Harley-Davidson Imperium Talon Went From Ordinary Springer Softail to Something Far Better
Nowadays, Winston Yeh from Rough Crafts will tackle just about any brand or style, but custom Harleys are how he built his break back in the day. He still undertakes projects of that sort on a regular basis, like the one we’re here to talk about today. It calls itself the Imperium Talon and was once a regular Harley-Davidson Springer Softail from the model-year 2003.
By: Silvian Secara Courtesy AutoEvolution
The bike had already been treated to an assortment of aftermarket bits under previous ownership, but Winston really dialed everything up to eleven. First things first, the Harley’s springer front end was ditched in favor of a billet aluminum arrangement from Rebuffini. It makes use of dual Ohlins shock absorbers, and the suspension upgrades continue at the opposite end.
There we find a new monoshock from Progressive Suspension, taking the Softail’s handling to an entirely new level. Unsprung territory has also undergone some radical changes, with five-spoke carbon fiber hoops from BST replacing the original footwear. They measure 21 inches in diameter at the front and 17 inches at the back, both shod in Pirelli rubber for plentiful grip. Rough Crafts went to town once again with the brakes.
Beringer discs and calipers were fitted at both ends, giving the Springer Softail much more stopping power than it had before. With the chassis sorted out, Winston’s next port of call was the bodywork and no stock equipment has been spared. There is now a stylish custom fuel tank placed center-stage, complete with Rough Crafts badges and a billet aluminum filler cap.
Right behind it lies a rad bobber seat base topped with black leather upholstery, and then you’ve got that sizeable rear fender mounted a bit further back. At the front, we come across a grilled LED headlight placed in front of the Ohlins shocks, while the cockpit area comes with a digital Motoscope Mini dash from Motogadget and a tall handlebar. This latter item carries an assortment of tasty aftermarket bits.
They include Arlen Ness grips and Koso LED turn signals, as well as compact switches and adjustable control levers from Rebuffini. New foot pegs round out the ergonomics, and then there are the engine-related mods spicing things up even further. An open belt primary drive can be spotted down low on the left-hand side, and the final drive has been converted to a chain.
Air flows in through a high-grade aftermarket air cleaner, which is complemented by a custom two-into-one exhaust system made of stainless-steel. And lastly, Rough Crafts outsourced the paint job to Rover Works Custom Paint and Rebirth Sign Painter, while the various badges used throughout the Imperium Talon were fabricated by 2 Abnormal Sides. With these final touches out of the way, Winston wrapped things up and called it a day.