The DualSportster, as the builder calls it, is a 1983 Sportster with a 0.010″ overbore for the current 1010cc of displacement. He added remote reservoir shocks, a skid plate, hand guards, serrated pegs, braided SS front brake lines, longer fork tubes, light guards, and a Supertrapp exhaust.
I came across this one for sale on eBay while looking for something interesting. We’ve covered these quite a few times on The Kneeslider and it’s obvious those of you who want some high performance MX bike are not attracted to a build like this, so for those of you in that category, please move along, there’s nothing to see here. For the rest of us who think these are pretty cool, it looks like the owner made what could be a fun bike. You probably shouldn’t plan to do any racing with it but if you have some dirt roads nearby, it could make for some nice weekend time. It also provides lots of ideas in case you’re thinking of putting one of these together on your own.
Link: DualSportster – auction over
Oldtimer says
This is what I love about motorcycles and motorcycling in general. While it may not be everybodys “cup of tea”, the owner took what he had, made it something different, for no other reason that he had an idea and wasn’t afraid to pursue it. And he did it without spending thousands of dollars.
Now he’s selling it to help finance a motorcycle trip to New Zealand.
This is what it’s all about. On to the next project/adventure! More power to you man!!
James McBride says
Really like this build, It’s an offroad bike for men!
todd says
what to do with your leftover chopper forks.
Not that this is the best rendition but I truly believe Harley is missing out on a tidy little segment of the population who want this sort of thing. Sure, it’s no more of a dirt bike than a Triumph Scrambler is but to some, that’s more than they need. Go ahead Harley, keep losing your sales to Triumph, BMW, KTM, and Kawasaki…
-todd
dannyb says
cool concept, but the super long front forks are kind of overkill. Set up like a hopped up triumph scambler, and it could be a great concept for harley to endorse.
Zippy says
Todd, HD is not losing sales to Triumph, BMW, KTM, and Kawasaki…Harley sells every bike it builds. It simply does not build this style of bike. Nor does it need, to. It controls over %60 of its target market. Yes almost 2/3rds of cruisers sold over 700cc are HD.
This article is not about HD or its sales, it is about this bike. When was the last time you posted that Triumph, BMW, KTM, and Kawasaki…were losing sales to HD for not building air cooled V twin cruisers.
Jeez, every segment turns into a Harley love/hate, bash/praise. Well the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about!
Ken says
@ Zippy
There a lot of us that end up bashing HD because we feel they ignore us, not becuase they are successful. Personally, I wish Victory would wake up and take notice of what HD is missing and pick up the slack. If either company would produce a few lower CC, light weight standards in both single and V-twin engines, they could bring a lot of us into the fold.
Here’s the thing I don’t get about HD in particular. A large part of their sales come from the customization parts. They could build a nice 750 twin to go along with the Blast’s thumper and sell kits (or factory ordered customs) to make scramblers, street trackers, cafe racer or dual sports. Throw a few more options for high or low end components. They don’t have to stock everything, so you can’t say the overhead would be to much. Source out the parts to local manufactures instead of building it in house. Just assemble it in house or sell individual parts to dealerships.
todd says
Zippy, Triumph, BMW, and Kawasaki were losing sales to H-D until they added air-cooled twin-cylinder cruisers to their own lineup. Ever hear of the America, or Thunderbird, or Speedmaster? Does R1200C ring a bell? How about any number of Kawasakis from Eliminators to Vulcans? KTM, not so much. They were losing sales to H-D until they built these bikes. Now, for every one of those tens of thousands of bikes sold, H-D lost a sale.
By that reasoning, Yes, Harley is losing sales to its competitors because they are not building some models that compete with their competitor. It’s pretty ignorant to think they wouldn’t want a piece of that pie.
-todd
rob says
Reminds me of that Ducati beach racer. And he’s going to the place that was made. He’s going to love NZ.
beezartic says
But its still a damm Harley Harleys stoped being cool when they went OHV
SimonK says
They went from OHV to OHC. Who cares?
todd says
He meant they went from an L-head (flat head) to OHV. Their move to OHC (V-Rod) was not very popular either.
-todd
sluggish says
I wonder if direct injection and multiple spark plugs could get a flathead clean enough to pass current emission standards? I doubt the compression ratio could be raised enough to get modern levels of horsepower, but ~50 hp ought to be possible out of a couple liters of displacement. Keep the rev limit under 4k and you’d even be able to use pretty lightweight parts…
Eric says
I’d rock that. Unless and until you’ve actually ridden both, who’s to say it’s any more or less effective off road than, say, a BMW R1200GS?
There have plenty of articles here that have made me scratch my head and say, “why the hell would you…” But I understand and appreciate the fact that there are people out there who have said, “why the hell wouldn’t you…” and then gone out and done it.
oldtimer says
Oh good. I was afraid for a moment there that this would not degenerate into the usual and predictable overwrought, inane, and vacuous Harley argument.
