To say that Winston Yeh likes the colour black could be a gross understatement. The person behind Taiwan’s Rough Crafts has a way of fashion that will make Johnny Money’s wardrobe blush, and rarely builds a customized motorbike that isn’t swathed in varied shades of black.
We checked; a mere 10 % of the Tough Crafts bikes featured on our pages buck this pattern. So when Mr. Yeh does deviate from this system, it’s often for a great cause—like a particular request from a shopper.
“He needed an old style chopper, he needed it silver, and he needed the ‘Tough Crafts’ fashion,” says Winston of the succinct transient he obtained for the mission. The one different request was that Tough Crafts use a contemporary bike as a donor in order that reliability wouldn’t be a difficulty. Winston settled on a 2020 Harley-Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight for its simplicity and malleability.
Working along with his coterie of trusted native craftsmen, Winston began by sourcing a hardtail chopper body from The Gasbox in Ohio, USA. Sporting a 32-degree rake and a 3”-up stretch, the body’s propped up on the entrance by a bespoke girder fork.
Winston modeled the girder setup utilizing CAD software program, earlier than having the components CNC-machined. The design treads classic floor, whereas particulars just like the Öhlins shock and gusseted pockets add a contemporary vibe.
“I needed to imitate these previous tubular girders which can be boxed in with sheet metallic,” he says. “This one’s for all those that say my builds are ‘too new’ and I can’t construct old style fashion bikes.”
Winston’s basic sensibilities prolong to the wheels—a surprising set of five-spoke Invader hoops from Led Sled Customs. Measuring 2.15×21” on the entrance and three.5×18” on the again, they’re wrapped in Shinko rubber.
Regardless of the shortage of rear suspension, Winston didn’t skimp on the brakes. As per Tough Crafts’ normal working process, the Sportster is fitted with Beringer calipers and discs, with the discs mounted on Tough Crafts carriers that mimic the form of the wheels. The customized rear sprocket, made by KCT Sprockets, follows swimsuit, pulled by a black chain from RK Takasago.
The Sportster’s bodywork is a cocktail of aftermarket components, all of which have been tweaked to swimsuit Tough Crafts’ signature fashion. The tank was lower and shut to provide it deep aspect scallops, then topped off with a one-off fuel cap. The oil tank got here with the GasBox body, nevertheless it’s been modified to reflect the tank scallops.
The seat is a Biltwell Inc. merchandise, mounted on a one-off bracket with a pair of springs so as to add a modicum of consolation. A sublime fender from Cooper Smithing Co. finishes off the tail, with neat tabs that interface with the customized rear fender stays.
The cockpit wears customized mini-ape bars, mounted on Tough Crafts risers and fitted with Tough Crafts grips. The controls are from KustomTech, with the entrance brake and throttle strains operating contained in the bars. A discreet bracket, mounted slightly below the gasoline tank on the left-hand aspect of the bike, hosts the ignition and a tiny Motogadget speedo.
When it got here to including a headlight, Winston couldn’t choose a system that didn’t intrude with the fork’s operation. So he had a brand new decrease shock collar CNC-machined, that features an built-in headlight mount. The finned headlight is straight from the Tough Crafts catalog.
Different modifications embrace mid-mounted foot controls with Tough Crafts pegs, a Tough Crafts air filter, matching engine covers from EMD, and KOSO LED flip indicators and taillights. Excessive-mounted reverse cone exhausts add the suitable soundtrack.
Rover Works Customized Paint dealt with the atypical Tough Crafts livery; a silver base with elegant silver leaf particulars. Meister Powder Coating tackled the laborious components, JZO Crafts was accountable for fabrication, and Triroad Moto Co. took on the meeting. Common collaborator 2Abnormal Sides provided a set of attractive handmade push highway collars, plus a Tough Crafts headstock badge.
Dubbed ‘Mad Raider,’ this chic Harley-Davidson Sportster chopper would possibly break a few of Tough Crafts’ guidelines, nevertheless it’s nonetheless immediately recognizable because the Taiwanese powerhouse’s work.
Will Winston construct extra bikes that shake up his system? In keeping with him, all of it depends upon what his prospects need.
Rough Crafts | Facebook | Instagram | Pictures by Kazuo Matsumoto
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