Daily Slideshow: One Way Machine Scrambles Their First Sportster Build
Adding one more story to our "International Spotlight", this one is from the land of beer, brats and sauerkraut. One Way Machine decided to customize their first Sportster, in tribute to the little machine's 60th birthday.
1. The One Way Scrambler
One Way Machine, based out of Staufenberg, Germany, has been pumping out one-of-a-kind custom Softails for years. They build beautiful custom machines and the shop has won several awards for their efforts. Julian Van Oheimb, the mastermind of OWM, chooses his bikes based on specific criteria- they must be all-original, they must have low mileage and they must be carbureted. Oh, and they must also be Softails.
When Julien came across a nice, clean, low mileage 2004 Sportster, though, he found that he just couldn't pass it up. It sat in the back of his shop until 2017 when, by no coincidence, the Harley-Davidson Sportster line was celebrating its 60th birthday. Julien decided that the time was right for his shop to build their first ever, custom Sportster.
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2. Euro influence
Being that One Way Machines is across the pond from us, it comes as no surprise that their American made Harley-Davidson would be customized with no small amount of European influence. In this particular case, the beautifully elegant gas tank you see here is one from a 1950's era Triumph that has been massaged to fit the Sportster frame.
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3. Subtle modifications for maximum impact
The list of modifications doesn't stop at the tank, either. OWM wanted a longer look without sacrificing the Scrambler feel, so they added a chain final drive with an extender chain so that they could move the rear tire back in order to increase the wheelbase, ever so slightly. They replaced the stock wheels with bigger hoops- 21" in front and 19" in rear, then built a rear fender, fork sleeves, engine mounts and ECM cover, all by hand.
They also re-routed the wiring harness for a nice, clean look and installed a custom seat from Custom Chrome Europe. The rear passenger pillion was built by Japan's Easyriders and the hand controls are from Beringer. The handlebar risers and the brake and shifter pegs were all provided by Rough Crafts and, on the low side, there's a Biltwell clutch cover. The bike's voice is provided by a sleek, simple exhaust from Parts Europe.
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4. Simple and elegant
A simple, clean aesthetic is the basic formula for a One Way Machine build. A Motogadget speedometer delivers the speed reading atop an uncluttered triple tree and adjacent to two, basic, chrome handlebar clamps. Up front, the headlight was replaced with an uber-modern, LED array headlight.
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5. Throwback details
With subtle touches of elegance and classic beauty all over this machine, OWM didn't want to skimp on the air cleaner, so they had LC Fabrications build them a super cool, 1970's style miniature "Ham-Can" air cleaner. They also modified the rocker boxes to give the little Scrambler the feel of a machine that has been around for 6 decades.
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6. Built for the road, or for the trail
One Way Machine built this bike to be ridden on the urban battlefield that is the streets of our modern-day world. They also gave it off-road tires and adjustable shocks, just in case the bike's owner, businessman Patrick Warnking, wanted to hit the trails on his way home from his office.
Sportsters haven't really changed much over their 60-year run. The real changes have, and I suspect always will, come from the owners. As a Sportster owner myself, I can attest that the Harley-Davidson Sportster is an all-around fun bike. It's fun to ride, it's fun to listen to and it is fun to customize. Where it lacks in the comforts that a big bike has, it more than makes up for it in the "fun-to-ride category."
One Way Machine's first Sportster build turned out to be, not only, an elegant and classic machine, but also one that showcases the diversity of the little machine, and for that, I say "gut gemacht."
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