The Harley Custom Harley-Davidson’s absence is making biking aficionados’ hearts grow fonder. So Rishad Cooper takes the custom route.

With the who’s who of the automobile world making a beeline to India, the question on every true-blue biker’s lips is: “Why isn’t Harley here?” It’s close to two years since Autocar India’s exclusive interview with Harley-Davidson’s vice-president Timothy Hoelter when he came India-visiting. He had said then: “We believe our motorcycles could be sold in India and be successful.” However, there were a couple of issues which needed to be solved, namely high import duty and emission norms for high-end bikes like Harley-Davidson. Though H-D conforms to emission norms in the US and Europe, there are no clear guidelines for such bikes in India. The relatively few Suzuki Hayabusas and Kawasaki Ninjas that are heard zipping across at night when traffic is sparse and at Autocar’s Speed Runs are usually imported at high cost.

Nevertheless, Harley’s continued absence in India continues to be a café table issue with avid bikers. A booming economy, increasing incomes and a penchant for wheels new, customisation of vehicles – both two- and four-wheeler – is notching new highs in the country.

While we must wait and watch how Harley’s Indian tryst unfolds, on foreign soil things have progressed further. Style and distinction are paramount to owners of a Harley-Davidson model. And several bikers who originally started down the road to Harley ownership got lost along the way when they discovered greener pastures that come with customising the original bike.

Enter Alistair Harley of AR Harley & Sons, a UK-based company which specialises in customising Harleys and supplying parts, engines and accessories for this iconic brand of massive V-twin-engined cruisers.
Custom motorcycles have grown in popularity abroad, directly proportional to the rise in Harley owners. These are built to satisfy the dreams of those people who didn’t want to be bound by the shackles of only the limited models HD offers. These hard-to-satisfy folks want their motorcycles flashier, lower, longer, faster, louder or some even quieter. Many riders even want their HD to tilt more towards the basic look. And that’s where customised bikes and AR Harley & Sons take over.

Check out the smashingly-styled custom bikes shown here. The designer/ builder of each motorcycle has brought together various parts and colours as an individual art design while creating something totally unique. These bikes are not just concepts, but ‘real’ street-ready motorcycles that can be ridden and enjoyed. They may not be as practical as a Royal Enfield Bullet in everyday use, but they do offer unmatched style and massive street presence.

Custom bike building is today an art form in its own right and should not be seen as just providing a means of transport. In Europe and the USA there are many competitions for custom bike builders. Engineering, styling and painting are the criteria used while functionality is not normally considered important. You might have bikes made with centre-less or glass wheels or forks so long that going around corners is done with your foot down as long as the style is fantastic.

India’s got loads of biking- friendly weather and great lengths of wide and twisting highway winding around various types of terrain, all of which come together to form a perfect backdrop for comfy cruisers like Harleys.

What’s more, with work on the Golden Quadrilateral nearly complete and considerable progress in the North-South, East-West corridor project which is expected to be completed by 2009, the stage seems to be set for good times on the cruising front.