Cruiser

One of great things about Icon, is that much of the apparel they looks cool on whatever you're riding--from a sport bike to a cruiser (especially one with a sporting bent). The Merc Leather Hero jacket fits into that category, even with its distinctive rubberized logos from performance companies such as Dunlop, Ohlins, Motul, NGK and Vortex. The simple, classic styling that serves as a backdrop for your "sponsors" is what makes the Hero work on a variety of bikes.

AFT Custom Bike

“Accomplishment is about believing in a concept and your ability to follow it through,” says Jim Giuffra, founding partner of world champion metric bike builders AFT Customs. “Credere”—its name purposely chosen from the Italian verb “to believe”—affirms that philosophy. AFT's rendition of Honda's respected VTX1300 cruiser embodies Giuffra's sculptural vision and celebration of the female form.

Hanging with the hot rods.

Blacked-out in a most sinister manner.

As more motorcycle cruisers take to the open road, the focus of style over substance redirects from the later to the former. Traditionally, the Japanese have always had a better grasp of engineering than style when it comes to cruisers, though this gap has been narrowing annually. So, when taking on a Japanese cruiser that has an actual job to do—touring—things get a bit more interesting.

The Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic LT displaces a staggering 125 cubic inches, and each 4-inch piston has a throw of nearly 5 inches!

American V-Twin

Think of Victory Motorcycles and lean, flashy cruisers immediately leap to mind. The “other” American motorcycle company has been diligently carving out its identity since 1997 by providing forward-looking alternatives to the perceived stodginess of its Milwaukee-bred competition. Bold graphics, gleaming chrome flanks and the towering silhouettes of Arlen and Cory Ness lending the company line a bit of their bold custom DNA have become hallmarks of the Victory brand.

Buell Super TT

Buell has an enviable skill of making the most of limited resources. The company clearly isn't set to make each machine completely unique and independent, so they carefully peruse the parts bin to come up with something "new" and interesting. Case in point is the Lightning Super TT, a streetfighter/supermoto hybrid that delivers much more than you might expect at first consideration.

Manor Born

Louis Vuitton—as a purveyor of custom luggage and expensive bags, and owner of elite subsidiaries such as Donna Karan, Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon, Hennessey, Givenchy, and Tag Heuer—is one of Europe's most profitable groups, yet is not too proud to maintain links with the concours and retro-rally scene.

World War II Styling

Harley-Davidson fired a 1340cc silver bullet into the marketplace when it introduced the Softail Fat Boy in 1990. Crafted as a high-caliber response to the low-cost Japanese imports that swamped the U.S. market, the imposing “Gray Ghost”—with its metallic paint, winged USAF-inspired tank logo and solid disc wheels—made a muscular and unapologetically American statement. It helped Harley-Davidson recapture the sales leader mantle in the 750cc-and-up heavyweight division.

From an early age, Gregg DesJardins was inadvertently spoon-fed a unique customization and chrome awareness. He grew up around the creative environs of the family's garage, in close proximity to his father's passion for building hot rods. A wonderful metallurgical playground of rolling cut-and-chopped Detroit iron fueled young DesJardins' fertile imagination and set the developmental gears in motion.

New directions.

Harley-Davidson CVO Electra Glide

Honda Gold Wing

Yamaha FJR1300A

Pleasant Valley Sunday ride.

Non-conformity ain't what it used to be. Harley-Davidson motorcycles spent decades holding the torch for rebel outlaws and angry young men, but the world—and the motorcycle universe—is a different place in 2007. Now favored by weekend warriors with disposable income, Harley's evolving demographic has cast the Motor Company in a more mainstream light. At the same time, there is a migration of riders from pure cruisers to touring cruisers.

Riding the Wraith

New Orleans never labored beneath the austere Puritan ethos imposed elsewhere in the United States; rather, the Crescent City's French-derived Creole and Cajun population embraced the relaxed philosophy of laissez les bons temps rouler—let the good times roll.