Originally conceived as a spicy combination of Sportster and big-twin components, it’s no surprise the Harley-Davidson Dyna has become a hooligan staple on the streets today. The Dyna served as a lean intermediate for 27 years before being absorbed into the Softail line after 2018, and if you ask us, the absence of a twin-shock, big-twin cruiser is still felt today.
With such a long production run, Dynas can be found just about anywhere, that’s the good news, and the average 20-year-old bike can be had for around $5,000—even less if you’re willing to put in the work. Furthermore, the aftermarket for these bikes is WIDE, and the twin-shock arrangement is often an easier avenue for modification than the Softail.
Maybe you don’t see yourself as a Harley guy, or even a Carhartt-clad Dyna bro, but we’re certain you’ll find something to envy among our top Harley-Davidson Dyna customs.
Sureshot’s 1997 FXDL ‘DST’ “Slender and skinny customs are the style of my shop,” says Takuya Aikawa, and this 1997 FXDL wears all the hallmarks of the Chiba, Japan-based Sureshot’s brand. Wearing a custom Softail-inspired rear suspension and powered by a 96 ci big twin, there’s obviously more to this Dyna than meets the eye—the winner of top honors at the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show.
The concept for the build was to seamlessly integrate a Softail-style rear suspension in place of the Dyna’s twin-shock rear, all while preserving the linear backbone of the old rigid-frame HDs. In line with the concept, Aikawa calls this built ‘DST’, short for Dyna Softail.
Seeking something a bit more exotic than HD’s own Softail components, Aikawa sourced a Ducati S4R swingarm and reworked it heavily to fit the Dyna. A mono-shock from Racing Bros in Taiwan suspends the whole setup, and it’s mounted on full display between the seat and hand-made aluminum fuel tank. A more svelte tubular backbone replaces the stock square tube, and the downtubes were modified to keep the chassis’ rigid-frame vibe.
Along those lines, Aikawa fit the DST with a custom set of one-off wheels sized 21F/18R—his favored ratio for skinny choppers. Fascinating pieces in their own right, both are fabricated from multiple machined pieces, with the spokes offset to one side and the brake calipers and hubs contained within the width of the rims. New triple trees help keep the skinny look up front, and the custom minimalist nacelle honors old-school HDs with a new-school twist. [Kazuo Matsumoto]
MB Cycles’ 2016 Dyna Low Rider S ‘Cross’ Heidelberg, Germany-based MB Cycles is no stranger to custom Harleys, but this high and mighty Dyna Low Rider S was certainly a diversion from their normal low-slung choppers and bobbers.
The impetus for the scrambler-inspired Low Rider, dubbed Cross, came about when a customer came to MB for a custom Harley but didn’t have an exact style in mind. “He used to be a professional dirt bike rider, so I proposed the idea of making something with a bit of off-road character—and enough power to have fun,” says builder Martin Becker.
A 110 ci Twin Cam-powered 2016 Dyna fit the bill perfectly, and Martin warmed the engine with a set of Andrews cams, a Screamin’ Eagle air cleaner and a two-into-one exhaust from MCJ with a valve to adjust its volume on the fly.
From there, Martin set to work giving the chassis a serious altitude adjustment with the addition of a complete Rebuffini Indianapolis Special front end, and an extended swingarm from Krüger & Junginger with Öhlins remote-reservoir shocks.
To add some attitude to the Dyna’s geometry, Martin fabbed up a new rear subframe with a tidy rear loop to support the custom two-up saddle. Two pairs of gnarly pegs from Rebuffini and the moto-style bars from Biltwell reinforce the bike’s off-roady aspirations, as do the meaty Bridgestone AX41 knobbies. While Martin indicated that a set of spoked wheels from Kineo would eventually be installed on the Cross, we’d venture to say the stock wheels have never looked better. [MB Cycles]
ICON’s 2013 Dyna ‘Homemade Sin’ “As ugly as Homemade Sin and twice as fast, she, like most ICON builds, is an acquired taste,” says ICON’s design director, Kurt Walter. To his point, you’d be hard-pressed to find a less conventional Dyna, as this one sports an amalgamation of Honda bodywork, a Ducati front end and a big, hanking 132 hp S&S T124. Willed into existence by the speed freaks at ICON, ‘Homemade Sin’ is the ultimate HD antiheroine.
With its insanely wide stance and hunched-over posture, it’s hard to imagine that the bones of this bike were once a 2013 Dyna. ICON loaded the frame with a fresh T124 Black Edition engine from S&S Cycle, displacing 124 ci and good for 132 hp stock. This one’s been hopped up even further with S&S add-ons, custom pipes and what ICON calls “cantrips and darkish magic.”
