"Economy of line" is what they call it in the art world, and the term refers to how much a designer can say with as little effort as possible. In the art of prose, "economy of word" describes brevity of a similarly expressive nature. In the culture of custom motorcycles, this fine Sportster embodies what we like to call "economy of chop."

Kim Boyle of Bench*Mark in Carlsbad, CA, has created another stunner without resorting to tacked-on trinkets or needless decoration, once again proving that less is more when it comes to making motorcycles with style.

Engine, year and make, model, modifications: Stock 2000 Harley-Davidson XL1200 Sportster 

Frame: Stock 

Fork: Stock, lowered 2", shaved & polished 

Chassis mods: Cut the fender struts, lower lock tab, pipe hanger & chain guard bracket

Tire/wheel size and style: Front: 21" powder coated stock rim, stainless spokes & nipples wrapped in an Avon speedmaster; rear: 16" H-D swap meet find, powder coated black, stainless spokes & nipples, Shinko classic 240 tire

Favorite thing about this bike: The whole package. It all came together and turned out to be a super fun rider. But if I had to pick one thing I'd say the taillight. It had been a while since Pat and I worked together on anything, we had fun doing it and are both really pleased with the finished part

Next modification will be: An Old Gold Garage cast aluminum domed top for the CV carb; fab a stash box for the paperwork

Other mods, accessories, cool parts, etc.: Front to back: Front Street Cycles stainless bars; nice small front brake reservoir and clutch lever from Hide Moto Japan; Biltwell grips; Slim fab modded Sporty tank; Duane Ballard seat; Burley shocks; chain conversion; braided stainless brake lines and a Front Street Cycles heavy-duty fender. I used our Bench*Mark breather bolts, Ombligo air cleaner and cleaned up a discarded ignition cover that got half eaten by the mill. I ended up using a lot of scrap stainless that we had laying around for the front brake line guide, switch bracket, the heat shield on the pipe, the plate mount, keychain, oil drain plug and the rear fender tip. I built the pipe out of scraps of Biltwell pipe kit from the past and a half finished rolled megaphone I found at the swap a couple of years ago. I also cut down the cam cover, sprocket case, the ridiculously large brake pedal, stripped and cleaned up the brake calipers and modified the upper motor mount/horn bracket to accept the coil. The taillight is bits of round stainless, aluminum & red acrylic rod that's been threaded, hogged out and breathed on to fit a 1" LED cluster, then welded to a stainless bracket that attaches to the shock mount. After all of that, Sonny Mouneu's paint skills brought the whole bike together

Interesting back story: I seriously put the finishing touches on this bike a few minutes before we pulled out for the Slab City Riot, and within the first hour on the road I was in love with it,. She rides great! I'm going to have to part with it soon, though; we can't keep them all

Thanks: Big thanks to my day-to-day guys: Pat McCormack, Chris Collins, Tim Conroy, the missed but new Brooklyn resident Matt Landman and my go-to, what-now guy Rouser Rob Galan. Also the goods and services of some real stand-up dudes

www.frontstcycle.blogspot.com

slimsfab.blogspot.com

sonnyboypaint.blogspot.com

dbcustomleather.com

biltwellinc.com

Keep an eye out for an upcoming feature in Cycle Source magazine