The bike was stripped back from a stock Pan America and has had a new custom light fixture, a Sportster S tank with a custom Heirloom red paint, a nod to the 120th Anniversary special editions, a custom tail section with number plate and speedometer relocations. The bike has also had new light fixtured, indicators and a stubby MF exhaust.
Talking about the direction they took the bike in, Rory said “Our inspiration harkens back to the glory days of Harley Racing bikes and the flat-track racers of previous years, throw in a bit of Buell, and mix in a dose of the hot-rod idea of stripping it down to make it go faster. And we all know red ones go faster; the paint is H-D Heirloom Red, matching the 120th Anniversary colour scheme introduced this year.”
“It was awesome to work on this project. Adventure bikes are not usually subjected to this kind of customisation, so it was refreshing to see the Pan America from a different perspective.”
When asked about achieving second place, Rory said “Just to have the bike displayed at the 120th Anniversary celebrations in Budapest was an honour; to come away with second place is amazing and totally unexpected. Some of the positive messages we’ve received from Harley-Davidson staff and even Davidson family members have been incredible, and the support and congratulations we’ve received from customers at the dealership has been very humbling.”
“A big shout out to Scott for supporting us and pushing us to be our best.”
Scott Kinsella, Brand Manager at Cheltenham Harley-Davidson said “For me entering the trailblazer's competition was fundamentally for both Rory and Marek to show off their skill set across Europe and against their peers. From spending every day with them and knowing how unbelievably talented they both are, we needed to showcase their talent not just for Harley-Davidson or us, but for them also to realise how important they are as people in this business.”
“For me I was absolutely blown away with them getting second place but more so the acknowledgment for them both with the kind words from one of the American Harley Davidson builders of how our build was so unbelieve and showcased everything and more he wanted from the trailblazer competition.”
See the award-winning Trailblazers reveal video below