styled hardtail will be.)
If you’re considering that the bike appears so much skinnier than a 1968 Harley-Davidson FL, you’re proper. Takuya mated the entrance half of a shovelhead body to a inflexible rear triangle, then narrowed the entire thing.
The entrance forks are from an ‘Auto Race’ bike. Auto Race is a Japanese type of flat track-slash-speedway racing, but it surely’s held on asphalt as an alternative of filth. As you’d think about, transplanting the forks from a thin Auto Race bike to a chunky classic shovelhead was hardly a plug-and-play affair.
First, Takuya needed to liberate the forks from their backside yoke (the system is a one-piece association), then lengthen the legs to go well with the Harley’s experience peak. Once every thing was put collectively, he fabricated new triangular braces to sit down towards the forks; a direct nod to the unique Auto Race fork designs.
The coronary heart of the beast is a rebuilt 1,200 cc shovelhead engine, kitted with upgraded pistons, an Andrews camshaft, and Kibblewhite valves. The transient known as for a motorbike that might run clean slightly than sizzling, however Takuya nonetheless couldn’t resist tossing a beefy S&S Cycle L-carb, and a Dynatek Dyna 2000i ignition system with a bespoke map, into the combo.
“A carburetor is a functional part,” he provides. “But for Harley-Davidson, it is also a strong exterior element that evokes performance. And I’ve always been performance-oriented.”
Not solely did Sureshot’s consumer request an electrical begin system, however he additionally signed off on the elimination of the kick-start lever altogether, in a bid to simplify the structure and save just a little weight. That left Takuya free to experiment with an concept that he’d been sitting on for some time—relocating the transmission.
“I’ve always wanted to build a custom bike that is fun to ride,” he stated. “Increasing the power of the engine is important, of course, but weight reduction and mass centralization can also make a big difference in the handling of the bike. The reason for this is that I believe that if the transmission, which is the second heaviest component after the engine, is placed closer to the engine, the mass will be more concentrated and the bike’s dynamic performance will be improved.”
Takuya tucked the transmission in by shifting it up and ahead whereas sustaining the size of the drive belt. That brought on points with the place of the clutch launch arm, so Sureshot transformed the clutch to a hydraulic system. Not wanting to stay a fluid reservoir on the handlebars, Takuya mounted the clutch grasp cylinder to the facet of the crankcase, connecting it to a Tomaselli lever through a cable.
In a bid to optimize mass centralization even additional, he additionally fabricated a set of matching mufflers, tucking them in tightly beneath the bike. Given the inherent structure of the American V-twin engine, getting the mufflers to sit down completely throughout from one another was no imply feat—however Sureshot pulled it off by snaking the headers tightly across the motor.
One of the shovelhead’s coolest options can be the toughest one to identify. The bike is loaded with billet aluminum components that don’t appear to be billet aluminum components. “The reason for this, is to follow a classic style,” says Takuya.
“I removed the cut marks that are characteristic of billet aluminum parts, and instead gave them a cast surface look, polished them, and rounded the edges. All of this was done by hand.”
The similar philosophy was utilized to the wheels. Takuya began with a set of stable billet aluminum models, measuring 21” up entrance and 18” out again. He then lower out the center of every wheel, machined a ridge to accommodate spokes, after which smoothed every thing all the way down to erase all traces of the machining work.
Taking inspiration from classic Montesa trial bikes, Takuya constructed a set of spokes with handmade turnbuckle tensioners to lace up every wheel. The entrance wheel makes use of a twin main shoe drum brake from an previous Suzuki ST400 Tempter, whereas the again makes use of a hydraulic drum brake with a Brembo grasp cylinder.
Sureshot was additionally accountable for the shovelhead’s modern new aluminum bodywork—and for smaller components like its headlight housing and distinctive cut up handlebars. The levers are welded on to the bars for a brilliant sano impact, whereas Tarozzi foot controls sit additional down.
Rods Design dealt with the paint, Rio Studio was accountable for the logos and pin-striping, and Manabu Yamaguchi Art Craft lined the scooped bobber seat in horse disguise. And this classic shovelhead excels in all three of these areas.
With bikes that look this good, is it any marvel that Aikawa-san’s trophy cupboard is getting crowded? All that’s left to do now, is wait and see what he comes up with for this 12 months’s Mooneyes present.
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Source: www.bikeexif.com