What is a club style?

Introduction to the club style

"It's a clubstyle thing, you can't understande"

Type motorcycles Club Style have existed for forty years with the appearance of FXR chassis in Harley-Davidson.

The name "Club Style", however, appeared that recently.

Basically, this type of preparation is carried out on Harley (Dyna) in order to Make it more able to ride stronger, further and longer.

Like most preparations, there is nothing superfluous on clubstyles. In theory, each modification must be anchored in something practical Or performance -oriented; This is where the style of these motorcycles lies.

Here are the basic elements of the appearance of a motorcycle Clubstyle :

• 2 in 1 exhaust
• Long rear shock absorbers
• Improved engine performance
• Front fairing (often used)
• High handlebar and pontet

 We will see this in detail in the rest of the article.

Definition and origin of the club style

Aspect of motor culture and generally ignored by the general public, biker clubs There have been since the 1940s and have been essential to the structure of motorcyclism as well as gatherings. 

Most of the first biker clubs were founded by veterans looking for fraternity and of camaraderie left behind at the end of the Second World War.

Although each club is different, most of them demand from their members that they do one thing: Roll often, over long distances and above all, together, as a team. 

If the favorite motorcycle style of clubs has changed over the years, the current version is called " club style " Or "rogue style".

For the most part, they take American motorcycles and modify them with all the characteristic elements of Clubstyles. The idea behind these motorcycles is that they are supposed to be fast, reliable, comfortable, narrow, agile and effective in all definitions of the word. These are "ready for everything" motorcycles.

The preparation Clubstyle Popularized with the arrival of the Dyna chassis which has a more sporty setting.

This style was popularized to the general public thanks to the series Son of anarchy (Soa)/

"This dramatic series retraces the life of a united club of Bikers outlaw operating in Charming, the fictitious city of the Central Valley, in California. She features Charlie Hunnam In the role of Jackson "Jax" Teller, club vice-president. He soon begins to question the club and himself. Fraternity, loyalty, betrayal and redemption are constant themes."

Today with the end of the Dyna type chassis, the clubstyle on the basis of Harley is carried out on the Softail For recent versions.

It is important to note that we see more and more clubstyles made on the basics of other Harley models and other brands like Yamaha Or Honda. We will see it later.


To summarize, the philosophy of clubstyleHere is a word from the specialists of clubstyle-world.com: 

"The basic rules of a motorcycle clubstyle:
Be fast and effective from point A to point B. Whether in town Or in the countryside."

Clubstyle variants

There are several variants of this motorcycle style. Like each preparation family, there are several sub -families. 

In addition to the "classic" clubstyle, we distinguish "naked" and ST. 

Classic

THE Classic clubstyle is the original model. In style, it is placed between the Naked and clubstyle st.  It differs from the Naked model by the presence of a fairing (before).

Naked

A copy of a Naked clubstyle presented on the Instagram page of Clubstyle_germany:

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THE Naked (which means naked in English) is the version lightened of Clubstyle. Unlike St.

He does not have a fairing at the front. Here we find a round lighthouse. 

Otherwise we find the essential elements of Clubstyle.

Clubstyle ST

St for Sport Touring, a Touring (therefore with suitcases and fairings) in sport mode. 

The first model of the name was the Harley FXRT Sport Glide appeared on the market in 1983.

We find the same front fairing on many  club style preparations. 

Here is the preparation clubstyle St Japanese of Vida Motorcycle : 

To cross paths between the clubstyle and the Bagger performance. The St is a more dressed club style . 

	Here is another example with the sportglide of @jen_tron : Having more important bodywork elements, Clubstyle ST are often embellished with a complete worked painting.

The stylistic and philosophical borders of the ST are very close to the Bagger performance.

Indeed, the Bagger performance is a very recently appeared personalization term which has justified itself with the creation of an American competition King of Baggers Appeared in 2020.

This is a race or clash Baggers perfomances Indian and Harley on the circuit.

Here is a video demonstration:

THE Bagger performance do not have a front wheel similar to baggers. The saddle, the handlebars, the exhaust are the same as the club style .

The difference is the Base used To make the preparation.

THE Bagger performance uses a base bagger (THE Road Glide for example) and the Clubstyle ST a base clubstyle (Street Bob For example).

The second difference is that preparers like to install turbos on the Bagger performance in order to push motorcycles around 200 horses. 

The club style style has evolved a lot in recent years and there have been new motorcycles, new styles, new preparations regularly. 

The characteristic elements of a clubstyle.

As we have seen, the clubstyle preparation is above all orient towards improving the overall motorcycle capacities. 

The optimization of motorcycle performance is oriented on 3 levels:

• THE engine
• THE frame
• There cycle part

ENGINE

A Internship type preparation 1 (at least) allows you to already have good performance at a lower cost.