Scintillating guys. Really good stuff. Fascinating………..
Sportster Mike says
Nice bike .. wouldn’t want to take a jump on it
Oh all right I’d jump on it, just not sure about my landing..
Cricket box on I think.. just in case
and have you all seen the previous posting (a while back) of the Bar Luca off road rubber mount Sportster – which is more my cup of tea – off road capability but not too extreme (and equivalent to the Triumph Scrambler)
Phoebe says
I think it’s cool, but the only thing I don’t like about it is that it still looks like a Sportster! I’m sure that appeals to many, but I just don’t like the way most Sportsters look, or most Harleys for that matter (unless it’s been made into a cafe, scrambler, tracker or standard).
leston says
i’d ride the hell out of it.
B50 Jim says
Why not? It’s not exactly a nimble off-roader but it could take a foray into the boonies for a fun afternoon. Most Jeeps never see the dirt but that doesn’t stop consumers from buying them. And, as others here have pointed out, an R 1200 GS isn’t any smaller or lighter, and it’s considered a great dual-sport machine. BTW I love the rear fender! It’s just the right touch of whimsy. Good workmanship overall.
gildasd says
Totally stupid and irrelevant bike.
I want to make one 🙂
mxs says
Good luck with the rims, if you really meant to use it for off-road.
Erik says
This is what happens when you leave a Sportster and a Honda XR250 alone in the garage too long… Not my cup of tea but I’m sure its mommy loves it.
Jason Meyer says
I love the fact that the owner had the sack to build something they really want. I am not a fan of this creation, but just the fact he built it is steller.
dannyb says
Zippy- Triumph has never built a v-twin or anything like a harley clone.
todd says
Triumph (God bless ’em) currently has no less than 6 bikes built to go after the Harley market and none of them are a Bonneville or a Speed Triple.
-todd
mule says
In the name of safety, I would really prefer to see a bit bigger exhaust heat sheild.
FREEMAN says
The end result of this project looks really good. Nicely done.
B50 Jim says
Harley simply isn’t into “small” bikes. Big machines are in its DNA, and anything smaller than 900 ccs isn’t considered. It has nothing to do with market share or who makes what; H-D is the big American-motorcycle maker, and that’s that. It sells everything it can make as it is; an extra line is a huge investment the company doesn’t need to make.
Tin Man says
B50 Jim, God knows I’m a Harley fan, I own several. But even I am starting to get bored with the same old same old from the MoCo… If I was shopping for a new bike today the only HD I’d even look at is the XR1200R, and my local dealer don’t even have one in stock. Ducati, BMW and Triumph are much smaller manufacturers, yet they have no trouble bringing new products to market, HD needs to get with the program!! Sporty Scrambler, Blast powered thumper, V-Rod Tour bike? none of these would cost much to bring to market.
Rotor says
Looks cool other than the rear fender .
MARK 5 says
Pretty kool lookin!!
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2009/10/09/harley-davidson-sportster-off-road-conversions/
Harvey Mushman says
I’m the knucklehead who built it. Thanks for all the comments. I think they are all spot on. It’s certainly not as good- or expensive- as the other nice conversions here on the kneeslider. Those others are the ones that inspired me. This was a low buck build. I was going to graft a YZ490 front end onto it but it was too much work to do properly or safely. I found some NOS 8″ over fork tubes and used them as the very easy way to do it without fabbing handlebar mounts, triple trees, and brake mounts. It was never intended to compete with GS1200s but it actually felt more nimble than my brother’s GS. It is what it is. It does get more attention than $30K chromed hogs that mostly look alike. I never figured that it would get this much internet fame. I hope the next owner has plenty of fun with it. Me? I’ll be having my fun with my FJR1300 and whatever I end up renting in New Zealand.
Phoebe says
Nice job, Harvey!
B50 Jim says
Harvey:
Live the dream!
randy says
Good on you HM!
But back to the eternal question.
Why can’t or won’t HD come out with a nice little street legal XR750??? You know <400 pounds, 60 HP, slides nice…
I barf on the XR1200.
I have a 2003 XR883/1200, it's OK for putting around on. but too nice and too much money in to cut up, oops, convert to a "dualsport" .
Neo Dutch says
Harvey Mushman is the psuedonym that Steve McQueen used when going incognito.
Harvey Mushman says
Sssshhhh! People don’t need to know that Steve McQueen is alive. I spent too much time signing autographs and just want to be left alone to ride.
Nicolas GR says
The aesthetic result, could be better, still holding the budget low…I’ve seen “dual sports” or “off-road harleys” that they look REALLY good…Anyway, the looks are always a subjective matter…+++ for the effort and work of the builder!