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Thunderbike Harley-Davidson Niederrhein is the German Custom King

The winning bike, based on an FXDR 114, is called „Roar.“ Harley-Davidson Bielefeld and Düsseldorf took second and third place.

(Neu-Isenburg, February 27, 2019) Standing out from the crowd, swimming against the tide, being unconventional and unique – that's what we call individuality.

Harley-Davidson has been supplying the perfect motorcycles for this since 1903. And yet these are nothing more than a blank canvas on which their owners can express their own unique personalities – which is why no two Harleys are alike.

Harley-Davidson dealers are responsible for customizing US bikes, and they demonstrate their skills in the art of customization year after year in the Battle of the Kings.

In 2019, the big Harley-Davidson customizing contest will take place worldwide for the first time, as US dealers are now also taking part.

The custom bikes, which were built around the globe last winter, first competed against each other in national qualifying rounds. Online voting was allowed, and thousands of motorcycle fans from all over the world didn't need to be asked twice.

Until mid-February, people were swiping and tapping away like crazy, and now the national winners have been determined.

In Germany, Thunderbike Harley-Davidson Niederrhein won the race, closely followed by the Harley-Davidson dealerships in Bielefeld and Düsseldorf.

The Hamminkelner team had set their sights on the youngest and sportiest member of the Softail family, the FXDR 114.

„With our conversion called ‚Roar’, we wanted to emphasize the racing character of the bike and deliver a flat and fierce dragster conversion for this year's battle,“ says Managing Director Andreas Bergerforth.

Contributing to this are a lowered chassis, a fat 260 under a redesigned rear end, a new seat and front fender, and several components from the Harley-Davidson Dominion accessories collection.

The engine was boosted with a Screamin’ Eagle Stage 3 kit, and for the paint job, Thunderbike decided to complement the Harley-Davidson colors of black and orange with an elegant silver tone that shows off the redesigned shape of the machine even better.

„Congratulations, Thunderbike, and many thanks to all the other customizers in Europe and around the world who participated in our competition with enthusiasm and skill,“ commented Christian Arnezeder, Harley-Davidson Managing Director Central Europe.

Now that the national winners have been determined, it's time to choose the four best non-American bikes. Once again, public voting on the World Wide Web will decide the outcome.

The four finalists emerging from this vote will then compete against the four best conversions made in the USA at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan in November.

In this final showdown, a jury of experts will crown the world champion in the „Battle of the Kings“ contest. So stay tuned for more exciting developments!

External web link to Thunderbike

Image credit: Thunderbike Harley-Davidson Lower Rhine

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