VINTAGE VIBES: 2002 Harley-Davidson Sportster ‘Taranis’
Written by Martin Hodgson
It’s not hard to imagine going to the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show in Austin and coming away inspired to build a custom bike of your own. But while most would be drawn to the endless number of incredible bikes crafted by the world’s best builders, it was inside the Wall of Death that the idea for the machine before you was born! Forged together from a 2002 Harley Sportster and a vintage Harley WL it’s the brainchild of Michael Alton, roaming the roads of Texas where it’s known as Taranis.
The name comes from the Celtic God of Thunder, whom with a big beard and a thunderbolt in one hand and a wheel in the other is just the sort of guy you can imagine calling this bike his own. ?Witnessing the Wall of Death, I decided I wanted a bike that looked like the Indians they rode. Well I couldn’t find an Indian in my price range, but I did find a Sportster and decided that I wanted to somehow fit it into a WL 45 frame, of sorts. Everyone told me it couldn’t be done, but I thought it could,? Michael smiles.
With the Sportster 883 in one corner and a rough WL frame with some assorted parts in the other, Michael got them both stripped down so he could begin the task of melding them together. ?I cut out the lower subframe and merged it with the top section of the WL frame.? he explains. What you get is the Sporty frame cradling its own engine, with the exposed areas of frame taking on all the form and function of a bike from ...
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