Harley-Davidson 1200 Custom | First Look

Drag bars or mini-apes? Two-up or solo saddle? Spokes or cast wheels? Forward or mid-mount foot controls? Customizing your motor- cycle is all about making choices—choices that usually result in a big hit to your bank account and a big pile of cast-off parts cluttering your garage. Harley-Davidson’s new factory customization program—the latest addition to its H-D1 service that already includes custom seat, chrome and paint—aims to reduce both of these problems by allowing buyers to pre-select custom components that are installed at the factory.

A new "Bike Builder" feature on The Motor Company website www.harley-davidson.com allows customers to create a personalized Sportster by selecting between seven options including wheels, handlebars, seats, paint, foot controls and more. Once the bike is configured to the customer's taste, the design is taken to the local H-D dealer for confirmation and sale, and delivered in as little as four weeks.

This pilot program is limited exclusively to the new 1200 Custom model, the latest Sportster variation featuring a chunky, 16-inch Michelin Scorcher 31 front tire and revised trim that includes a reshaped headlight eyebrow and smaller LED taillight. The rubber-mounted, 1200cc Evolution V-twin, equipped with EFI and mated to a five-speed transmission, remains unchanged. Pricing for this model is Harley-Davidson affordable, meaning $10,299 for Vivid Black and $10,799 in Sedona Orange/Vivid Black two-tone. Optional paint colors like Blue Pearl Scallop and Hot Pink Flame cost more, as do most of the H-D1 optional upgrades.