On November 18, 2022, Harley-Davidson rolled the final air-cooled Sportster ever to be constructed off their meeting line in York, Pennsylvania. The announcement marked the top of an period within the motorcycling world; a book-end for the long-lasting everyman’s V-twin that had been in fixed manufacturing since 1957.
Whereas the whole variety of Sportsters in existence is now formally capped someplace effectively into the tens of tens of millions, the dying of the Evo comes with a silver lining: with obsolescence comes avenue cred.
Few perceive this in addition to Sydney, Australia’s Zen Bikes. They’ve turned this 2015 Harley-Davidson Sportster Seventy-Two right into a dependable day by day driver, with all of the traditional cool of an outdated ironhead. All that’s lacking is a kickstarter (if the place to look, after all).
This construct began when a consumer approached Zen asking for a 70s-style chopper, with fashionable efficiency and reliability. An abundance of chrome was excessive on the precedence listing too, however all the things else was largely left as much as the Zen crew. A late-model Sportster Seventy-Two was sourced as the perfect place to begin.
Work sensible, not laborious, as they are saying. Harley first launched the Seventy-Two again in 2012, and each the identify and magnificence had been meant to invoke the 70s-era chopper craze of the time. Included within the manufacturing unit package deal was the traditional 2.1-gallon peanut tank that also lives on the bike at the moment, in addition to a full suite of manufacturing unit chrome choices, together with the engine, wheels, and shocks.
This laundry listing of OEM chrome bits shortened the construct to-do listing significantly, however reworking the inventory Sporty into the clear {custom} you see right here was no straightforward process. The workforce had made up their thoughts early on {that a} springer front-end was simply what the Seventy-Two wanted to really seize that 70s allure. Sourcing the forks was straightforward sufficient—however making them work with the fashionable body took some creativity.
The shiny set of stock-length springers you see right here was sourced instantly from Lowbrow Customs within the US—however sadly, they weren’t precisely plug-and-play with the client’s wants. The primary hurdle was sustaining the Seventy-Two’s manufacturing unit ABS braking, which required some severe fabrication to adapt to the springer.
For that, Zen handed the bike off to their pal Edi Buffon at Machine 1867—a one-man fabrication store a couple of miles down the road. Edi labored his magic on the forks, and when the bike got here again to the store, Zen was capable of end off the front-end setup. Chrome calipers had been equipped from Efficiency Machine, the manufacturing unit rotors had been swapped with drilled stainless models from Russell, and {custom} spacers had been added to convey all of it in line.
Out again Zen largely left the Sportster unmolested, preserving the manufacturing unit swingarm, shocks, and brake elements in place. The manufacturing unit belt drive was swapped for a series conversion package for just a little additional ironhead model, and the rear sprocket was given the chrome therapy to match the remainder of the Sporty’s brightwork.
With the chassis sorted out, it was time so as to add some colour to the Seventy-Two. Zen says the consumer’s solely stipulation there was that gold be labored into the theme to a point, giving them free rein to decide on their very own muse from a catalog of 70s influences.
The result’s actually one thing particular. From a distance, it’s straightforward to mistake this as your typical ‘vivid black’ Sporty with an added Ohio flame job. Up shut, nonetheless, it’s an entire totally different story.
That’s as a result of Zen used the deepest purple paint we’ve ever seen, with steel flake buried beneath extra coats of clear than we care to rely. The flames themselves are accomplished the old-school manner, with hand-laid gold leaf gilding outlined in purple pinstripes.
Zen continued the gold theme all through the bike, however opted for polished brass particulars fairly than 24-karat bling, for causes we shouldn’t want to clarify right here. The bar risers, grips and gasoline cap are all accomplished in brass, whereas the spark plug leads put an additional pop of gold glitter entrance and middle.
The ultimate piece of the puzzle was discovering a strategy to stash all of the clunky fashionable electronics, which Zen pulled off handily. Inventory lighting was changed prime to backside with minimalist Kellermann LED {hardware}; the dime-sized flip sign pods on the entrance of the springer are a very good contact. The OEM gauge cluster was retained, however Zen moved it down by the entrance cylinder for an unobstructed cockpit.
As for the controls themselves, Zen built-in flush-mount single-press buttons right into a set of custom-made handlebars, giving the look of a correctly bare-bones machine. They had been capable of wire all the brand new elements with out shedding any of the CAN bus performance—so so far as the onboard ECU is worried, the Sportster remains to be fully inventory.
Remaining touches embrace a Mustang leather-based seat, a chrome sissy bar from Lowbrow Customs, a full chrome nuts and bolts package, and the addition of braided brake and clutch cables. Zen even added a little bit of efficiency for good measure, with an S&S teardrop consumption and a set of Vance & Hines ShortShot pipes, to assist the Seventy-Two’s chew match its bark.
The Sportster as we all know it might be relegated to the pages of historical past, however bikes like Zen’s Sporty Seventy-Two will proceed to hold the torch for generations to return.
It’s unnerving to assume that every one new Harleys could also be powered by one thing aside from inner combustion fifteen brief years from now. However we take consolation in realizing we gained’t must go digging for outdated ironhead components to have a timeless traditional within the storage when that point comes.
Zen Bikes | Fb | Instagram | Photographs by Andrew Jones
