Harley-Davidson’s Battle of the Kings Build-Off 2019 Highlights

With submissions from more than 200 officially licensed Harley dealers from more than 30 different countries, we unpack over three-dozen of our favorite customs from this year’s Battle of the King’s contest

Big-name motorcycle manufacturers frequently call on well-established customs outfits to commission one-off projects demonstrating a model’s potential for customization. While this has lead to countless stellar bespoke builds, they’re often far too elaborate (and exorbitant) for your average rider to ever hope of owning one, or even one that’s similar.

With this in mind, Harley-Davidson opted to take a slightly different route with using bespoke builds to market its latest wares. Starting in 2015 the MoCo kicked off the first annual Battle of the Kings Contest. The concept behind the build-off is simple yet brilliant; take some of the most renowned licensed Harley dealers from more than 20 different countries and allow these outfits to customize a current model year Harley.

The Rules

Each shop must select one of the handful of eligible models from the MoCo’s latest model-year lineup for customization. From there each shop is given a strict budget, — last year’s was €6,000 (or $7,340) — half of which must be spent on items from Harley’s increasingly vast parts and accessories catalogue.

While it may seem pretty restrictive, the budget actually makes sense for several reasons. For starters it ensures a level playing field for all entrants. Also, with a budget of under $10K, builders need to get creative and find interesting and unique ways to make the most of a limited budget. Finally, it demonstrates to customers that they too can have one seriously awesome, bespoke Harley for just a few grand.

Marketing Benefits

It also serves as an amazing opportunity for the Milwaukee-based brand to show-off its humongous range of parts and accessories, giving customers a chance to see them on a full on custom, instead of photographed a la carte in a catalogue or on a store shelf. Further bolstering the marketing value of BotK’s is the voting system. In an effort to get the contest’s contestants in front of as many eyeballs as possible, the iconic American marque has invited motorcycle enthusiasts to vote on their favorite one-off H-D creation.

A Democratic Build-Off

Dealerships are broken down into different regions and then pitted against each other. Fans can vote on their pick for best build from whatever region they desire. From there a shortlist of finalists (it was five in 2018) will be selected from each region. Each shortlist will then be widdled down to just one finalist from each region. Said finalists — and their respective builder(s) — will then be flown to EICMA in Italy towards the end of the year where a panel of moto-celebrity judges will crown the ultimate 2019 Battle of the Kings winner.

Battle of the Kings 2019

Each year of Harley’s BotK’s has been bigger and better than its predecessor. For 2019 Harley has received two-wheeled submissions from more than 200 dealerships from more than 30 countries all over the globe. Like 2018, this year we’ve been treated to an enormous number of genuinely awesome custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

For 2019 applicants have been divided into three separate categories; Chop; Race; and Dirt (though as you’ll see, a few specimens kinda straddle multiple categories). Because there are so many bikes entered into the 2019 contest, we can’t possibly gloss over them all, so with that in mind, let’s get into some of our picks for our favorite customs from Battle of the Kings 2019. We’ve chosen our top five from each region (not including regions with fewer than 5 entrants. Also, you can click the name of any build to see more details on the H-D website).

The United Kingdom

Name: The Bowker Centenary Edition

Dealership: Bowker H-D

Base Model: Forty-Eight

Category: Chop

Name: Fat The Ripper

Dealership: Maidstone H-D

Base Model: Fat Bob

Category: Dirt

Name: Ellie-Mae

Dealership: Reading H-D

Base Model: Iron 1200

Category: Chop

Name: The Mustard

Dealership: Shaw H-D

Base Model: Forty-Eight

Category: Race

Name: Dirt Rod

Dealership: Leeds H-D

Base Model: Street Rod

Category: Dirt

Switzerland & the Netherlands

Name: Phoenix

Dealership: H-D Solothurn

Base Model: Fat Boy

Category: Chop

Name: The Green Monster

Dealership: H-D Grisons

Base Model: FXDR 114

Category: Race

Name: Janus

Dealership: H-D Monchaltorf

Base Model: Sport Glide

Category: Race

Name: Hammerfall

Dealership: H-D St. Gallen

Base Model: Forty-Eight

Category: Dirt

Name: Cyclone

Dealership: H-D Zentralschweiz

Base Model: FXDR 114

Category: Race

France

Name: The Extrem’Mans

Dealership: H-D Le Mans

Base Model: Street Bob

Category: Dirt

Name: FXDR

Dealership: H-D Melun

Base Model: FXDR 114

Category: Race

Name: Mud Racer

Dealership: H-D Strasbourg

Base Model: Roadster

Category: Dirt

Name: Blue Storm

Dealership: H-D Paris Bastille

Base Model: Low Rider

Category: Chop

Name: Miss Sandy Bradford

Dealership: H-D Limoges

Base Model: Street Bob

Category: Race

Germany & Austria

Name: Roar

Dealership: Thunderbike H-D Niederrhein

Base Model: FXDR 114

Category: Race

Name: Race Custom

Dealership: H-D Emsland

Base Model: Fat Bob

Category: Chop

Name: Slim Jim

Dealership: H-D Dusseldorf

Base Model: Softail Slim

Category: Chop

Name: The Gray

Dealership: H-D Bergstrasse

Base Model: Street Bob

Category: Chop

Name: 750 A Scrambler

Dealership: Clocktower H-D & Buell Graz

Base Model: Street 750

Category: Dirt

Italy

Name: GT3 RS Tribute

Dealership: H-D Brescia

Base Model: Road King Special

Category: Race

Name: Speed Bob

Dealership: H-D Route 76 Jesi

Base Model: Fat Bob

Category: Race

Name: XR1200 FT The Answer

Dealership: H-D Parma

Base Model: Roadster

Category: Dirt

Name: Space Age

Dealership: H-D Bologna

Base Model: Heritage Classic

Category: Race

Name: Black Mamba

Dealership: H-D Motor Fan

Base Model: Street Bob

Category: Race

Belgium

Name: Green Splitter

Dealership: H-D Capital Brussels

Base Model: Street Bob

Category: Chop

Name: Signature

Dealership: H-D Oude Monnink Motors

Base Model: Sport Glide

Category: Race

Name: Destroyer

Dealership: H-D Liege

Base Model: Roadster

Category: Dirt

Name: The FXGP

Dealership: West Coast Motors

Base Model: Fat Bob

Category: Race

Name: Renew The Ride

Dealership: H-D Mons

Base Model: 1200 Custom

Category: Chop

Spain

Name: La Clandestina 2

Dealership: H-D Galicia

Base Model: FXDR 114

Category: Race

Name: Golden Wing

Dealership: H-D Tarraco

Base Model: Street Rod

Category: Race

Name: Purple Rabbit

Dealership: H-D Extremadura

Base Model: Iron 1200

Category: Chop

Name: Mojo Desert

Dealership: H-D Las Palmas

Base Model: Forty-Eight Special

Category: Dirt

Name: Flaming Flag

Dealership: H-D Makinostra

Base Model: Roadster

Category: Race

If you like what you see here, I highly recommend checking out the complete list of regional entries on the official Battle of the Kings 2019 website. Plus, on top of the photos, quite a few dealerships put together some slick, well-produced promo videos for their respective bikes that are well worth the watch. Remember, voting is now open so show your support for your favorite build by casting your vote now!