Lambo Harley
[ CUSTOM ] Yes, there’s a new Harley Sportster. But customisers are still doing incredible work on the old one
If you or I built a custom bike inspired by our dad’s car, it almost certainly wouldn’t look like this. However, Chakkaphan ‘Mark’ Rungsukcharoen’s father drives a Lamborghini Murcielago SV supercar rather than a shagged Citroën Xsara, so it’s not quite so surprising he ended up with this stunning Sportster-based build. ‘I always liked the look of the Lamborghini,’ Mark tells Bike, ‘so I thought to myself “why don't I build a bike that looks like it?”.’ Mark, who runs Fatboy Designs in Thailand, started with a standard Harley Sportster Forty-eight, did some sketches then decided he needed to work with a carbon fibre specialist to get the bodywork he wanted. He was joined by Nattapat Janyapanich and the two of them set about using as much high tech as possible to create the build.
‘My company actually specialises in handcrafted work,’ says Mark. ‘But using CAD and 3D printing is much faster than traditional methods, and we needed to finish the project in 60 days to show it at the Bangkok Hotrod Show. Also, times are changing and we need to use the technology, because it could be an option for our customers, who could perhaps 3D print parts themselves one day.’
Mark and Nattapat 3D scanned the Forty-eight, did the design on screen, then 3D printed the moulds for the carbon parts. These were vacuum formed rather than being laid up the old fashioned way.
‘Customers could 3D print parts themselves one day’
‘The most difficult part was collaborating with another custom shop – it was the first time I’ve done this – and we had to communicate a lot to prevent errors. Also it was difficult creating the surfaces in a 3D program – in the end we used a specialist in automotive design to form the class A surfaces [those are the ones you can see – Ed].’ With the fairings and tail unit completed, the pair designed dozens of smaller components such as air intakes, grills and fins, then 3D printed them. Finally, with the high tech phase over, it was just a case of adding shortened Showa forks, longer Öhlins shocks, Roland Sands Design wheels, Performance Machine brake discs and selections of small adornments to the engine – performance is only marginally improved thanks to an ECU tweak.
‘Lots of people have said the bike gives a new design language to Harley which might appeal to a younger generation,’ says Mark. ‘We think it’s actually not so far from the modern Pan America design.’