Bike Wired: Blacker than black: Rough Crafts’ Dyna Fat Bob

Blacker than black: a custom Harley Dyna Fat Bob from Rough Crafts.

Winston Yeh has an uncanny talent: he builds custom Harleys that excite people who don’t normally like Harleys. Operating as Rough Crafts out of Taipei, Taiwan, his creations are lean and brooding—with impeccable finishes.

In short, the man has great taste, as is evident by his latest build. “Dyna Guerilla” is a 2009 Fat Bob—trimmed of the fat and wrapped in a slick exterior that panders to its strength: the torquey 1584cc v-twin tucked away inside.

Blacker than black: a custom Harley Dyna Fat Bob from Rough Crafts.
To improve the Fat Bob’s stance, Yeh’s matched a set of Progressive shocks at the back to a Progressive lowering kit up front. The forks have been coated in titanium black and upgraded with a set of Arlen Ness Hot Legs fork legs.

The wheels are also from the Arlen Ness stable: 16″ at both ends, wrapped in a pair of 5.00 Coker/Beck Cycle Blackwalls. For brakes, Yeh turned to Arlen Ness again—matching a set of their billet caliper housings to composite rotors from Lyndall Brakes.

Blacker than black: a custom Harley Dyna Fat Bob from Rough Crafts.
“I met the Ness family several times at different shows and we became friends,” says Yeh. “They offer good deals on parts and, since I don’t have any allegiance to any particular brand, I thought I’d go ahead and try it out.”

From his own Rough Crafts collection, Yeh’s fitted a set of Fighter handlebars—with Rough crafts risers and grips, and a mix of Rough Crafts and Performance Machine controls. The foot controls, air filter, fuel tank and cap, rocker arm cover and seat (with removable pillion unit) are also Rough Crafts components.

Blacker than black: a custom Harley Dyna Fat Bob from Rough Crafts.
The headlight is a Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight unit, treated to a grill with matching tail light and turn signals. Rounding off the package is a pair of Rough Crafts Guerilla exhausts, and a Voodoo fender strut kit from Rocket Bobs.

Given Taiwan’s ruthlessly strict laws on customizing bikes, the engine is essentially stock—and the frame has only received minor edits. But just about everything else is new.

Blacker than black: a custom Harley Dyna Fat Bob from Rough Crafts.
Yeh turned to CT-Garage to handle all the assembly work, and Air Runner Custom Paint for the graphics. The bike’s almost completely murdered out—with a mix of black finishes contrasted only by the engine’s polished fins.

Blacker than black: a custom Harley Dyna Fat Bob from Rough Crafts.
The Dyna Guerilla was originally intended as a personal project: a bike to showcase Yeh’s abilities. Despite this it was sold early on—before the project was even completed.