Initially conceived as a spicy mixture of Sportster and big-twin elements, it’s no shock the Harley-Davidson Dyna has develop into a hooligan staple on the streets in the present day. The Dyna served as a lean intermediate for 27 years earlier than being absorbed into the Softail line after 2018, and should you ask us, the absence of a twin-shock, big-twin cruiser continues to be felt in the present day.
With such an extended manufacturing run, Dynas might be discovered nearly anyplace, that’s the excellent news, and the typical 20-year-old bike might be had for round $5,000—even much less should you’re keen to place within the work. Moreover, the aftermarket for these bikes is WIDE, and the twin-shock association is usually a neater avenue for modification than the Softail.
Perhaps you don’t see your self as a Harley man, or perhaps a Carhartt-clad Dyna bro, however we’re sure you’ll discover one thing to envy amongst our high Harley-Davidson Dyna customs.
Sureshot’s 1997 FXDL ‘DST’ “Slender and thin customs are the type of my store,” says Takuya Aikawa, and this 1997 FXDL wears all of the hallmarks of the Chiba, Japan-based Sureshot’s model. Sporting a customized Softail-inspired rear suspension and powered by a 96 ci massive twin, there’s clearly extra to this Dyna than meets the attention—the winner of high honors on the Yokohama Sizzling Rod Customized Present.
The idea for the construct was to seamlessly combine a Softail-style rear suspension rather than the Dyna’s twin-shock rear, all whereas preserving the linear spine of the previous rigid-frame HDs. In keeping with the idea, Aikawa calls this constructed ‘DST’, quick for Dyna Softail.
In search of one thing a bit extra unique than HD’s personal Softail elements, Aikawa sourced a Ducati S4R swingarm and reworked it closely to suit the Dyna. A mono-shock from Racing Bros in Taiwan suspends the entire setup, and it’s mounted on full show between the seat and hand-made aluminum gasoline tank. A extra svelte tubular spine replaces the inventory sq. tube, and the downtubes had been modified to maintain the chassis’ rigid-frame vibe.
Alongside these strains, Aikawa match the DST with a customized set of one-off wheels sized 21F/18R—his favored ratio for skinny choppers. Fascinating items in their very own proper, each are fabricated from a number of machined items, with the spokes offset to 1 aspect and the brake calipers and hubs contained inside the width of the edges. New triple timber assist hold the thin search for entrance, and the customized minimalist nacelle honors old-school HDs with a new-school twist. [Kazuo Matsumoto]
MB Cycles’ 2016 Dyna Low Rider S ‘Cross’ Heidelberg, Germany-based MB Cycles is not any stranger to customized Harleys, however this excessive and mighty Dyna Low Rider S was actually a diversion from their regular low-slung choppers and bobbers.
The impetus for the scrambler-inspired Low Rider, dubbed Cross, happened when a buyer got here to MB for a customized Harley however didn’t have an actual type in thoughts. “He was once knowledgeable filth bike rider, so I proposed the concept of creating one thing with a little bit of off-road character—and sufficient energy to have enjoyable,” says builder Martin Becker.
A 110 ci Twin Cam-powered 2016 Dyna match the invoice completely, and Martin warmed the engine with a set of Andrews cams, a Screamin’ Eagle air cleaner and a two-into-one exhaust from MCJ with a valve to regulate its quantity on the fly.
From there, Martin set to work giving the chassis a severe altitude adjustment with the addition of an entire Rebuffini Indianapolis Particular entrance finish, and an prolonged swingarm from Krüger & Junginger with Öhlins remote-reservoir shocks.
So as to add some angle to the Dyna’s geometry, Martin fabbed up a brand new rear subframe with a tidy rear loop to assist the customized two-up saddle. Two pairs of gnarly pegs from Rebuffini and the moto-style bars from Biltwell reinforce the bike’s off-roady aspirations, as do the meaty Bridgestone AX41 knobbies. Whereas Martin indicated {that a} set of spoked wheels from Kineo would ultimately be put in on the Cross, we’d enterprise to say the inventory wheels have by no means appeared higher. [MB Cycles]
ICON’s 2013 Dyna ‘Home made Sin’ “As ugly as Home made Sin and twice as quick, she, like most ICON builds, is an acquired style,” says ICON’s design director, Kurt Walter. To his level, you’d be hard-pressed to discover a much less typical Dyna, as this one sports activities an amalgamation of Honda bodywork, a Ducati entrance finish and an enormous, hanking 132 hp S&S T124. Willed into existence by the velocity freaks at ICON, ‘Home made Sin’ is the last word HD antiheroine.
With its insanely extensive stance and hunched-over posture, it’s exhausting to think about that the bones of this bike had been as soon as a 2013 Dyna. ICON loaded the body with a recent T124 Black Version engine from S&S Cycle, displacing 124 ci and good for 132 hp inventory. This one’s been hopped up even additional with S&S add-ons, customized pipes and what ICON calls “cantrips and darkish magic.”
