Harley-Davidson Motor Company was designing and building motorcycles to withstand the rigors of off-road riding more than 100 years ago — back when American soldiers needed their motorcycles to survive on the battlefields of France. Fast forward a century, and today’s garage, shed, and professional builders commonly turn to Harley’s Sportster, Big Twin, and new liquid-cooled Street series for custom scrambler builds.
While these bikes are quite heavy for single-track riding, they can be made into capable desert sleds and dirt road touring machines. Below are some of our favorite Harley scrambler builds.
The Mojavian: Aermacchi-Harley Baja 100 Scrambler - Desert Rattler: 70s-Style Two-Stroke Scrambler from Utopeia Moto… Back in 1960, Harley-Davidson bought a controlling interest in Italian firm Aermacchi, a former aircraft manufacturer that turned to producing motorcycles after World War II. The Italian […]
Psychobilly Quad: A Harley Ironhead Four-Wheeler! - As Seen at The One Moto: Harley Quad by Ed Brink… For the first time in the history of The One Moto Show, one of our very favorite builds didn’t have just two wheels, […]
Harley-Davidson XL1200 “Adventure Sportster” - A Go-Anywhere Sportster from FrenchMoto… Even as Harley-Davidson promotes their liquid-cooled Sportster S, the air-cooled Evolution-powered Sportster is experiencing something of a renaissance in racing circles. Built from 1986 to 2020, the Evo Sportster is […]
Strollster: Custom 883 Sportster - Impala-blue XLH883 Sportster from RULER… Since its release in 1957, the Harley-Davidson Sportster has proved itself as the most adaptable motorcycle in the Motor Company’s bloodline — and perhaps the most versatile American motorcycle of […]
On The Mark: Harley Sportster 1200S Scrambler - MX-inspired Sportster scrambler from Purpose Built Moto… Last week, we featured the Sportster 1200 Adventure Scrambler from Australia’s Purpose Built Moto, built for workshop owner Tom Gilroy to ride across Tasmania for the film Wide […]
Tasmanian Tractor: Sportster Adventure Scrambler - From Purpose Built Moto: The Ultimate Adventure Sportster Scrambler… Back in 2019-2020, Tom Gilroy of Australia’s Purpose Built Moto faced the challenge of building a custom scrambler capable of handling one very strenuous cross-country test […]
Bultracker 57: 1200 Sportster Scrambler - Francisco Alí Manén of Lord Drake Kustoms is one of those builders who’s successfully made the transition from the heavy chrome choppers so popular in the early 2000s to a much more diverse and eclectic […]
Harley vs The Desert: Sportsters at the Mint 400! - BikeBound sponsors Good Times Racing Family’s Mint 400 “Bajarley”… This weekend is the 55th running of the Mint 400, the “oldest and most prestigious off-road race in America,” held each March in the treacherous foothills […]
The Night Scrambler: Nightster 1200 Scrambler - The Scrambler We Wish Harley Had Built… Introduced back in 2007, the Sportster XL1200N Nightster was a blacked-out, lowered version of the regular Sportster — something of a “factory custom.” Though it was mainly an […]
883 Sportster “Bultracker” - Spain’s LDK builds a V-twin tribute to a Spanish marque… Two of history’s most famous Spanish motorcycle marques are Bultaco and Montesa. In 1944, Pere Permanyer and Francesc Xavier “Paco” Bultó formed Montesa, achieving success […]
Bultracker 33: Sportster 883R Scrambler - Lord Drake Kustoms builds an 883 Scrambler… Spain’s Francisco Alí Manén of Lord Drake Kustoms (LDK) continues to churn out some of the world’s most colorful custom creations, translating the flamboyant style of his H-D […]
Desert Hooligan: “Bajarley” Sportster Enduro - Good Times Racing’s Sportster Desert Racer… The Harley-Davidson Sportster has been undergoing something of a racing renaissance in recent years. The Roland Sands Super Hooligan series, along with hooligan classes all over the country, have […]
The Hope: Harley-Davidson XL1200 Sportster - Mayerl Motorcycles builds a Sportster for the Styrian mountains… The Erzberg (“ore mountain”) is a massive open-pit siderite mine located in Eisenerz, Styria, in the central-western part of Austria. Once a year, the mine plays […]
Makassar Monster: Harley-Davidson XL1200 Sportster - A “Naked Tracker” from Indonesia’s Tiba Tiba Garage… Since 1957, the Harley-Davidson Sportster has remained one of the world’s most highly customized motorcycles. With the big V-twin engine and less weight than larger H-D machines, […]
