A Street Racer Named Rusty Slider

0roughcraftxr1roughcraftxr2roughcraftxr5roughcraftxr6roughcraftxrWhen in 1922 C.N. Williamson and E.E. Dickie created the Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company producing millions of uniforms for the US armed forces to become the number one manufacturer of work apparel worldwide, of course they could not imagine that one day a custom motorcycle builder from Taiwan would dedicate one of his creations to the Dickies brand. It happened by accident (pun intended) when the owner of Dickies Taiwan crashed his 2010 Harley XR 1200…

3roughcraftxr4roughcraftxrCustom Builder Winston Yeh from Rough Crafts wanted to return the damaged Sportster bike to its racer roots , the XR-750, but in a retro and more civilized version made to tame the streets, not the track. For this purpose, after stretching the gas tank by 2 inch and narrowing it, a new “sport” tail section was installed with the swingarm and front forks replaced by those of a Sporty Forty Eight (spare parts coming from another project) Rear suspension was upgraded with a set of Progressive Suspension shocks combining a high pressure gas mono tube design with deflective and adjustable disc damping via a knob.

7roughcraftxr9roughcraftxr10roughcraftxrA “must do” retro racing modification was to convert back the EFI system to carburation. In this case, a Mikuni HS42 equipped with a proprietary “Rough Crafts” stack. Driveline was also converted from belt to chain. The XR 1200 got a stance makeover with a pair of 19 x 3” “Del Mar” Roland Sands wheels wrapped with pro-level traction and lightweight Maxxis tires. Braking system was upgraded using Performance Machine calipers pinching Lyndall Racing composite rotors.

Foot and hand controls are a mix of parts from both Roland Sands and Performance Machine. Exhaust is a one-off built from the Supertrapp tracker system, now featuring a megaphone and billet end cap. Most other parts belong to Rough Crafts own custom parts catalog. Amng them, the headlight & blinker grilles, the fighter bars and risers, the engine and clutch covers, the risers, grips, gas cap, etc.

“Rusty Slider” is a “Dickies” can be qualified as a theme bike, but without the excesses found on typical “bike show” theme bikes: the paint job features only a few discreet letterings of the Dickies workwear brand…and a few fake air brushed rust spots (was it necessary?) A very nice Sporty sled by Rough Crafts. (Photography @ JL Photography)
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16 Responses to “A Street Racer Named Rusty Slider”


  1. 1 Rodent Sep 21st, 2015 at 8:10 am

    Made in USA, too bad it wasn’t customized in the USA!

  2. 2 J. Parker Sep 21st, 2015 at 8:16 am

    Very cool, but I agree that fake rust was not necessary.

  3. 3 Mazz Sep 21st, 2015 at 8:16 am

    I like it, cool build.

  4. 4 Mark Russell Sep 21st, 2015 at 8:17 am

    Exhaust will burn your right thigh! Except this, it’s pretty good.

  5. 5 SIGFREED Sep 21st, 2015 at 9:25 am

    There seems to be a lot of front wheel (width) squeezed in between the front forks.

  6. 6 zipper Sep 21st, 2015 at 10:11 am

    Nice Sportster that has no relation to the XR750. Not one part on either bike is the same except for the Maxis. Make sure you roll up your jeans so they don’t get caught in the chain. ..Z

  7. 7 windroad Sep 21st, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    A great example of how custom bikes have left their chopper era behind.

  8. 8 Danny Sep 21st, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    Very nice. Would ride it to work (20 miles) every day

  9. 9 NoH2oh Sep 21st, 2015 at 5:29 pm

    I wonder if the XR1200 would have sold better if it was more in this closer to XR750 look.

  10. 10 rcupp Sep 21st, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    I like it, put me a fender on the front and take the Twinkies off the side of it and the fake rust!

  11. 11 Woody's Sep 21st, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    I like the overall look, but no way I’d go from FI back to a carb

  12. 12 nicker Sep 21st, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    Very, VERY nice indeed.
    (and no rubber band)

    -nicker-

  13. 13 Dale Sep 22nd, 2015 at 9:46 am

    Very cool. Like the tracker look.

  14. 14 BCinSoCal Sep 22nd, 2015 at 11:04 am

    Like this a lot! Yes to some heat shields, no to the rust.

  15. 15 arlo gonser Sep 23rd, 2015 at 3:54 am

    great bike by a great guy. winston is the real deal, keep a look-out for his builds in the future!

  16. 16 Blackmax Sep 24th, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    i like it !!!!
    Well Done, the owner should have no problem
    with what his $$$ paid for

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Cyril Huze