It only has three weeks since Harley-Davidson pulled the bill out of 2022 Nightster, which gives us a look at the spiritual successor to the original Sportster. But six months ago, pre-production versions of the new bikes were discreetly delivered to a select group of five custom houses in the US, UK and Japan.
Hideya Togashi was one of the first people outside of Milwaukee to see the new machine. He needs no introduction here; he is running Hide motorbike workshop for twenty years, and has won the top prize at the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show not once but twice. He is also well known as a Sportster expert.
The story begins in December of last year, when Harley-Davidson HQ contacted Togashi-san. Does he want to be involved in a custom project for an upcoming new model?
Togashi said, “The name Nightster is not mentioned because it hasn’t been released yet. “It is a great honor to receive the request. I was thrilled, not knowing the details of the bike, but it didn’t take me long to get it! ”
After signing the contract, Harley told Togashi that the sponsor’s bike would be a Nightster 2022. He would only have 60 days to build his custom and the Revolution Max 975T engine had to be kept.
As soon as Togashi boarded the train, he saw an image of Nightster. “My first impression was that they’ve recreated the ‘old’ Sportster style,” he said.
While waiting for the Nightster to arrive at his Kawasaki City workshop, Togashi began to plan the construction. With a tight deadline, his first thought was to use some commercially available aftermarket parts to achieve the Hidemo style.
The day before Christmas Eve, Nightster appeared. “I took it apart and looked at its skeleton, and realized that the plan I had originally envisioned was not going to work,” he said. “I have built over 100 Sportster-based customs to date, but I can’t use that experience. The Nightster is a brand new Harley. “
Togashi sat down with Naoya Watari, who had helped him in Hidemo for many years. “The time we took to implement this concept was unbelievably long.”
“When I saw the new front frame and the wiring details, I realized that everything about the Nightster was different from the previous Sportster. The ‘old’ Sportster has plenty of customization possibilities thanks to the OHV engine that integrates the gearbox and the simplicity of the frame structure that holds it. “
After much sketching, Togashi and Watari decided street watchers Style. “It’s a style and term that emerged from Japanese custom in the late 1990s and early 2000s,” says Togashi. “This style has had a strong influence on custom bike culture and that is what it is. the foundation of the Harley custom culture in Japan.”
The Hidemo crew took the Nightster apart and measured everything. They noticed that the front of the frame had a V-shaped approach to the steering head, with the ‘tank’ flap in the center. (It actually hides the airbox, with its real gas tank and filler cap under the saddle.)
That means they can’t change the width of the ‘tank’ to make it appear thinner — or move it back and forth to make the body more compact. “It’s very difficult to change the shape of the enclosure because it’s surrounded by wiring and electrical components,” Togashi said.
Hidemo didn’t modify the main body of the frame, as it was so important to Nightster 2022’s identity. And they decided to make the changes mostly start so that they can be enjoyed by future Nightster owners Copy hybrid — right down to the custom header tube and carbon silencer.
The new bodywork is shaped using Styrofoam, and then clay to create more detailed contours. Then it’s time to hammer the aluminum panels by hand.
The end of the frame, which is the rear suspension mounting point, is new and wider than stock. The traditional ‘fender strut’ is gone and the upper shock mount has been moved forward about 15cm, to create the illusion of a longer tracker-style swingarm.
The tail unit, which is part of the monocoque body, makes the frame appear slimmer at the rear — as the front part of the bodywork and the ‘number plate’ are intentionally widened.
Togashi notes: “The front swingarm plays a very important role in this car. “Given the width of the radiator on the Nightster 2022, it has to have a certain mass to balance the entire body.”
It’s the size of a typical flat track license plate, but reinterpreted with sharp edges and intricately curved surfaces, wrapping around the fork tubes and hiding the paddles. The German-made ABM handlebars are located directly behind, with the compact speed handle repositioned below the left fuel tank.
Inspiration for sleek monolithic timepieces comes from across the Pacific. “I adopted the style and technique of Tracy’s Fiberglas,” reveals Togashi.
“The one-piece bodies designed by Tracy Nelson became popular in the 1960s and 1970s. They were emblematic of the customary scene at the time. Watari is very knowledgeable, he and I spent a lot of time exploring the possibilities of paint scheme. ”
The paintwork is painted by Keen Edge and orange is, of course, a traditional Harley color. The Sportster image on the ‘tank’ is another, slightly bold, image that resembles the past.
Hidemo’s tracker is easy on the eyes and a great opening for the Nightster customs we’ll likely see in the years to come. But the construction itself was not easy for Togashi and Watari, despite their skill and experience.
“It’s a new challenge for Hidemo,” Togashi admitted. “It was a difficult project, but we are happy with the results.” We bet Milwaukee too.
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