Photo: Lord Drake Kustoms
Founded by Fran Manen, Lord Drake Kustoms (LDK) has long been among the top dogs of the bike-modding scene. They currently have facilities in both Miami and Malaga, Spain, where you’ll find them building anything from wild choppers to sporty cafe racers. LDK never stuck to one particular style, so just about any genre you can think of is fair game.
The custom gem we’re about to look at fuses scrambler styling with pinches of tracker flavor beautifully, and it is based on a Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 from the model-year 2010. With the motorcycle taken apart and placed on their workbench, the Lord Drake squad started by shortening its subframe and reinforcing it along the way. Then, they busied themselves with fabricating a new tracker-style tail.
It encases a looped tubular structure inside, cleverly built to offer enough strength and rigidity for two-up riding. The whole construction bolts to the Sportster’s modified subframe seamlessly, topped with separate rider and pillion saddles wrapped in the same brown leather upholstery. A small LED light is attached to the tail section’s underside, together with a minimalistic license plate holder for an ultra-clean look.
The perforated, cross-stitched leatherwork is flanked by the OEM side covers from Harley, but these were fitted with custom-made oval number boards. Instead of regular graphics, they feature neat cut-outs with mesh screens forming the number 69 – cheeky! We still find the factory fuel tank center-stage, but there’s more handmade goodness for us to look at up north. Down low, you’ll notice bespoke fork guards and a tiny fender built from scratch.
Things get even more interesting up top, with a third number plate and twin LED projectors installed at different heights to form an integral part of the design. A drilled protective guard is attached to the frame right in front of the engine, and a whole load of elbow grease was then put toward the mechanical side of things. First, LDK’s crosshair landed on the suspension.
As the Sportster’s standard equipment wouldn’t make the cut, it was promptly ditched in favor of inverted WP forks and adjustable piggyback shocks from Ohlins. The brakes were upgraded with Brembo calipers fore and aft, while the stock wheels have been swapped with lighter aftermarket parts hugged by Metzeler dual-sport rubber. In the cockpit, you’ll notice a small speedo fronting a low but wide handlebar.
Aftermarket bar-end turn signals are also present in that area, but there’s no rear-view mirror to speak of. The specimen’s V-twin engine received one of Lord Drake Kustoms’ proprietary air cleaners and a bespoke high-mounted exhaust ending in a SuperTrapp muffler. Finally, the paintwork comprises an off-white base and accents done in a variety of hues, most notably red and light blue.
It encases a looped tubular structure inside, cleverly built to offer enough strength and rigidity for two-up riding. The whole construction bolts to the Sportster’s modified subframe seamlessly, topped with separate rider and pillion saddles wrapped in the same brown leather upholstery. A small LED light is attached to the tail section’s underside, together with a minimalistic license plate holder for an ultra-clean look.
The perforated, cross-stitched leatherwork is flanked by the OEM side covers from Harley, but these were fitted with custom-made oval number boards. Instead of regular graphics, they feature neat cut-outs with mesh screens forming the number 69 – cheeky! We still find the factory fuel tank center-stage, but there’s more handmade goodness for us to look at up north. Down low, you’ll notice bespoke fork guards and a tiny fender built from scratch.
Things get even more interesting up top, with a third number plate and twin LED projectors installed at different heights to form an integral part of the design. A drilled protective guard is attached to the frame right in front of the engine, and a whole load of elbow grease was then put toward the mechanical side of things. First, LDK’s crosshair landed on the suspension.
As the Sportster’s standard equipment wouldn’t make the cut, it was promptly ditched in favor of inverted WP forks and adjustable piggyback shocks from Ohlins. The brakes were upgraded with Brembo calipers fore and aft, while the stock wheels have been swapped with lighter aftermarket parts hugged by Metzeler dual-sport rubber. In the cockpit, you’ll notice a small speedo fronting a low but wide handlebar.
Aftermarket bar-end turn signals are also present in that area, but there’s no rear-view mirror to speak of. The specimen’s V-twin engine received one of Lord Drake Kustoms’ proprietary air cleaners and a bespoke high-mounted exhaust ending in a SuperTrapp muffler. Finally, the paintwork comprises an off-white base and accents done in a variety of hues, most notably red and light blue.
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