50 Not Out: Sato Marine Cycle’s 1968 Harley Shovelhead
We have an ongoing fascination with the Japanese custom scene. But it’s not only the skills and design chops that keep us captivated: It’s the perpetual air of mystery. We still know so little about our friends in the East.
Today’s new discovery is a long, low Harley-Davidson Shovelhead by Sato Marine Cycle. The shop is based in Onomichi in the Hiroshima Prefecture, a city best known for featuring in the classic Japanese movie Tokyo Story.
SMC has been operating for 30 years?originally as a Yamaha dealer?but since 2007, the main business has been customising bikes. The shop is run by Yusaku Sato and his wife, with two crew members assisting.
When we asked Sato-san what style he wanted to achieve with the project, he simply replied: ?winding and dirt. I wanted to enjoy the bike in every ‘scene’.” The 1968-model Shovelhead was in original condition when Team Sato got their hands on it, and despite being half a century old, was running just fine. Still, that didn’t deter them from tearing into every inch of the bike.
Gone is the Harley’s original twin shock setup, replaced by a completely custom Softail-style single shock arrangement. Both the swing arm and subframe are custom, and Sato have wedged in a shock borrowed from an MX bike.
They kept and refurbished the front forks and triple trees, but the wheels are new. Well, new to the bike at least; Sato adapted a 19? front and solid 16? rear from two different bikes. The...
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