The elephant within the room is clearly that entrance finish, although, and it’s a very wild piece of Ducati historical past. Per ICON, Ducati had made these tremendous extensive yolks obtainable within the early 2000s for a factory-sponsored Monster bike build-off, and ICON in some way ended up with a set on the shelf. It’s an off-the-wall look, however purposeful when paired with an aluminum swingarm from Roaring Toyz, Nitron piggyback shocks and a pair of 16-inch Abe forged alloys.
If that wasn’t sufficient to petrify your common hog fanatic, the bodywork actually will probably be, because it’s constructed from Honda leftovers. A ’69 Honda Dream donated its fork shrouds and quirky headlamp, and should you look carefully, there’s an ashtray the place the Honda’s speedometer used to reside. The tank comes from an early-80s CB900F Supersport, and it’s modified with twin endurance-style fillers. The tail part can also be based mostly on the CB900F design, however ICON modified its dimensions in CAD and 3D printed and glassed a brand new one.
As soon as completed, ICON gave Home made Sin a most becoming break-in on the defunct Center Georgia Raceway—pitting their V-twin creation towards a 355 ci V8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo inventory automobile. If the impetus for the undertaking is misplaced on you, do your self a favor and benefit from the subsequent 2 minutes and 36 seconds of Days of Thunderdome. [ICON Motosports]
NCT’s 2009 FXD Dyna Tremendous Glide ‘Eleanor’ Whether or not it’s the unique 1974 H. B. Halicki model or Cage/Jolie 2000 remake, most each motorhead is aware of ‘Eleanor’ from Gone in Gone in 60 Seconds. She’s a muscle-bound Mustang, that may outrun absolutely anything, and the inspiration is sort of obvious in NCT Bikes’ 2009 Dyna Tremendous Glide construct.
NCT’s head honcho David Widmann had an entire beauty transformation in thoughts, however not earlier than the chassis acquired an angle adjustment from fabricator Manuel Tilke. The rear subframe was shortened closely, now simply lengthy sufficient to encompass the solo seat and assist the Öhlins piggyback shocks. The entrance finish was upgraded similarly, with an inverted fork from Showa USD. Befitting its identify, the Dyna now has a purposeful, straight-line stance.
The 96 ci V-twin was deemed as much as the duty after an entire overhaul, and the crew at NCT sauced issues up a bit with a brand new air cleaner and customized pipes with Akrapovič mufflers. Whereas the entrance header hugs the body, the rear header snakes over the transmission and up between the slim rear fender and shock—doubtless one of many extra becoming functions of header wrap.
NCT raided the shelf for Eleanor’s gasoline tank, a inventory HD merchandise taken off an earlier HD Road 750 construct. The remainder of the bodywork consists of sharp angular fenders and aspect covers, all completed in bronze with blue accents. The bars are carbon from LSL, and the bike has a full suite of motogadget electronics.
Whereas Eleanor was a important attraction at Europe’s Bike Week again in 2017, David couldn’t resist making the bike a day by day driver afterward. “She’s a very comfy and highly effective bike,” he says. [NCT Motorcycles]
Sureshot’s 1998 FXD Dyna Tremendous Glide ‘Section III’ There’s no mistaking Takuya Aikawa’s type in a customized Harley-Davidson. Past the signature slim stature and show-stopping element work, Sureshot’s HDs are all the time a pleasant mixture of one thing previous and one thing new. Armed with a hand shifter and a customized entrance finish that suggestions its hat to Harley’s old-school springers, Sureshot’s 1998 Dyna Tremendous Glide is a feast for the eyes. One which earned him one more title on the Yokohama Sizzling Rod Customized Present.
Like final 12 months’s Mooneyes winner, Aikawa began with one other Dyna, this time a 1998 FXD Tremendous Glide, and started working on one other mono-shock rear conversion. The rear swingarm was made customized from aluminum and is suspended by a RacingBros shock. Aikawa reworked the body extensively to taper again to the brand new rear, and the chunky OE spine was changed with oval tubing. That stated, the brand new entrance finish is actually the spotlight of the construct.
The design is instantly harking back to Harley’s leading-link forks of the rigid-frame period, with an old-school high clamp and the underside yolk built-in into the fork legs. As an alternative of springs, a pair of adjustable RacingBros air shocks present dampening. Whereas Aikawa states that the setup took quite a lot of fine-tuning to work correctly, it’s actually among the finest customized forks we’ve laid eyes on.
The one-off billet aluminum wheels (19F/18R) are textbook Sureshot, and whereas they’ve the looks of ordinary nine-spoke alloys, a more in-depth look reveals a snowflake sample within the billet. The entrance rotor mounts on to the wheel itself, whereas the again brake hides behind the sprocket, leaving the wheels utterly unobstructed from the fitting.
Aikawa warmed over the powertrain with a set of billet aluminum cylinder heads from Pace and Science, a Keihin FCR41 downdraft twin carburetor with velocity stacks and an Ultima 2” belt drive. Including to the classic enchantment is a handshifter of Aikawa’s personal design, constructed from connecting rods and CNC-machined linkages.
‘Section III’ is a machine you would spend hours pouring over the main points on, becoming for a machine that took dwelling the Mooneyes ‘Finest Element Work’ trophy. [Kazuo Matsumoto for YENC Magazine]
