If I’m going to have one complaint it’s that there’s no fish scale airbrushing in the paint job. Otherwise, how do you get mad at Harley-Davidson’s Serial 1 e-bike brand making a chopper bike?
Serial 1’s e-bikes are rather nice machines, funny loud, with German motors, good looks, and a not-hideous price for what you get. They’re retro, but not as retro as they could be. No polished parts, no leather saddle, no white tires, not like the original concept version, which was heavy worked-over by hand and not something that could be mass-produced, as Serial 1 told me in person.
Continuing the theme of custom one-offs, Serial 1 just put up for auction this 1960s throwback. Here are the deets from Serial 1’s press release:
The MOSH/CHOPPER was conceived by Serial 1 and constructed by chopper builders Warren Heir, Jr. and Kendall Lutchman at JR’s Fabrication and Welding in Milwaukee. While the eBike maintains all the features and functionality of the standard MOSH/CTY that inspired it, including the maintenance-free Gates Carbon Drive belt, powerful Brose mid-mount motor, smooth TRP hydraulic disc brakes, internally routed cables and wires, and integrated lighting, custom modifications include:
- A long-and-low banana seat, supported by a custom stainless-steel sissy bar
- A high-rise handlebar that creates a perfect riding position for laid-back cruising
- A ‘60s-style “Street Freak” paint job, consisting of silver micro-flake basecoat covered in House of Kolor Oriental Blue Kandy
- Finishings like intricate panels, freak drops, hand pinstriping and single-stroke hand lettering.
You can bid for the bike here. Bidding ends at 5 PM MDT on August 10th, per Serial 1.
I myself would be more excited about a triple-fade 1990s version, and I would also see a strong appeal in a fully-polished 1980s Ross/BMX callback.
Whatever the specifics, I am happy to see real color and real style on an e-bike like this, beyond the flat black you get on stock MOSH/CTY models.
Hopefully demand for these is strong enough to get some good style into the regular options list. E-bikes deserve as much style as anything else.
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