“Sportracker 05” – Harley XL1200 Sportster - Lord Drake Kustoms builds a burly Sportster… The Sportster continues to be one of our favorite platforms for custom builds. Our own “Blitzen Tracker” is a favored steed in the stable, and in 2022 alone, […]
Hooligan Enduro: Rusty Butcher’s Sportster Desert Sled - Rusty Butcher Racing builds a desert-ready Sportster… Introduced in 1957, the Harley-Davidson Sportster has long remained the most versatile machine in the Motor Co.’s lineup. It’s been used as everything from a learner bike to […]
“Soulbreaker 47” Sportster 883R - A new Harley Sportster “Soulbreaker” from Lord Drake Kustoms… Back in 2021, we featured a pair of “Soulbreaker” Sportsters from mountaineer-turned-builder Fran Manen of Lord Drake Kustoms, who has workshops both in Miami and Málaga, […]
Bultaco Tribute: Sportster 1200 “Bultracker” - Lord Drake Kustoms builds a twin-cylinder tribute to the Spanish brand… Francesc “Paco” Bultó founded Spanish motorcycle company Bultaco on an old farm in 1957. Paco had been the director of Montesa, which had […]
Harley Enduro: XL1200 Sportster “Adventure Sport” - Jake Vintage builds a 70s enduro-style Sportster for city and trail… In 2020, we featured one of our favorite bikes of all time, a 1936 Norton V-Twin Special powered by a monstrous 1320cc J.A.P. V-twin […]
Sportster “Martini” Scrambler by Lord Drake Kustoms - Italian distillery Martini & Rossi, makers of the well-known Martini vermouth, began sponsoring motor racing teams way back in 1958, when Count Metello Rossi di Montelera founded the Martini International Club. During the 1970s, Martini […]
Knuckle Power: Harley “VFL” Beach Racer - Hammer Sycle builds a Knucklehead-powered Harley VL racer… In 1936, Harley-Davidson introduced their first full production overhead valve V-twin engine: the “Knucklehead,” as we know it today — a reference to the distinctive shape of […]
La Poderosa: Harley-Davidson XR1200X Enduro - The Powerful One: Animal Motor Company x Amarillo Motorcycles In 2008, Harley-Davidson released the XR1200, the most performance-tuned Sportster the factory had ever produced. Inspired by the legendary XR750 — “the most successful race bike […]
“Soulbreaker” Sportsters by Lord Drake Kustoms - The Harley-Davidson Sportster has long been one of the world’s most popular bikes for customization. We’re seeing a lot of Sportster scrambler builds these days, but the idea isn’t exactly new. After all, a 1969 […]
The Wheeler’s Life: “Knocky” 883 Sportster - RULER builds a dual-purpose Sportster… A lot of motorcycles have come and gone since the first Sportster rolled off the factory floor way back in 1957. While riders and journalists have been decrying the […]
Shaken, Not Stirred: “Seventy” Sportster by Lord Drake Kustoms - LDK builds a Sportster inspired by Martini Racing… In the history of sports car and rally racing, few liveries are as iconic as those of Martini Racing, featuring dark blue, sky blue, and red stripes […]
Urban Tracker: Sportster 883R by Lord Drake Kustoms - A master Harley builder has fun with an 883R… Lord Drake Kustoms is a custom Harley workshop founded by Francisco “Fran” Manen, a Spanish native who customized his first two-wheeler at the age of 14, […]
Meet “Karen” — ’77 Ironhead by RoastWorthy Cycles - Baby Dresser to Dirt Road Ripper in $2000 … Way back in 1957, the very first Harley-Davidson Sportsters to roll out of the factory were powered by the now-iconic Ironhead engine, a two-valve push-rod V-twin […]
Beach Cruiser: Black Petrol’s 1200 Sportster - The Harley-Davidson Sportster has now been in production for more than 60 years, an air-cooled 45° V-twin machine that’s served as the company’s most performance-oriented offering for most of its run. In 1986, the Evolution […]
The OVRLANDR: 1200R Sportster by Combustion Industries - The Sportster is one of our favorite, most versatile platforms for customization. In production since 1957, the V-twin cruiser has been transformed into scrambler, tracker, cafe racer, and full-out adventure bike. However, few Sportsters seem […]
Harley Street Tracker: XL1200 Sportster by Fastec Racing - For Sale: Fastec Sportster street tracker! By Mark Turner of Blacktop Media. Fastec Racing was established in 2010 and has been designing and manufacturing engineered parts for a variety of race, custom, and street bikes […]
