Motorcycle enthusiasts are fashionistas may not be as familiar with NEIGHBORHOOD as they are, but the powerhouse Japanese streetwear brand has strong ties to motorcycling. NEIGHBORHOOD’s creative director, Shinsuke Takizawa, is a big fan of motorcycles and the culture surrounding them. Now he’s celebrating the brand’s 30th birthday with a limited custom edition Harley-Davidson Bob Streetcreated by the one and only Rough craftsmanship.
The seeds for the NEIGHBORHOOD x Rough Crafts collaboration were planted a few years ago when Rough Craft head Winston Yeh met Takizawa-san at the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show. With their shared love for bikes and streetwear, it was only a matter of time before their two worlds collided. And when NEIGHBORHOOD opened a flagship store in Winston’s hometown of Taipei, it was all the reason they needed.
Winston chose a motorcycle he was very familiar with—the Harley-Davidson Street Bob 114. He and his team of local craftsmen have built several Street Bobs, along with others in the current Softail line. Harley’s era. So they have some parts, tricks and shortcuts to make the Street Bob look better with less effort.
The plan is for Winston to build a custom Street Bob in Rough Crafts’ signature style and for Shinsuke to contribute graphics to the bike, while also working on a complementary NEIGHBORHOOD x Rough Crafts (NHRC) apparel collection ). This bike is numbered ’00’—but Rough Crafts will build five more to order.
“The inspiration behind this collection stems from the idea of one street watcher,” Winston tells us, “maintains the black aesthetic shared by NEIGHBORHOOD and Rough Crafts across both motorcycles and apparel while embodying the spirit of both brands. The collection’s main visuals were shot at iconic locations in Taipei such as Longshan Temple, Nanjichang Night Market and Ximending, symbolizing the fusion of Taipei’s traditional charm with contemporary elements.”
Since Winston plans to produce a small number of these bikes, he decided to keep the budget reasonable — by his standards, anyway. Luckily, he’s a fan of the 2023 Street Bob’s six-spoke wheels, so those can be kept. Measuring 19 inches front and 16 inches rear, they are wrapped in Unilli’s modern/classic tubeless serrated tires.
The braking system is something special. Winston turned to his usual supplier, Beringer, and determined the bike had six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers. Beringer arrived at the party, personally engraving the calipers with NHRC graphics provided by Shinsuke and Winston.
It also allows the ‘spokes’ of the Beringer rotor to fit the wheel perfectly, creating a ‘hollow’ brake disc appearance from a distance. As for the Street Bob’s suspension, that’s also stock—but it’s jacked up in the rear thanks to a Kodlin lift kit.
Moving on to the bodywork, the Rough Crafts team fabricated a custom aluminum fuel tank and fiberglass tail section. They follow the aggressive street track style Winston has been creating over the past few years, with the deep contouring we’ve come to expect from him. The scoop chair is decorated in a traditional cross stitch style.
The Street Bob’s new look is inspired by flat racing. Winston designed the numberplate-style headlight housing, with the fork guard mirroring the traditional flat road guard by extending from the top down, rather than from the bottom up. The mesh headlights are tightly hidden in a cutout in the front panel.
The cockpit is traditional Rough Crafts style. The Street Bob’s cool little digital speedometer has been reattached to the RC housing which doubles as a handlebar clamp; these contain a set of RC-specific ‘Fighter’ bars. The switches come from Rebuffini and are plug and play with modern Harley electronics.
Rough Crafts x Arlen Ness grips complete the bars, while RC pegs adorn the stock center-mounted control legs.
Small Rebuffini LEDs handle turn signal duties up front, while three-in-one RC LEDs illuminate the rear. Derby covers and fuel tank caps are also available in the RC category, while fuel tank caps are NHRC-branded custom products.
The air intakes and console cover come from the Rough Crafts x Arlen Ness collection, while the hydraulic clutch upgrade is courtesy of Rebuffini. The Street Bob’s torquey V-twin radiates through a high-mounted two-into-one exhaust, finished with an obnoxiously chunky ‘silencer’.
Unsurprisingly, the Harley-Davidson Street Bob NEIGHBORHOOD x Rough Crafts is finished in black. However, the carbon fiber details, gold leaf stripes and contrasting patterns that usually adorn Winston’s bikes were missing. Instead, the car is dressed in sharp graphics that reflect NEIGHBORHOOD’s signature aesthetic.
It wouldn’t be a Rough Crafts machine without a custom pushrod collar set from regular collaborator 2AbnormalSides; these bear the initials N, H, R and C as a nod to the partnership. Winston also acknowledged the work of the rest of his regular crew; Rover Works Custom Paint for finishing, MS Pro for fabrication, SFC Simon Fiber Craft for fiberglass machining and CT-Garage for assembly.
If you’re a fan of NEIGHBORHOOD, Rough Crafts, or both, you can easily see each brand’s DNA in this fun Street Bob. And if you’re not lucky enough to get a spot in Winston’s limited production queue, you can always grab something from the clothing line—or get in line to buy one of the 50 painted Shoei helmets customization comes with the project.
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