Motorcycle customisation is not just a hobby for people, but it’s also a business. In fact, it’s become so serious that there are various competitions held globally which involve customised motorcycles. One such competition is called Battle of the Kings and apparently, it is the world’s largest dealer custom build-off competition. Guess which motorcycle won in it, a Harley!
Following an intense global competition, including national and international heats, Laidlaw’s Harley-Davidson has been crowned as the Global Custom Kings and overall winners of the 2019 Battle of the Kings.
Laidlaw’s Harley-Davidson’s winning entry, the stunning “FXGTS Coast Glide” is based on a Harley-Davidson Sport Glide model and has been extensively customised to create a truly unique ride.
The bike is a throwback to FXRT styling with a Southern California twist, paying tribute to the Pacific Coast Highway and the Southern California influence on modern performance cruisers. As a concept, it covers a lot of ground. As a design, it’s far more than the sum of its parts. The team wanted full functionality but with a strong California flair.
Battle of the Kings showcases the very best in customisation capability and the creativity of the Custom Kings who can be found at every Harley-Davidson dealership globally. In 2018, the Custom King crown was taken by debut-entrants Harley-Davidson Bangkok with their Street Bob-based build “The Prince”.
For 2019 any model in the Harley-Davidson range could be selected as a base for the build (excluding Trike and CVO models) meaning dealers had more choice than ever before in order to create a title challenger. To further inspire the competition dealers had to choose from three style categories – Dirt, Chop and Race – for their build. The rules for the build were simple – 50% of the parts used must be genuine Harley-Davidson accessories and the customisation budget was a maximum of 50% of the donor bike retail price.
The United States dealers added an extra dimension to their competition, inspiring the next generation of custom builders by teaming each build with a trade school, with students working alongside the dealership team to create and build their machine.
Grand final runners-up were Warr’s Harley-Davidson, The Crook (United Kingdom), Thunderbike Harley-Davidson, Roar (Germany), Calgary Harley-Davidson, Moonshine (Canada) and Harley-Davidson Queretaro, Joe Tracker (Mexico) – whose machines were all on display at EICMA for the tense final voting.
Steve Lambert, International Marketing Director, Harley-Davidson, said, “Once again the global Harley-Davidson dealership community has excelled at demonstrating their custom leadership. This expertise is accessible at any Harley-Davidson dealership, allowing riders around the world to truly make their ride unique. Huge congratulations to all of our over 300 entries, the regional winners and finalists – and especially to our 2019 champions Laidlaw’s Harley-Davidson. A truly stunning build – and a worthy champion,” said Steve Lambert, International Marketing Director, Harley-Davidson.”