“883 Scrambler”: Sportster Dual Sport by K&H Co. - The Harley-Davidson Sportster has been in production since 1957, proving itself as one of the most versatile platforms for chopper, flat track, and cafe racer builds — especially if you like the throaty rumble of […]
“DirtyXL” Sportster by Red Right Hand of Moto - “Street, dirt, ice… She does it all.” The Harley-Davidson Sportster, introduced in 1957, boasts one of the longest unbroken production runs in motorcycling history — more than six decades. One of the strengths of the […]
Harley “MX1000” Ironhead by Bull Original - The MX1000 — a 1000cc Harley-Davidson dirt bike! In the 70s, Harley-Davidson wanted to enter the fast-growing motocross market. They worked with their Italian branch, Aermacchi, to build the MX250 — a 233-lb Harley-Davidson motocrosser […]
Sportster Street Scrambler by Rock Solid Motorcycles - For Sale: The XL883 “Harley Hater Special” Street Scrambler… The Sportster is the most versatile of Harley-Davidson’s air-cooled machines. While the bike may be marketed as an entry-level cruiser, when you strip down the machine […]
Harley Street Rod Dirt Bike: “MP119” - Wouldn’t it be cool to build a Harley-Davidson into a motocross bike? After the Eimca show in 2016, the crew at RD Custombikes had one serious wallop of an idea: “We…said how cool it would […]
Sportster Adventure Bike: Carducci Dual Sport SC3 Adventure - Then Came Bronson was an adventure/drama television show that starred Michael Parks as disillusioned newspaperman Jim Bronson, who wanders the American West as a modern vagabond/cowboy. The real star of the show was Bronson’s red […]
Sportster Desert Sleds by El Solitario - Article by Rick Brown of BikeBound.com. Most people would not select Milwaukee iron as their first choice to tackle crossing the Sahara, but David Borras of El Solitario (The Lone Wolf) definitely travels to the […]
“Super Sportster” Tracker by Rule Hard Cycles - Dick Chavez of Rule Hard Cycles built this Sportster street tracker to race at Mama Tried’s 2016 Flat Out Friday, an indoor flat track race that uses soda syrup for traction! There are an array […]
Harley-Davidson Sportster Dirt Bike - Make Sportsters Great Again. That’s the slogan we’ve been seeing from the likes of Sportster-builders like Rusty Butcher and TrackerDie. You might say Sportsters were always great — well, sure, but who wants to put […]
Harley Nightster Tracker by SSC - That madman across the water, Steve Willis at Shaw Speed & Custom, has created another award-winning Sportster custom. The XLST3, a Sportster Tracker, won 1st place at the London International Bike Show AMD Championship. SSC […]
Sportster Scrambler by Shaw Speed & Custom - The Pigster aka Dirty Sportster Another hard-charging Sportster build from the Harley craftsmen at Shaw Speed & Custom, the premier builders of Harley in the UK. SS&C is a division of Shaw Harley Davidson, a […]
Harley XL1200 Scrambler by Shaw Speed & Custom - “1200 Cross”: A Tribute to Steve McQueen Shaw Speed & Custom is based in Brighton in the South of England. It is part of the Shaw Harley-Davidson dealership, which bills itself as “Not Your Average […]
Harley Street Scrambler by Little Horse Cycles - In 2014, Harley-Davidson introduced their first lightweight series of motorcycles since the 70s: the Harley Street series, comprising the Street 500 and Street 750. The bikes are powered by a 60-degree, water-cooled V-twin dubbed the […]
Iron 883 Scrambler by 56 Motorcycles - 56 Motorcycles is a custom garage based in Paris and founded in 2012. Tom Dun and crew specialize in scramblers and vintage trackers, enduros, and dirt bikes. This Iron 883 Sportster scrambler immediately caught our […]
The New Dual Sport? Johnny Bones’s Sportster Tracker - We’ve been seeing some killer Sportster-based trackers and scramblers of late–big V-twins with knobby tires that actually get jumped and thrashed like dirt bikes. This machine built and owned by Johnny Bones is no exception. […]
“The Great Escape,” Sportster Scrambler by Shaw Speed & Custom - Steve McQueen himself would be proud of Harley-based scrambler built by the talented team at Shaw Speed & Custom of the UK. Obviously this is a tribute to the bike McQueen rode in “The Great […]
