If we had a stock Harley-Davidson Sportster and a hankering for a top-shelf street tracker, we’d probably call Richard Pollock. Better known as Mule Motorcycles, the man has loads of experience and talent?and a knack for building machines that look like they’ve rolled straight off the dirt oval and onto the street.
You wouldn’t tell by looking at it, but this 2019-model Harley-Davidson Sportster Roadster is actually a modest build by Mule’s standards. There’s nothing over the top here?just perfect proportions, a well-judged parts spec and a host of custom touches done as only he can. The brief came from a friend, with a specific request for a modern Sporty as the donor.

?The goal was to build a trick-looking modified Sportster that already had a 1200 cc, fuel injected, rubber-mount motor,? Richard tells us, ?without going crazy on the budget. I really liked the gloss black triple clamps and upside-down forks on the ‘Roadster’ model. Even though they aren’t high-end, they work well and look good.? Richard also kept the Sportster’s original controls, speedo and classically-styled headlight, along with its air filter cover. ?I don?t mind the ‘ham can’ Harley air cleaner covers,? he says, ?and it does contain a K&N air filter inside, so there is a small boost in performance.? A set of 1? Mule flat track bars were thrown into the mix.

Even though it stands taller than most factory Sportster models, the R...