American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 168 July 2013

The Taiwanese sharp shooter The World Championship of Custom Bike Building moving from Sturgis to Germany was welcomed by many European bike builders as it meant it would be easier for them to compete in the event. However, for one builder Europe was just as hard to get to as the US, the reason being that Winston Yeh, of Rough Crafts, is based in Taiwan. However, distance was not going to put him off competing, nor for that matter taking a trophy home! N OW in its 10th year, the World Championship of Custom Bike Building has always had an international flavor. That is one of the many factors that remained unchanged after the competition was staged in Europe for the first time when it was held in Essen, Germany, as part of Big Bike Europe, with competitors from 23 countries present. Among those competitors was one young man making history at the Championship. His name was Winston Yeh, and he was the first Taiwanese competitor in the World Championship of Custom Bike Building with his Modified Harley Sportster – Stealth Bullet. Winston is the proprietor of Rough Crafts, a small custom shop in Taipei City, but he has a long background in the custom bike industry, and when he was first starting out seven years ago he spent time working at Roland Sands Design as a graphic designer. So impressed was Roland Sands with Winston’s work that when he left to return to Taiwan he gave him a set of RSD wheels as a thank you. It was this very same set of wheels that set in motion the build of the bike Winston entered in the Modified Harley class at the 2013 World Championship, and then ultimately took first place in the class, too. Of course, Winston needed more than a set of wheels to start the build, and as a donor bike he sourced a 2008 1200R Sportster. As soon as it was in the Rough Crafts shop Winston began the strip down. The bike was completely disassembled to allow for the first of the many subtle but significant changes – converting it to run oil-in-frame. Winston’s reason for doing this was to be able to rid the bike of its bulky side panels, and as part of the work he placed the oil lines along the top of the frame, so that they are then hidden by the gas tank. The next step in visually slimming the bike was to then relocate or modify the battery, and Winston took the former option. His solution to getting a battery ???????????????????????????()A???????????M?????????????????????????]?????????????5????????????????????????()?????????????e????????????????????????1?????????????????????????????????????????????9????????????????????????????????????????IM?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????Q?????????????????????????????????????????????A????????()Q?????????????????????????????????M????? ??????????????????????????I???? ????()\()Q??????????%????????d????????????????????????????????]????????????????????????????()Q???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????e?????()]??????e???????aM????? ????d)???5????????????????5I% 8?5=Q=I e 1?1H???)U1d?????((??((0

American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 168 July 2013 | Page 55