Harley Davidson Shovelhead Made in Japan

Some of the coolest Hogs we’ve ever seen have been customs built in Japan, and few do it better than master Yusaku Sato, who presents his latest build, an incredible 1982 Shovelhead built by his company, Satomari Motorcycles.  When Satomari isn't selling new bikes and parts, they’re building some of the coolest customs in the world.

This bike was commissioned by a passionate Harley fan who really only had one request, the donor had to be an 1982 Shovelhead, other than that, Yusaku Sato was given free-reign to build whatever his imagination could come up with. 

The headstock, backbone, and down tubes of this shovelhead are all welded and designed to appear as one cast piece. The backbone itself was then shaped to runs as directly as possible back to the cener posts without the usual dip down.  From that mid point, Sato-san wanted the fender to begin to merge into the rest of the bike, and bashed out of a solid piece of steel, he tells us it was a lot of work.

The benefit of using a thicker sheet is the floating look is more easily achieved, with no struts required! These lines are also picked up in the custom gas tank, with the underside flush fitting to the bottom of the frame and the whole tank sitting rearward to show off the neck. For some extra wow factor, the stylish Motogadget speedo and keyless m lock are mounted into the tank below the machined filler cap. All of this beautiful bodywork is then finished in a stunning deep blue color scheme with red and white pinstriping and gold logos.

When it comes to custom motorcycles the Japanese never fail to deliver a stunning looking engine.  From the awesome looking exhaust system with large open pipes to the polished up S&S carb with a custom cleaner, it’s hard to imagine a better looking Shovelhead! On the other side of the motor, a sensibly sized but jean shredding BDL open primary cover gives the bike a very mechanical feel, and the custom mid controls emerge from halfway along the cover.

The wheels of this cruiser form a big part of the look and you’ll never miss that huge front 23 inch rim! To further exaggerate the look, Sato used very narrow triple trees that are originally designed for a 39mm fork. These were then machined to accept bigger 41mm units which were then lowered internally. Matched up with low risers and short, flat bars, he gave the bike slim lines that then slowly widen as you look to the rear of the bike.

All of these very deliberate design features see the rear wheel a massive 6-inches smaller than the front, 17-in in diameter but wrapped in a fat Avon tire for that big booty look.  A custom swingarm, billet shocks, and a gorgeous black leather seat finish out the rear.

Overall it is quite a masterpiece in custom craftsmanship!