Takuya Aikawa is on a roll. There hasn’t been a running of the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show in the last few years that he hasn’t brought at least one medal home from. His accolades include two ‘Best of Show’ awards, a ‘Best Detail Work’ award, and a whole bunch more.
And in case you’re wondering?yes, this 1968 Harley-Davidson FL is a medal-winner too. Aikawa-san built it last year, took it to Mooneyes, and came home with the ‘Best Motorcycle American’ trophy. And it’s easy to see why.

Takuya runs Sureshot?a workshop situated in Chiba, just east of Tokyo. Sureshot repairs, services, and customizes Harley-Davidsons, but their main focus is dyno tuning. That performance angle has shone through on their last few customs; lithe machines that look fast, even if they’re built using vintage donor bikes. This old Harley shovelhead is a beguiling (and deliberate) mix of old and new. Takuya wanted to build a custom bike loaded with classy details, but he wanted to use the modern manufacturing techniques that Sureshot has employed recently to create them. The result is a stunning bike that hides an astonishing amount of ingenious details.

Most of those details are straight from Takuya’s imagination, since Sureshot’s client left the styling up to the workshop. His only requests were that the bike should have a rigid frame, an electric starter, and a regular foot shifter rather than a hand shifter. (He ul...