Hidemo Style: A 1970s Shovelhead from one of Japan's best

The Japanese custom scene sets rather than follows trends. Japan's top builders each have a unique and instantly recognizable style, and the machines they produce are usually hard to pigeonhole. This 1970 Harley-Davidson FLH Shovelhead from Hideya Togashi of Hide Motorcycle (that's 'Hee-day') illustrates my point beautifully. Togashi-san's client simply asked him to build a bobber, leaving the rest to the builder's discretion. A wise move. Taking loose inspiration from the boardtrackers of the 1930s, he blended together bobber and vintage tracker cues to build what can only be described as a Hidemo special. Also known as the 'Hydra-Glide,' the...