Two years ago, Harley-Davidson flew Winston Yeh to Barcelona to test ride the new Milwaukee-Eight big twins. And like most riders at the launch event, he was impressed by the new Softail platform.
“I’ve had the idea of building a performance version of a Softail in my head ever since,” Winston tells us. “So when a customer arrived with an open brief, I knew exactly what I had to do.”

There’s a dark, almost baroque feel to ‘Tarmac Raven.’ It drips with the signature Rough Crafts style, but remarkably, it didn’t require any grinder work. Which must have been a relief for Winston’s longstanding fabrication sidekicks at CT-Garage.
The new bodywork sits comfortably on the stock frame, and accentuates the long, sled-like vibe. The tank’s a heavily modified Sportster unit, and the tail’s been fashioned out of fiber glass. Both have been wrapped in a layer of carbon fiber by Simon Fiber Craft, then painted by Air Runner in contrasting matt and gloss shades of black.
But it’s actually the mighty Milwaukee-Eight that dominates the side view. And as you might have guessed, this V-Twin is a long way from stock.
“I had a chat with David Zemla from S&S Cycle,” says Winston. “He provided their latest kit for the M8 engine: the 124 ci Power Package.” This includes forged pistons with an 11:1 compression ratio and a hotter cam, and promises 124 horsepower at the crank. Torque rise...