In 2013, Scott Jones of NOISE Cycles showed up at Born Free 5 with a machine that captivated minds: a 1952 Harley-Davidson Panhead morphed into a race-inspired, aluminum-bodied bike with an asymmetrical face.
He clutched the “Best in Show” award, netting him a brand new 120R motor from Harley-Davidson that came with the commitment of building a bike around it for the next year’s show.
“My mind started spinning immediately,” says Scott.
Within days, there was a sketch. The idea was a naked superbike – a bike with a silhouette that looked like the race machines that Eddie Lawson and Wes Cooley piloted to AMA victories. Before work started, however, Jones found himself in the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
After a full day’s time inside the museum that blew his mind, there was a new idea: “The silhouette was going to mimic the WR Racers of the 1940s.”
In NOISE Cycles fashion, it became a lot more involved than just making it look like a WR. The ideas came flooding in, and tweaks were made to make sure the bike worked both mechanically and aesthetically.
“I threw Morris mag wheels on there to give a little throwback to the road race bikes of the ‘70s, and I got some NOS Works Shocks, too,” he said.
Pulling in iconic bits and pieces from Harleys of all years and making them work in harmony seems like an impossible task, but Jones found ways.
“I got an old white buddy seat from an early Shovelhead, took it apart, and had my seat guy use that cover to wrap my new seat. I originally had a different idea for the paint, but near the end, I started seeing it, and I chose to go with Harley Davidson Orlando Orange, and a paint scheme that’s a throwback to the 1930s.”
Jones meticulously brought in exactly what he wanted.
“The nacelle is an early Wide Glide morphed with a Sportster, and the foot-clutch-hand-shift setup is just 1920s HD. This thing is a handful, but a blast to ride.”
The bike made it to Born Free 6, and despite being a modern bike at heart, all the vintage styling cues really let it fit in with the rest of the show. It now rests in the Harley-Davidson Museum.
“I am truly honored and blessed to have my work in there. It’s a dream come true.”
This article first appeared in issue 17 of Iron & Air Magazine, and is reproduced here under license.
Noise Cycles | Instagram | Words & Images by Jose Gallina
