Harley Davidson expands its range for the year 2012 with the addition of two new motorcycles, which follow the recently unveiled Dyna Switchback: they are called Sportster Seventy-Two and Softail Slim. The Sportster seventy-Two somewhat retrieves the legacy of the old Sportster Custom, with a large old school metal spoke wheel at the front and specifically dedicated paint job, whereas the Softail Slim loses the chrome bits in favour of the black color, keeping the frills down to a minimum in order to retain that wicked look that was typical of the 1950s bobbers.

Describing the Seventy-Two, Harley-Davidson emphasizes that the model is inspired by the chopper’s pioneering years, when the bikes used to come with flashy colors and loads of chrome bits, but were also deprived of all the superfluous parts in order to make them sleeker and lighter. In fact, looking at the motorbikes of that period, one cannot help but notice how stripped they were, almost like pushbikes: that style of custom bikes is typically American and was originated in California. One of the most distinctive features of the Sportster Seventy-Two is its Hard Candy Big Red Flake paint, which can be found on the small fuel tank, tail and front mudguard, which covers the big 21″ Dunlop tyre with white side (typical of the custom bikes of the 70s). The model is powered by an air-cooled 1200 cc V-Twin Evolution engine - which we have already seen on all the latest Sportster models - and provides a peak torque of 96 Nm at 3,500 rpm. Besides, it makes use of the advanced Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI), which waves goodbye to carburettors and boasts increased reliability and less routine maintenance.

With its big, fat tyres and the minimalistic design, the Softail Slim instead is a real ‘bobber’. It uses certain elements that are more reminiscent of a Sportster (i.e the fuel tank) but everything on this bike seems to underline its essentiality. After all, this is exactly what H-D had in mind when they got started with the project: taking a Softail and put it on a diet. The Softail Slim has a smaller rear wheel with a shorter mud guard, and leaves an empty space between saddle and tank that allows riders to admire the upper side of the engine while traveling. The bike is powered by an air-cooled 1,690 cc Twin Cam 103B unit with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI), which is mated to a Six-Speed Cruise Drive transmission and produces a maximum torque of 132 Nm at 3,250 rpm.

View the full Harley Davidson Softail Slim 2012 photo gallery

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And here is the third and final chapter of our photo gallery dedicated to the most impressive custom bikes on display at the 2012 Motor Bike Expo in Verona, Italy. This time we present you with a slew of spiced up Harleys, some intriguing one-off prototype, a bunch of colorful Vespas, some old-school piece and then some. Each one of them seems to ooze passion from every bolt, and if you are into this kind of special motorcycles as well, we are pretty sure that you are going to enjoy this last set of pics as much as we did. By the way, if you have missed the first two episodes, here are the direct links to Part 1 and Part 2.

View th full Custom bikes at the Motor Bike Expo 2012 - Part 3 photo gallery

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Italian manufacturer Headbanger Motorcycles did not miss out on the opportunity provided by the 2012 Motor Bike Expo to show off its most recent creations, and once again they surely did not disappoint the audience. The model that probably got the most attention at HB’s massive booth is the Special LowRide (pictured), which has been designed with and named after a popular Italian custom bike magazine. The bike has been unveiled with a proper ceremony during the opening day of the event in Verona, and is based on a standard Headbanger Gipsy Soul - equipped with a 1,530 cc (93 cubic inches) Shovel S&S engine - whose aesthetics have been created by renowned designer Oberdan Bezzi with input coming from both Headbanger and the mag’s staff. The outcome of this collaboration is a magnificent custom bike with a design inspired by the racers of the 70s, which comes with some premium parts such as magnesium wheels by Marvic, brake system by Discacciati and an ‘homemade’ cast aluminum frame courtesy of Metal Bike Garage. To top it off, the paint job was performed by specialist Kaos Design, which adopted certain specific procedures in order to emphasize its ’70s racer’ looks.

Another pretty interesting ‘newcomer’ at the Headbanger Motorcycles’s stand in Verona is a special version of the High Flyin‘ turned into a sort of “cafè racer“ with the simple addition of a mudguard at the rear and new handlebars. These simple modifications change the overall line of the bike quite significantly, making it even more ‘custom’ and unique. We just cannot help but notice how fast this young manufacturer is growing, but if you want to know more Headbanger Motorcycles just check out their official website.

View the full HB al Motor Bike Expo 2012 photo gallery

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A promise is a promise. In the wake of the good response to the first part, here is the second installment of a special photo gallery dedicated the most interesting custom bikes displayed at the 2012 Motor Bike Expo in Verona, photographed on the spot by our friends from Motoblog.it. We got some pretty interesting model here too, but we invite you to get ready for the grand finale: the third and final part of the gallery is already waiting in the wings..