The elephant in the room is clearly that front end, though, and it’s a particularly wild piece of Ducati history. Per ICON, Ducati had made these super wide yolks available in the early 2000s for a factory-sponsored Monster bike build-off, and ICON somehow ended up with a set on the shelf. It’s an off-the-wall look, but purposeful when paired with an aluminum swingarm from Roaring Toyz, Nitron piggyback shocks and a pair of 16-inch Abe cast alloys.
If that wasn’t enough to petrify your average hog enthusiast, the bodywork certainly will be, as it’s made from Honda leftovers. A ’69 Honda Dream donated its fork shrouds and quirky headlamp, and if you look closely, there’s an ashtray where the Honda’s speedometer used to reside. The tank comes from an early-80s CB900F Supersport, and it’s modified with twin endurance-style fillers. The tail section is also based on the CB900F design, but ICON modified its dimensions in CAD and 3D printed and glassed a new one.
Once finished, ICON gave Homemade Sin a most fitting break-in at the defunct Middle Georgia Raceway—pitting their V-twin creation against a 355 ci V8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo stock car. If the impetus for the project is lost on you, do yourself a favor and enjoy the next 2 minutes and 36 seconds of Days of Thunderdome. [ICON Motosports]
NCT’s 2009 FXD Dyna Super Glide ‘Eleanor’ Whether it’s the original 1974 H. B. Halicki version or Cage/Jolie 2000 remake, most every motorhead knows ‘Eleanor’ from Gone in Gone in 60 Seconds. She’s a muscle-bound Mustang, that can outrun just about anything, and the inspiration is quite apparent in NCT Motorcycles’ 2009 Dyna Super Glide build.
NCT’s head honcho David Widmann had a complete cosmetic transformation in mind, but not before the chassis received an attitude adjustment from fabricator Manuel Tilke. The rear subframe was shortened heavily, now just long enough to surround the solo seat and support the Öhlins piggyback shocks. The front end was upgraded in a similar fashion, with an inverted fork from Showa USD. Befitting its name, the Dyna now has a purposeful, straight-line stance.
The 96 ci V-twin was deemed up to the task after a complete overhaul, and the crew at NCT sauced things up a bit with a new air cleaner and custom pipes with Akrapovič mufflers. While the front header hugs the frame, the rear header snakes over the transmission and up between the slim rear fender and shock—likely one of the more fitting applications of header wrap.
NCT raided the shelf for Eleanor’s fuel tank, a stock HD item taken off an earlier HD Street 750 build. The rest of the bodywork consists of sharp angular fenders and side covers, all finished in bronze with blue accents. The bars are carbon from LSL, and the bike has a full suite of motogadget electronics.
While Eleanor was a main attraction at Europe’s Bike Week back in 2017, David couldn’t resist making the bike a daily driver afterward. “She’s a totally comfortable and powerful bike,” he says. [NCT Motorcycles]
Sureshot’s 1998 FXD Dyna Super Glide ‘Phase III’ There’s no mistaking Takuya Aikawa’s style in a custom Harley-Davidson. Beyond the signature slim stature and show-stopping detail work, Sureshot’s HDs are always a delightful mix of something old and something new. Armed with a hand shifter and a custom front end that tips its hat to Harley’s old-school springers, Sureshot’s 1998 Dyna Super Glide is a feast for the eyes. One that earned him yet another title at the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show.
Like last year’s Mooneyes winner, Aikawa started with another Dyna, this time a 1998 FXD Super Glide, and got to work on another mono-shock rear conversion. The rear swingarm was made custom from aluminum and is suspended by a RacingBros shock. Aikawa reworked the frame extensively to taper back to the new rear, and the chunky OE backbone was replaced with oval tubing. That said, the new front end is certainly the highlight of the build.
The design is immediately reminiscent of Harley’s leading-link forks of the rigid-frame era, with an old-school top clamp and the bottom yolk integrated into the fork legs. Instead of springs, a pair of adjustable RacingBros air shocks provide dampening. While Aikawa states that the setup took a lot of fine-tuning to work properly, it’s certainly one of the best custom forks we’ve laid eyes on.
The one-off billet aluminum wheels (19F/18R) are textbook Sureshot, and while they have the appearance of standard nine-spoke alloys, a closer look reveals a snowflake pattern in the billet. The front rotor mounts directly to the wheel itself, while the back brake hides behind the sprocket, leaving the wheels completely unobstructed from the right.
Aikawa warmed over the powertrain with a set of billet aluminum cylinder heads from Speed and Science, a Keihin FCR41 downdraft twin carburetor with velocity stacks and an Ultima 2” belt drive. Adding to the vintage appeal is a handshifter of Aikawa’s own design, made from connecting rods and CNC-machined linkages.
‘Phase III’ is a machine you could spend hours pouring over the details on, fitting for a machine that took home the Mooneyes ‘Best Detail Work’ trophy. [Kazuo Matsumoto for YENC Magazine]
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