If you want to learn how to weld, fabricate parts, or rebuild an engine, there’s no shortage of resources out there. But good design can’t be taught. You either have impeccable taste and a sharp eye—or you don’t.
For Yusaku Sato at Satomari Motorcycle in Hiroshima, Japan, good design is instinctual. The Harley choppers that roll out of his workshop just look ‘right,’ often with a simple elegance that belies the amount of engineering that goes into them.
This exquisite 1981 Harley-Davidson FXR proves our point with ease. It’s loosely based on an earlier Satomari Shovelhead that a customer saw at the Mooneyes show. Before long, he had reached out to Sato-san and requested a custom Harley in the same vein—albeit with a few key differences.
One of the client’s requests was that the bike should have a springer fork. With that in mind, Yusaku tore the bike down and began bringing his vision to life. “My approach is to take the image that pops into my head and shape it as I want,” he says, “so it feels like I’m coming up with a design idea in real-time.”
Yusaku started by fabricating an all-new frame and swingarm, retaining only the donor bike’s steering neck and motor mounts. The stunning twin down tube design rises to meet the custom-built springer fork, with a 2” stretch and a 2” rise in the neck. But, more importantly, the springer fork has been made narrow in a bid to keep the overall build impossibly skinny.
The rear end looks rigid from afar, but there is a shock lurking under there. Yusaku hasn’t given us a peek at it, but he describes it as a “cantilever mono-cross” system.
This Shovelhead rolls on a 23” front wheel and an 18” rear wheel, laced up to two very different styles of drum brake hub. Yusaku modified a mini drum brake unit to run up front, then pieced together a hydraulic drum brake system for the rear, using salvaged Harley parts. The tires are surprisingly modern Metzeler items.
A 23F/18R wheelset sounds wild on paper, but it works here. And that’s largely down to the fact that Yusaku has tailored every last piece on this bike to accommodate the next.
Like the chassis, this Shovelhead’s bodywork is all handmade. Yusaku shaped the fuel tank and rear fender out of steel and the side covers out of aluminum. A deeply sculpted seat sits perched in the middle.
There’s a lot to digest around the engine bay too. The Shovel powerplant inhales via an S&S Cycle carb and exhales via an unapologetic twin exhaust system with turned-out end caps. And the closer you get, the more copper and brass bits you’ll spot.
The left-hand side of the bike is dominated by an electric-start primary drive from BDL. It’s an imposing piece of kit that calls for a reasonably sized battery—which is currently hiding under the seat, competing with the rear suspension for real estate.
The cockpit is a tidy affair, consisting of a narrow set of custom drag bars fitted with wrapped grips from Kuryakyn. If you’re looking for the speedo, you’ll find it on top of the tank, embedded in a dashboard that echoes classic Dyna designs. The classically styled Motogadget unit is accompanied by a knurled gas cap and a keyless ignition module.
The Shovelhead is finished in a deep gunmetal flake, punctuated by intricate silver-leaf work that adds a luxurious touch to this near-flawless machine. It’s just a pity that it’s already spoken for.
Satomari Motorcycle | Facebook | Instagram | Images by, and with sincere thanks to, Kazuo Matsumoto
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