It?s only three weeks since Harley-Davidson pulled the sheets off the 2022 Nightster, giving us a look at the spiritual successor to the original Sportster. But six months ago, pre-production versions of the new bikes were discreetly delivered to a select group of five customizers in the US, England and Japan.
Hideya Togashi was one of the first people outside Milwaukee to see the new machine. He needs no introduction here; he?s been running the Hide Motorcycle workshop for twenty years, and has won the supreme award at the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show not once, but twice. He?s also famous as a Sportster specialist.

The story started in December last year, when Harley-Davidson HQ contacted Togashi-san. Would he like to take part in a custom project for an upcoming new model" ?The Nightster name was not mentioned, because it hadn?t been launched yet,? says Togashi. ?It was a great honor to receive the request. I was nervous, not knowing details of the bike, but I didn?t need long to accept!?

After signing a contract, Harley told Togashi that the donor bike would be the 2022 Nightster. He would get just 60 days to build his custom, and the Revolution Max 975T engine must remain untouched.
As soon as Togashi was on board, he saw images of the Nightster. ?My first impression was that they had recreated the style of the ‘old’ Sportster,? he says.

As he waited for the Nightster to arrive at his Kawasaki City workshop, Togashi started planning the build...