Big-bore adventure bikes like the Harley Pan America have to tick a lot of boxes, which is why they end up looking like two-wheeled spaceships. But the custom scene has shown us a new side to the Pan America. If you can strip away enough of its adventure-focused accouterments, there’s a pretty gnarly street bike lurking under there.
This custom Harley Pan America from Powerbrick offers proof. The Dutch parts specialist and custom workshop has shown time and time again that they’re adept at building radical machines that buck convention. And although they made their bones creating edgy BMW K-series customs, this Pan America suggests that they can apply their signature aesthetic to just about any type of motorcycle.

According to Powerbrick head honcho Tim Somers, the Pan America mission had two objectives; create ?the streetfighter that Harley never released,? and develop a range of bolt-on parts under Powerbrick’s sub-brand, CNCPT Moto. To that end, Tim got major financial support from Harley-Davidson Rotterdam and Amsterdam, who also supplied the bike. ?We?ve designed everything to make it look OEM so that people would think that the bike is supposed to look like this,? Tim adds. ?Harley-Davidson has a strong heritage, we’re just trying to give it a little shake-up to make it appeal to a new generation.?

The real trick here is how Powerbrick has managed to shave visual weight off the chunky Pan America, while still retaining its OEM fuel tank a...