View the full Custom bikes at the Motor Bike Expo 2012 - Part 2 photo gallery

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Verona’s Motor Bike Expo has a reputation in Italy for the astounding number of custom motorcycles, choppers and cafe racers that every year show up at this event, coming from every corner of the world. Many of these bikes have been designed and built by specialists with the specific goal of showing up there and make an impression on all enthusiasts and fellow artists alike. Here is a first lot of pictures of some of these bikes, a first installment of the models that caught the attention of our mates from Motoblog.it. Just looking at them we can feel the passion and dedication that their makers have put in their work, and we obviously have the utmost respect for what they do. Part 2 and part 3 will follow soon.

View the full Custom bikes at the Motor Bike Expo 2012 - Part 1 photo gallery

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Sitting amongst the sleek Italian racing bikes of MV Agusta, Ducati and Bimota and the super customized choppers in the year’s Motor Bike Expo is the the biggest motorcycle ever built, the XXL Chopper created by Italian company Regio Design.

This monstrous chopper is over six meters long, over three and half meters high and weighs almost three tonnes and is equipped with V8 5000cc Chevrolet engine.

Continue reading: Up close with the Regio Design XXL Chopper - Live @ Motor Bike Expo

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American motorcycle manufacturer Victory showed up at the 2011 EICMA without actual new products but with a consistent number of upgrades of its existing models. The main thing is that they have equipped the whole range with the 106CI engine (which stands for 106 cubic inches, 1731 cc) including the High Ball, the bobber with huge ape hanger handlebars based on the Vegas model. Victory then offers a huge variety of new color schemes, some of which have been designed by renowned aftermarket company Arlen Ness: you can check them all out in our photo gallery.

The 106CI is a V-Twin engine with 4-valve overhead cam delivering 97 hp at 5,000 rpm and 153 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm, and in 2012 all Victory motorcycles will use it coupled with 6-speed overdrive transmission and standard ABS. Besides, Victory’s Cross Country, Cross Roads, Cross Roads Special LE,Vision, Vegas and Hammer received some slightly modified ergonomics in an attempt to make the riding experience more comfortable.

View the full 2012 Victory line up

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Zero Engineering is a well-renowned name in custom bikes land, therefore expectations are high every time a new model gets launched. Zero is also the company that makes the Samurai Chopper line, building its solid reputation and prestige on impeccable quality and old-school looks. So, if you are looking for something really new, this might not be the right place.

This is the reason why, at a first glance, this brand new Type 9 might look like an old motorcycle to some - which is not necessarily a bad thing, obviously - but taking a closer look at the heavy front fork for instance, or maybe at the rear lights, you will see that they are just modern interpretations of the typical 40s and 50s American motorbike aesthetics.

Don’t let the appearance mislead you then as there is a lot of modern technology in the Samurai Chopper Type 9. The most remarkable feature has to be the brand new chassis featuring a 4 link rear suspension that keeps the wheel firmly on the ground. This is actually quite an innovative solution, that required two years to get properly developed. Just like all other Zero Engineering bikes, the Type 9 will get “tailor-made” according to the requests of its future owner, who will be able to choose which paint-job and even screws to use.

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This $50,000 9/11 Memorial chopper was customed designed by Paul Teutul Jr. of American Chopper, to commemorate the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and was presented by New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

It was commissioned by 9/11 Memorial Board member Daniel R. Tishman and donated to the Memorial, while a second bike will be built and raffled off in January 2012, with proceeds benefiting the Memorial.

If you don’t want to hear Bloomberg doing the Easy Rider-born to ride speech, hit the five minute mark to hear Teutul Jr. describe the bike which includes hand poured glass wheels, 24 carat gold plating and the gas tank that mimics Santiago Calatrava’s transportation hub.

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One of the US’ historic motorcycle brands, Indian, was ready to disappear from the market recently before being bought by Polaris Industries last April. Polaris bought the Indian brand clearly with the Chief model in mind as it was definitely one of the more interesting prospects at the time.

As such, Polaris decided to continue with the Indian Chief project and simply moved the production to Spirit Lake facilities in Iowa, with the Victory line as well, and has now released these images of the first Indian Chief produced by Polaris Industries. The model is highly similar to the pre-Polaris one and no revolutions are planned until at least 2013.

That year marks the start of a new business plan for Polaris and Indian brand motorcycles, which should also see some new product revealed. The only touch-ups on the current Indian Chief involve additional chrome accents and a new colour scheme. Dealership distribution is expected to occur for October this year.

First Indian Chief by Polaris

Source | Motorcycle USA

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