A Internship 1 allows Take advantage of the machine factory performance as much as possible.

For large budgets, the preparation of the engine has no limit: Big Bore, ECU kit, camshafts, turbo etc ...

• A new cartography for the engine

Here is an example of a new cartography made for a Harley Low Rider St. There reprogramming Associated with a performance air filter and a 2 in 1 bassani before installation of camshafts (internship 2). 

• Big flow air filter

In this context of an internship 1, the Change of air filter is required.

Performance air filters also bring a touch racing at the motorcycle.

As this air filter demonstrates Remm Installed on a touring. It is available on our shop. 

•  2 in 1 exhaust

The 2 in 1 exhaust Go to pair with the preparation of the engine. He is part of internship 1.

2 in 1: that is to say that the 2 tubes coming out of the cylinders come together to form only one tube. There is an exhaust tube by cylinder.

A new exhaust allows release more gas that the original exhaust. Indeed, with pollution and noise standards, original exhausts are generally "castrated".

In addition, the sound is greatly improved.

REM Exhaust for Softail Available on order. Hand manufacturing, upon order. 

Why the 2 in 1? This type of exhaust is more efficient than a double output model. It has become the standard for a preparation Clubstyle.

• FOR FURTHER

You can go to an internship 2, an internship 3 and even an internship 4. It is a question of envy and budget.

A chain gable kit In replacement of the belt can be installed for better transmission of power.

And why not a Turbo kit To increase the power by 40-50% and reach up to 300 horsepower for certain preparations as proposed Trask that sells turbos for Harley Davidson.

The chassis

The chassis is also improved in order to make the most of the engine performance.

• The high "T-Bar" handlebars

This handlebars allows you to have a comfortable position on the motorcycle while having perfect control of the motorcycle.

It is recommended that the handlebars are to the maximum shoulder height In order to be the most effective without being tiring on large journeys.

A variant of this installation exists by installing long bridges (17 cm for example) and a mountain bike handlebar.

• The lighthouse ("Fairing")

It is an increasingly added accessory to this preparation for the style that brings and its comfort (for some models).

Here is an example of a rather large model with a ST vocation:

It is the original fairing of the clubstyle. Today there are more and more preparations with the front fairing of the Low Rider St.

And here is a smaller model on a Yamaha Bolt :

There is a wide choice of model, sizes and shape for this element.

• SADDLE

THE clubstyle has a very special saddle which is unique for this preparation.

She is recognizable by her shape and his right angle which separates the seat of the backsplash.

This form allows a good support biker and A comfortable seat.

Here are two examples made by Badass Motors : 

 In terms of style, the choice is wide. The saddle is made depending on the taste of each.

• THE SUITCASES

This is the characteristic element of GT Styles Club. They provide a large storage capacity for backpackers as well as a different look at the motorcycle, a look of bagger.

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It is an aesthetic and practical accessory. This is not added to improve motorcycle performance.

Side bags are sometimes installed instead of suitcases 

• Personalized paint:

THE clubstyles  With more fairings generally wear an original complete paint. 

As this preparation demonstrates:

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Boues, side covers, suitcases, tank and front fairing have benefited a lot of painting. 

Cycle part:

• High rear suspension

Original shock absorbers of customs and bobbers motorcycles are generally not super qualities.

 Here is an example of an installation of fox shock absorbers on a dynam:

In order to improve damping and increase the saddle height, installation of shock absorbers quality and longer is recommended for this preparation.

• On fork

Depending on the base chosen, it is possible toimprove and D'lengthen the fork.

Here is a spring kit Patriot suspension genesis For Harley:

The goal is toget on ground clearance And to improve suspension.

Here is a tutorial for interested parties: (1) Speed ​​-Tings Install: +2 49mm fork Tube Kit - YouTube

The fork can also be replaced by an inverted fork. Remmotorcycle offers a KYB inverted fork for Softail, Dyna and Sportster with very good quality / price ratio.

• Footrest - order

THE Advanced commands Can be replaced by median commands to avoid friction during fast curve passages.

 

 This increases ground clearance and thus be able to take more angles when turns.

• BRAKING SYSTEM

In parallel with the increase in engine and chassis performance, it is important toIncrease braking performance.

To do this, the installation of 4 -piston caliper at the front and floating discs improves the braking performance of the motorcycle. 

Optional: Sissybar

It is not uncommon to see Sissy Bar on clubstyles.

Whether the goal is aesthetic or it is a support for luggage during long road trip, everyone finds their interest in this accessory. 

With the popularization of this type of preparation, most followers are only moving towards aesthetic preparation. They like the club's look And do not necessarily have the same objectives as the pioneers.

Thus their budget will be devoted to fairing, saddle or paint rather than preparing the engine or brakes. 

