News

Harley’s Battle Of The Kings Finalists Gallery

Here are the 18 builds that will go on to the next round of judging.

June 25, 2019

Harley’s Battle of the Kings contest has 18 winners going on to the next round.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

As we told you last week, Harley-Davidson marketing and styling employees have chosen the 18 finalists in the regional round of the world's biggest custom build contest—the Battle of the Kings. The first round winners represent the top six customs from each of the three build categories in the BOTK contest—Chop, Dirt, and Race—and now get to move on to the next round of the competition.

That next round of judging will be headed by top editors from our sister magazine Cycle World as well as Harley enthusiast Milo Ventimiglia from the TV series This is Us. Stay tuned to hear about those winners, who will be announced on July 1.

Laidlaw’s Harley-Davidson transformed this Sport Glide into a grand touring rig along with help from students at MMI. The so-called FXGTS sports a robust mix of performance parts and custom bits for sleek style and modern function in the Race category.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Performance-based touring made another appearance with “Apex,” a Road King Special that got a healthy dose of power from Appalachian Harley-Davidson with Cumberland Perry Area Vocational Tech. Category? That would be the Race grouping.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Representing in the Chop segment is “Ol’ Heavy,” a 2018 Fat Boy model that got taller and sleeker thanks to students from the Skill Center spinning wrenches with the guys at Kersting’s Cycle Center in Winamac, Indiana.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Fox River Harley-Davidson was the brains behind this Roadster model fondly called “Purple Reign,” for obvious reasons. Hampshire High School was the chosen partner school on this build which featured in the Race segment.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

An Iron 1200 model was the foundation for the “Portland Flyer,” a boardtrack-inspired Sportster build from Paradise Harley-Davidson and Tigard High students that also placed in the Race category.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

The “D-Town Hooligan” comes from Dallas Harley-Davidson ready to hit the dirt, high pipe and all. This Sportster Roadster was built by Dallas H-D along with at least a dozen kids from Gilbreath-Reed Career and Technical Center.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Another Sport Glide entered in the Race category, “Carbon Betty” comes from the crew at Kent’s Harley-Davidson with students from Abilene High School helping out on the process.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Yes there’s a Softail Breakout lurking under that full fairing. Why “X-Glide”? The build team at Harley-Davidson of Carroll and partners Iowa Lakes Community College simply say it’s meant to evoke a feeling of mystery. Like we said, the Race category looks pretty diverse this year.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Yellowstone Harley-Davidson has been in the BOTK competition before, so when you wonder why its Street Bob-based build is in the Dirt category, you just gotta give the builders the benefit of the doubt. With partner Emerge School, they know what they’re doing.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Firmly in the Chop category is the “Joker,” a custom Street Bob built by Green Mountain Harley-Davidson and featuring lots of cool little details. Students from the Northwest Technical Center were a big part of bringing this project to completion.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Where else but the Chop grouping would a 2019 Street Bob go, right? Bergen County Harley-Davidson and students from Bergen County Tech took that theme all the way back to the 1970s with this king-and-queen-saddled, long-piped, Nixon-era chopper.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

This Fat Bob in the Chop category was dubbed “War Pig” by the guys at Black Sheep Harley-Davidson (and their Collins Career Tech Center partners) because they say their bike was made for a post-apocalyptic world. The Fat Bob seems tailor made for that, no?Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

“O.G. FXBB” seems self-explanatory, so we’ll just mention that it’s a Street Bob built by Cowboy’s Alamo City Harley-Davidson with help from students at Judson High School, and entered in the Chop group.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

“The Cornfield Crusher” pays homage to the “Cornfield Classic,” a vintage race that’s celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Brandt’s I-69 Harley-Davidson partnered with Marion Regional Career Center for this Fat Bob build in the Dirt segment.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Black-Magic Harley-Davidson and Williston High School didn’t even have a name for this Iron 1200 build until the last minute because everybody involved had a different feel for the bike. The good news is they all agreed it belonged in the Dirt category.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Rock City H-D along with partners U of Arkansas and Pulaski Tech College fashioned this Fat Bob into a modern interpretation of a Prohibition-era moonshine runner, complete with side hack and spacious whiskey barrel. Naturally, it’s representing in the Dirt grouping.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Schaeffer’s H-D took a Fat Bob and transformed it into this sick off-road machine with help from the Schuylkill Technology Center. Seriously chopped fenders, a custom rear shock, and the dirt-munching rubber tell you exactly which category the “Dirt Chipper” is in: Dirt.Courtesy of Harley-Davidson