1998 Harley 1200 Sportster Bobber

Justin, who runs DP Customs in Phoenix, Arizona, United States made available these pictures of this very clean and straightforward - and beautiful - 1998 Harley 1200 Sportster Bobber motorcycle. Justin also included some "before" pics.

Justin: "1998 1200 Sporty that I just finished for a customer of mine. Only requirement was this customer needed a double seat. Everything else was left up to me. I bobbed the fender, did the suspension, painted the tins, built the exhaust, license plate bracket, etc."

Image of 1998 Sportster Bobber with 1200cc Harley Evo Engine and black wrapped exhaust pipes.

OK, passenger footrests, duo seat, but for the rest this Sportster Bobber is pretty much bare bones. No gauges, no turn signals at the front, and only mini blinkers at the rear.

And a simple yet convincing paint job.

When creating a Bobber, the minimalistic approach always works best to achieve maximum effect.

Photo of 1998 Harley 1200 Sportster Bobber by Justin of DP Customs. 1998 Harley 1200 Sportster Bobber

Before and After the Build - From Sportster to Bobber!

Justin send us some pics showing the bike before he rebuilt it. We always find it very interesting to compare before vs. after photographs, so here they are:

Before:

Image of 1998 Harley 1200 Sporty with ambulance type turn signals.

And after:

Photo of 1998 Sportster Bobber with 1200cc Harley Evo Engine and black wrapped exhaust pipes.

Before:

Image of 1998 Harley 1200 Sportster.

And after:

Photo of 1998 Harley Bobber with 1200cc Sportster Evo Engine. New shocks on the rear lowered the bike almost 2 inches.

Straight Bobber or Custom Bobber?

To us, any Bobber is either a Straight Bobber or a Custom Bobber.

For more information, check out the Bobber Republic Info Pages!

1998 HD Sportster Evo Engine

Image of 1998 1200cc Sportster Evo Engine with black wrap exhaust pipes.

Here's the 1998 1200cc Sportster Evo Engine with the black wrap exhaust pipes. Note how the black rim around the air cleaner makes it look smaller and closer to the bike.

Justin: "The '98 was brought to me as a running bike, so I didn't have to do anything mechanical to the motor. Cosmetically, I just painted the air cleaner, removed the horn and cleaned it up. I made the pipes from sections of mandrel u-bends and straight pipes. I used a MIG to put them together, ground the welds smooth, applied a high temp black ceramic and thermal wrapping. I had to make the pipes work around the rear footpeg (the bike gets 2 riders sometimes)."

Photo of 1998 Sportster 1200cc Evolution motor.

1998 Harley Evo Sportster Bobber - The Movie

You can check out the sound of this Harley 1200cc V-twin by playing this little YouTube video clip:

Note the fire blast at around 32 seconds into the movie!

"Make sure your exhaust is loud enough to make children cry!" - Justin DP

Sporster Bobber Fuel Tank - Skull and Bones

Image of Oldschool Fuel Tank Graphics by Justin of DP Customs. The customer liked skulls and paisley patterns. Justin created the tank graphics by hand and laid them over the machined bare steel of the tank.

Photo of Skull and Bones on 1998 Sportster Bobber by Justin Del Prado.

Skull and Bones

For some obscure reason this image reminds me of the older guy you see in one of those bike shows on TV. I'm not sure whether the association is caused by the good looks or by the friendly face... ;o)