Ideal motorcycle preparation for Rodeos: 

Add crashbar (protective bar) to your clubstyle and you can make it the ideal motorcycle for stunt (motorcycle figure). 

Here is a demonstrative video on this subject: 

To raise this type of motorcycle, it must be modified and optimized in this perspective.

Clubstyle owners with a advanced prep are lovers of burnout and rear wheel (Wheeling). This is part of the Clubstyle spirit.

We can notice The different styles of clubstyle in this video.

The club preparation changes the philosophy of the motorcycle and it becomes an easy and agile motorcycle like any other.

The basics to make a clubstyle:

A purist will say that a clubstyle is on a basis Harley-Davidson. In this case, the emblematic base for making a clubstyle is the Dynam.

With the end of the dynamics, club preparers turn to Softail and in particular low -riders.

For a powerful clubstyle, you have to move towards the models Low-rider S with 114Ci or a Lower St With 117Ci.

Today this style is democratized and the preparation bases are diversifying: 

Harley Low Rider St

There Harley-Davidson Low Rider St is a motorcycle that combines a daring style with breathtaking performance. Powered by the Milwaukee-Eight ™ 117 engine, which is the second most efficient engine in the range. 

A fairing inspired by Fxrt and modernized provides protection against Wind Welcome to long journeys, While giving it a unique look. The driving position is both dynamic and comfortable thanks to a raised rear suspension and a high handlebars.

Compact removable bags make it perfect for weekend getaway, While powerful LED lighting and standard ABS brakes guarantee optimal security. 

here is a Fxlrst prepared by Thunderbike. One of the preparations of the year on this model. 

It does not have big changes outside painting and rims but is really successful.

Indian Sport Chief

Arrived in 2023 on the segment of sports cruisers, sport chief is a great base for making a clubstyle. It is well equipped and has a powerful engine.

We look forward to seeing the preparations on this model.

Yamaha Bolt 950

This model is the custom proposal of Yamaha At attractive price. The design of this motorcycle is traditional.

There are more and more parts for this model in order to transform it into a clubstyle. 

 Here is a great achievement in the mind Club style. 

Honda CMX 500 Rebel: 

The new Rebel 500 (also available from 250 to 1000cc) is much appreciated by preparers, especially in Asia.

We are starting to see more and more customizations Clubstyle way on this machine.

This model is "pimpé"With the addition of fairings, a hoof and a plain wheel.

The basic design of the CMX and the addition of these parts gives a Futuristic clubstyle. 

This model is also in the style of prepas K-spat on CMX500.

And here is a model responding more to the Standard Clubstyle:

These preparations and the parts of these preparations were made by Motolord Available here: Honda Rebel CMX 500 (zeedparts.com)

BMW R18

The BMW R18 is a modern cruiser inspired by classic BMW models from the 1950s and 1960s. With its boxer engine of 1,802 cm3, it offers generous power and torque.

Its sleek design combines retro style and modern equipment such as ABS and traction control.

Comfortable on a winding road, it is a powerful and elegant motorcycle that will seduce thrill seekers.

Here it is modified by the famous preparer Roland Sands Design.

Honda Shadow

The mythical Honda Shadow has already been worked on all sauces: chopper, bobber, bagger … He is now more and more transformed into a clubstyle.

Indeed, this motorcycle is present in quantity and the owners find that the club tendency style suits it perfectly.

The productions on this model are still a little limited. If you know Shadow Club Style, do not hesitate to share them with us.

Yamaha Virago 1100

With the Shadow, the Virago is part of Classic Japanese Customs. 

The Virago is even more prepared than the Shadow Because he is often entitled to prepas CAFE RACER Or Scramble. 

Here it is in version clubstyle with a superb paint made by Muaywat Custom:

Unfortunately, we have no more photos of this Thai preparation. 

Triumph Speedmaster

This model is still little exploited in the field of personalization. 

All motorcycles do not make beautiful clubstyles. Indeed, this BMW R ninet for example is proof: 

Frankly, I think there is better to do with a R nine t than an attempt at Bratsyle, right? 

To go further on the subject

The French Clubstyle community is growing more and more, I invite you to follow the Instagram page Clubstyle crew (@ClubStylecrew) • Instagram photos and videos 

 Here is an interesting interview on the Harley universe and the clubstyles: The Harley club style? Look and performance! | Broaam: the melody of a good recovery in Big Twin

This blog devotes several articles on the subject of the clubstyle. 

You can also follow the YouTube channel Let's talk about Harley by HD Liège who has already devoted a video about the club style: Let's talk Harley: Custom - the clubstyle  

Andrea Koben Motorcycle has also already presented several club style on her channel: Presentation Club Style Dyna Street Bob Part 2 - YouTube

So a preparation clubstyle, you tempt you?