And if it's old, it's Vintage.

 

They classify their bike as "custom" so when someone like me searches for a custom chopper their P.O.S. shows up.

 

^^^ @TwiZted Biker We definitely view this through the same lens. ^^^

 

100% agree

 

If you go on YouTube and type 'Red Rider shovelhead' in the search box, it should take to channel for a red haired gal that has what I would classify as really cool custom.
She has a couple vids in which she points out most of the truly unique **** her bike has.

Or just go to this link.
https://www.youtube.com/c/RedRiderCanadaBC/videos

 

In the OP's example and in many other instances, it seems the correct term to use in place of "custom" is "accessorized", or possibly "modified." Custom to me involves uniqueness in design and/or craftsmanship.

 

I know some women that have been highly modified and accessorized........

 

People have strange ideas and do weird things. Kind of like...why do you feel the need to write something while taking a dump?

 

I think I can confidently say that 'custom' to me equates to something like 'one off'....something created once and not repeated exactly, or able to be simply purchased and added. Our RGL has completely custom paint (scheme and colors) done by a guy who only does custom paint work. The seat on our bike is a LePera which we had custom restyled (along with the Tour Pak back pad) by Custom Stitching. We visited the shop and picked our leather, Alcantara, patterns, thread colors and more. It's also one of a kind. Beyond that most everything is 'buy it and add it'. Bars, boards, pedals, gauges, lights, bags, fender, exhaust, cam, tune, wheels and lots more....but all just a credit card away. You can decide if it meets the criteria for custom or not. I don't really concern myself with that adjective...it's not important to me. Riding what we enjoy is important.

 

In the State of Washington (and most other states) the licensing department of (your state) determines what is "Custom" and what is "Stock".

The title and/or registration will state the provenance of a bike.
HM or similar denotes Home Made.
HD or similar denotes Harley-Davidson.

ALSO, HM bikes have a state issued frame tag