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Harley Sportster Cafe Racer "Slate Hammer" by Rough Crafts

Taiwanese workshop Rough Crafts owner Winston Yeh build this Sportster Cafe Racer for a customer/friend who is the owner a clothing brand “TAKI”.

Slate Hammer is based on a 2012 Harley-Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight, which has been fitted with an S&S Super-E carb conversion for extra airflow. The blacked-out engine is also sporting Rough Crafts’ own finned air cleaner, plus beautiful pushrod collars from 2 Abnormal Sides. Immaculately fabricated headers are hooked up to a muffler custom-made by the Italian company Spark.

As Winston explains it "The key component to the Slate Hammer is the vintage replica Dunstall GT half fairing by GFTP. It was the perfect size, but the windscreen was too high for the slick look I was after. So I heated the screen and tilted it lower until it sat how I wanted". The bikes Cafe style tank with knee dents and an engine hugging base actually started out life as a stock Sportster tank. As it turned out with some chopping and changing the stock unit could be transformed into perfect Cafe style tank mounted nice and low to hug the V-twin and follow the lines of the front fairing.

To open up the rear of the frame Winston decided to relocate the oil tank into the tail section and tuck a lithium battery away under the tank and the remaining electrics went under the bellypan in a custom made, water tight stainless steel box.

Winston then looked to US based custom parts manufacturer The Speed Merchant for a riser-less top clamp solution which they mounted a set of Sportster 883R to. A special mix of parts from San Diego Customs and Lyndall Racing Brakes was used to complete the wheel set up and a pair of Progressive springs went on the rear end for improved stability. The fuel system was also swapped to run a Super E S&S carb for a touch of old school engineering.

The final design touches to the build came in the form of leather work by Back Drop in Japan, silver push rod covers by jewellery experts 2Abnormal Sides and the slate grey with silver foil pinstripe paintwork by the talented Air Runner Custom Paint workshop.

Source returnofthecaferacers & Rough Crafts