Smart Choice Harley-Davidson Sportster Bobber
Chris wanted his own unique vision of a 70’s bobber, and after toiling away in his backyard shed for near on eight years, this is it!
STARTING with a 1982 Sportster that was basically handed to him for being a loyal employee, Mt Barker local Chris Summerfield wanted to build something that caught your eye and was reminiscent of times gone by. The motor had been rebuilt and stretched to its 1200 capacity by Chris’s boss beforehand, but not much more remains of the original Sporty now.
After a solid two decades of perusing motorcycle magazines, the 60’s and 70’s builds really resonated with Chris.
“I just wanted to build something like what they would’ve back in the ’70s, which was no front guard or brake. I’ve run the back brake to the front brake lever so I didn’t have to use anything on my feet.”
This left a clean look to the front of the bike, but not the rear, so Chris dropped the standard Sportster frame off to Brendon Flower at BF Customs, and had the back-end chopped off and a new hard-tail built from scratch.
Brendon went on to also modify the rear guard, french the oil tank around the frame, knock up some headers, and modify a set of bars to suit the DNA Springer risers.
However, the bike then sat collecting surface rust for years until last year when Chris decided it was time to finish his bobber so he could show it in the Biker Build-Off section of the West Coast Lowdown show.
Making the commitment to a suicide shift, Chris made up a template for the arm and had good mate Murray Ferell at Jemco Engineering cut it out in stainless steel and polish it.
Pulling apart one of his own hunting knives, Chris repurposed the handle to the top of the shift arm and added in a BSA clutch lever off eBay.
“It’s awesome. It fits me really well, and along with the handlebars, it’s just right. The seat feels comfortable and not like I’m going to fall off the back at all. Taking off is a bit of a challenge though.”
Chris had the Frisco style tank slightly lifted and ordered a ton of items from VPW including the 21-inch and 16-inch wheels, with a lot of the rest coming from eBay.
Calling on Marcus Coleman at Great Southern Smash Repair to find a suitable colour, the pair went through a few options before finding the perfect shade.
“I wanted a specific orange and I kept telling him I wanted a really bright metallic orange but nothing was really right, until he came up with this Smart Car Orange metallic.”
You read that right, this hue originally adorned Swatch-watch-made, road-going, go-carts built for two.
Topping off the motor detailing are the machined down 270 bullet casings.
“Left over after some local vermin eradication,” according to Chris.
After getting the bike finished and up to the big smoke for the Lowdown, the other bike build-off entrants thought his build was pretty good too, winning the Bike Builders Choice at the show.
Finally being finished it’s time to just enjoy the bike and just put some miles under it.
Chris would like to thank Brendon for all his fabrication work, Daniel Cobain for his wiring and engine skills, Murray for his work on the suicide clutch, and Marcus for killing it with the paint.
Story & photos: Brad Miskiewicz
