The Evo-powered Harley-Davidson must easily be the most customised of all motorcycles and it’s arguably the engine that saved HD’s bacon. They were made in enormous numbers, it’s rare to see one that’s been left totally stock, and thousands more have had that famous blockhead engine transplanted into all manner of hand-built frames the world over. So, to build an Evo and yet still manage to stand out from the crowd in this day and age is a hell of a feat. But the real reason that Adam Nestor chose the motor for this build was its reliability over other v-twin alternatives. And once the owner of Sweden’s Adam’s Custom Shop had selected his power plant, he was free to unleash his otherworldly talents on a custom ’88 HD Bobber for a client who wanted, nay needed, the absolute bike of his dreams.
We first met Adam all the way back in 2010 when the then 20-year-old had just finished an incredible Moto Guzzi transformation at his Rävlanda, Sweden based workshop. He’d already been spinning the spanners in his own digs for a few years, having decided early on that his love for two-wheels would never be satisfied by working at the local dealer doing oil changes. Since then he’s gone on to stun European crowds with crazy custom builds with bikes of all shapes and sizes, new and old, and from every corner of the globe.
One thing that makes Adam so special is that he can literally do it all, from the mechanical and the electrical to fabrication and paint. For this reason, a Swedish trade magazine had run a feature on the modern Renaissance man, and it was while flicking through this publication that the owner of this bike came to learn of Adam’s immense talent. Despite the three and a half hours that separate them, Thomas would return to the workshop many times, first as the two men came up with the design and then as each major part was executed.
To get the project moving in the right direction, a 1988 Evo-equipped Sportster was found and everything was pulled off and out of the frame. Then with the grinder spinning, Adam attacked every part of it, from modifying the neck to the backbone and cutting everything off past the centre post. To this location, a new shock mount was built with extra reinforcement to ensure that the loads sent through it were spread evenly across the frame. Above the speed hole equipped mount, a new subframe was fabricated and is a signature style of the Swede, being both short and of a twin post design.
With this work completed, the swingarm came in for a radical transformation, with the conversion to a mono-shock tail end taken very seriously. Building onto the stock item, the swingarm now has a more sportbike appearance to it, with large side rails, the right-hand side of which features a cutout for the chain to pass through. To maintain some intrigue, the left side features a slightly different setup, with under and over bracing, and then it’s from this side that an all-new remote reservoir Ohlins shock is mounted. A rear disc is part of the equation, with a cooling duct and ultra-funky bracket to locate the caliper.
The front end was a point of much discussion between Adam and Thomas, and the springer design was something Adam felt would really set the bike off well. Taking all the measurements down, Adam then ordered a W&W springer to his desired dimensions and then used a replica Yamaha TZ dual front drum brake to really add some wow factor! The springer also features a cover, that acts as the start of the bodywork and gives the bike a more modern appearance despite the suspension’s vintage design. The templates for the aluminium, Adam’s metal of choice, are cut from pizza boxes and the fuel tank was to follow.
The split design is a beautiful piece, staying relatively low across the backbone and then developing its size with muscular shoulders that run down to the top of the engine. Inside it’s a two-piece affair, with a tidy look achieved by housing oil on one side and fuel on the other. The beautiful leather work was handled by One Stop Shop in Gothenburg, the only part outsourced, and this gave Adam time to lay down the stunning blue paintwork; a colour he convinced Thomas was the way to go.
The raw metal look of the rims, headlight support and machined controls really help to break it up and find the perfect balance between a visual of mechanical and metalwork mastery. The engine is again where these two areas are meshed together brilliantly, with the new Mikuni carb sucking through a machined filter with a brass adornment. More machined covers with brass additions neatly dot the motor and are made to feel right at home next to the milled mid controls.
The exhaust is a work of art all on its own, with the custom headers running tight to the drive train, before being let loose via a handmade triangular muffler, with a machined and meshed off end cap. Amazing detail can be seen across the build, but it’s the way it all comes together that makes this Evo such a remarkable feat.
Thomas is of course one very happy man and we can only imagine what will exit the mind and pass the hands of Adam next, Swedish bike building is really in a purple patch.
