Last year, as he had some time on his hands, Ian Solley decided to build 3 bikes to give some marketing push to his small shop in the UK, 7ages Custom Motorcycles. To keep costs as low as possible he decided to build all of them from the same 2009 Harley-Davidson FXD Street Bob model.
The results are interesting because it shows that you can still customize/build an interesting lean and mean machine starting from a Harley factory bike, of course after getting rid from a lot of parts.. So much for savings. Ian’s wife doesn’t have any passion for bikes but avidly study Shakespeare. So, to avoid any Shakespeare type drama at home, Ian had Othello quotes painted on all of them… This tracker style bike kept the Harley 96″ Twin Cam A engine, 6-speed gearbox, belt system and headlight. Front end and pulley/brake combo are from DNA. Seat pan on shock from Chopper Shox. Othello rides on 23″ front and rear 40-spoke stainless rims fro Devon Rim Company. All body work, handlebars and 1 3/4” diameter stainless steel exhaust (with sharks fin end caps) are one-off from 7ages Custom Motorcycles. And if like me you wonder what is silver leafed on the gas tank, it’s a quote from Othello that I am certain you learned in high school and forgot right away: “King of Infinite Space”. Like this custom bike, I suppose.
Love the bike, and another Solley classic. Does it come with a cushion though?
Very cool, as are his others shown on his web site. Clean, stylish and well finished.
These bikes have to be seen and heard in the flesh to appreciate their true beauty. They are pure and raw on the one hand, but sleek and elegant on the other. And the amount of detail that Ian has gone into to source and engineer the parts for the finished articles is really impressive. A new generation of “thinking man’s” custom bikes.
I can’t resist pointing out, however, that the bike featured is in fact the Hamlet bike, the first one having been the Macbeth Bobber. The third bike which I understand is under construction will have the Othello theme.
If ever I am rich enough, I am going to buy one. If not, I’ll nick one while he is on holiday.
that is a nice clean neat looking bike
well done.
Yes, it’s Hamlet. The bike is actually called the Hamlet Tracker: http://www.bikeexif.com/harley-street-bob-custom
The “Infinite Space” quote is from Hamlet himself, and uttered during an argument with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Hat doffed, Ian!
That is SICKK i love it!!!!
Thanks for all the comments – i should own up and say Othello not Hamlet was a mix-up between me and Cyril on the emails and i should have been more specific. Bike No.5 which finishes after Christmas is Othello No.5 – and has “Chaos is come again” on the tank.
Finally quick comment on savings using a new stock bike – i got a 20% discount for buying 3 FXD’s a year ago and since then due to Exchange rates they have gone up about 15%. I have a stack of parts left over to sell on Ebay and should get about 30% of the bike cost back from these.
IAN