CRD #21
By Anthony van Someren - 15 Jan 13
Yes it's a Harley, and a very pretty one at that. Not that we have a problem with American iron, far from it, but this is the first of the breed we've seen out of the Cafe Racer Dreams workshop in Madrid, who to us, epitomise the European cafe custom scene, under the watchful eye of Pedro Garcia and his crew.
The donor is a Nightster XL 1200 from 2008, so one of HD's lighter set-ups, and ideal for a trimmed down tracker/racer vibe - as far away as possible from leather tassels, fake hardtail suspension, chrome, flames and extended forks. The brief was all about simplicity and letting the big 1200cc V-twin dominate the whole package.
The 16 and 19 inch wheels have given way to a pair of corner-friendly 17 inchers, that also give a wide choice of grippy rubber with decent profile, so that takes care of a big chunk of the handling, even before the guys slapped on some oily-smooth Ohlins suspension.
The sub frame was completely replaced by a hand made CRD item to accommodate the rear suspension, seat and electrics. Next up, new bars, brake master cylinder, Tarozzi footrests, exhaust from Storz, and CRD tank and seat. The headlamp was relocated with new rear lampson the stubby rear fender.
We think Pedro and his team are extremely proud of this classy and understated build and they have every right to be. If we had a HD in the Bike Shed garage, it would look exactly like this.
...and having compared the finished bike to an original Nightster, Pedro says the bikes are night & day. We're not surprised. Great work.