Today a king
Harley fans and customers choose the “Custom King”
• Participating: 220 authorized dealers from 21 countries – 24 of them from Germany
• The German “Custom King” will be determined via online voting
(Neu-Isenburg, January 17, 2017) The list of the 12 monarchies in Europe ranges from A for Andorra to V for United Kingdom. Whoever is a king today became so undemocratically through inheritance. But when Harley-Davidson defines its new “Custom King”, pure popular rule is the order of the day. “Battle of the Kings” is the name of Europe’s largest retailer customizing contest. In 2017 he goes into the third round. Once again, Harley-Davidson dealers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East were asked to stylishly and skillfully convert a bike from Milwaukee. This time the basis was a Sportster from the Dark Custom model line. The dealers could choose whether they wanted to get their hands on an Iron 883, a Forty-Eight or a Roadster - all machines that offer a lot of room for customization because they were reduced to the essentials from the start. The style? Doesn't matter! The main thing is that it arrives, because ultimately the international Harley community should choose their favorite.
220 authorized dealers from 21 countries – including 24 from Germany – took up the challenge in the winter. The results are impressive and can be admired on the web at www.hd.com/customkings. But amazement alone is not enough, because it is important to make the best conversion and its builder the “Custom King”. Anyone who enjoys cool custom bikes is invited to cast their vote via online voting. Following the national voting phase, a jury of specialist journalists will determine the German national winner from the machines that were voted into the top 5. Together with his 20 competitors, he will face the strict eyes of an international jury of experts at the EICMA motorcycle trade fair in Milan in November in the fight for the international crown of “Custom King 2017”.
The regulations stipulate that every custom bike must be registrable. In addition, at least 50 percent of the value of the parts installed should be covered by original Harley-Davidson accessories. The latter is made easier by the extensive range of parts & accessories, which fills a catalog of over 900 pages in 2017. So just put an expensive high-end show winner on the wheels? No, because with the “Battle of the Kings” Harley-Davidson wants to prove that it doesn’t have to cost the earth to create a royal custom bike. Therefore, the total budget for each renovation was limited to 6,000 euros net.
The virtual polling station will be open 24 hours a day until February 14th. All kingmakers check out the internet at www.hd.com/customkings.
Text & Image Credits: Copyright Harley-Davidson
