‘H-D Forums’ Member Shares Breakout Bobber Build
One of our members is hard at work transforming a street bruiser into a retro cruiser — and he’s doing an awesome job.
Who doesn’t love a good build thread? If that person exists, we don’t wanna meet ’em. Nothing makes a rainy workday go by faster than watching someone transform their Harley-Davidson into the bike of their dreams.
H-D Forums member matte has been sharing his transformation with us since July of last year. He started off with a beautiful blue Breakout, and he’s been hard at work transforming it into a bobber.
As Softails go, the Breakout is one of the most modern looking bikes in the lineup. We’ll admit that, initially, we had our doubts whether or not matte could pull off a convincing bobber build. As it turns out, we never should have doubted him.
His first upgrades were a cut down rear fender, a set of ape hanger bars, and a traditional bobber seat. The bike already looked the part, but matte dreams big. He wanted a swingarm mounted sissy bar, upswept exhaust pipes, and a springer front end setup.
We were immediately surprised by how these three simple mods could totally change the look of a Breakout. A Softail is still a Softail, after all. The long, low, mean looks of the Breakout just lend themselves to the bobber aesthetic. Who knew?
He didn’t waste any time working on the next round of upgrades. By early September of last year, he had fabricated the sissy bar, and had it powdercoated. Before installing it, he had the cut down rear fender painted, too. It looks incredible — it’s a great mix of retro and modern.
Over the winter, he started fabricating his custom upswept exhaust setup from some used pipes he bought. The pipes themselves were ceramic coated black, while the tips and the heat shields are polished to a brilliant chrome finish.
He also got his wish when it came to the front end setup — there’s a springer fork on the bike now. It’s only a matter of time before this retro-modern bobber is out terrorizing the streets again. We can’t wait, and we bet matte can’t, either.
Photos: H-D Forums members