There are many cultures in the motorcycle world, but there is one very distinct of them all. The rise of bobber motorcycles. But what exactly is a bobber? To describe a bobber in the simplest way possible, we can say that it is a cruiser bike – but with a difference.

The culture started in the 1920s with the practice of chopping down almost every unnecessary motorcycle part to make them light and more fashionable. Mudguards got bob-tailed, or simply given what they called a bob job, and the final product was a bobber. Harley-Davidson bikes were mostly the motorcycles used by ex-servicemen after WW2, and to make them unique, they customized them by chopping them down into bobbers.

Almost 100 years and Harley-Davidson still have some of the best bobbers in the motorcycle world. Read on for ten cool Harley-Davidson bobbers that any serious enthusiast would love to ride.

10 Harley-Davidson Sportster 48

Harley-Davidson Sportster 48
Via topspeed.com

Based on its small peanut tank that was introduced in 1948, the Harley-Davidson Sportster 48 is a definitive Harley Bobber that comes with all aspects of a beautiful motorcycle. It is built with Harley’s smaller version of the V-twin 1203cc engine that performs just right, if not more adequately.

The fat-tired minimalist Sportster 48 is a little heavy, with reasonably necessary Bobber specs – fair enough to make you abandon your modern sports bike for this.

9 Harley-Davidson Street Bob

Harley-Davidson Street Bob parked by a wall
Via youtube.com

Having been produced originally with the features of a bobber, the Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob is one of the best bobbers ever. Its name, ‘Bob,’ comes from the word ‘bobber. Since its introduction in 2006, the Street Bob has seen multiple upgrades. The most recent and significant updates on the Harley Street Bob transformed it into quite a new and enticing motorcycle.

The introduction of the new Harley-Davidson ‘Milwaukee-eight’ big twin-engine, coupled with several detailed upgrades, makes the Street Bob one of the best Bobbers in the motorcycle world. The bike also rides quite decently and evocatively thanks to its new chassis. Uncluttered, blacked-out big twin Harley-Davidson Bobber that anyone would want to throw a leg over.

8 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim

Harley Davidson Softail Slim parked outside
Via hipwallpaper.com

When you trim the fat from a fat boy, you leave him with muscle and strength, and that is what the Harley-Davidson Softail Slim bobber is about, - it is basically a fat boy with the fat chopped off. The Softail Slim is a simple bobber-style motorcycle with a classic vibe. With a seat height below 24 inches, the Softail Slim could be the bobber with the lowest seat so far.

The silhouette of the Softail Slim has not changed so much. But its rear frame has been chopped down and replaced with a custom tank and a seat unit. The build flows seamlessly as one over the cylinder heads. The custom bobber is built by one of the top Harley customizers, and it is perfect.

RELATED: Pro Drivers Avoid These 10 Sports Cars Like The Plague

7 Harley-Davidson Ironhead Bobber

A DP Customs Harley-Davidson Ironhead Bobber
Via youtube.com

A low-slung stripped-down Bobber built from a 1979 Harley-Davidson Ironhead with ideas borrowed from classic Steve McQueen movie Le Mans – the builders of this custom bobber tore the Ironhead stock motor apart, put the frame under the knife, and hard-tailed the rear.

The result is an Ironhead Bobber that is 4” lower and longer than the original 1979 Harley-Davidson Ironhead. Anything that came polished was chopped down to give the Bobber a more aggressive and vintage feel.

6 Harley-Davidson Iron 883

Harley Davidson Iron 883 parked next to a wall
Via bikeexif.com

Not every motorcycle enthusiast wants to integrate his motorcycle controls with his smartphone, some of us want to remain analog, but in style. The Harley-Davidson Iron 883 custom-built bobber is the perfect combination of the two – vintage and style. The bobber features a modern retro styling coupled with vintage looks of a 1960 chopper.

To ensure that Iron 883 bobber handles with style, Nick, the builder of this custom bike, did some extra job on the powertrain, and it turned out just perfect. Nick used a screaming Eagle kit to bore the engine to 1200cc. The transmission is a 1996 Sportster five-speed installed with a Barnett heavy-duty clutch. From a closer look, you can tell that a lot of work was done on this machine.

5 Harley-Davidson Fat Bob

A black Harley Davidson Fat Bob parked outside
Via thunderbike.com

Rough at Heart, Craft with Pride – Rough Craft’s motto, the builders of this custom bobber based on the 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Bob 107. The Fat Bob is a combination of the updated Rough Crafts Mighty Guerilla formula and the latest Harley platform. The Harley Fat Bob is designed with the most distinctive styling from their factories, but most of it still got chopped down during the creation of the Harley-Davidson Fat Bob bobber.

The bobber rides on the original 16” tires. The chassis remains original, but it has been slammed. Only a handful of the parts remain stock in this bike. The final product is creatively wrapped inside in a classic Rough Craft’s paint scheme – and looks beautiful in a finish dubbed as black-ops.

RELATED: We Can't Stop Staring At These Modified Lamborghinis

4 Harley-Davidson Cross Bone Bobber Softail Springer

A Davidson Cross Bone Bobber Softail Springer parked next to a wall
Via bright-cars.com

Only a handful of times will you come across a motorcycle that defies categorization like this Cross-Bone bobber Softail Springer. The owner of this particular Springer loves Norton motorcycles, and from where he lives, he realized he would never have a chance to own one. So, he decided to build his own bike. And he made this custom bobber from a 1992 Harley-Davidson Softail Springer.

To lower the ground clearance, he modified the front suspension. He replaced the original front wheel with a 19” BSA wheel, and used an old Harley WL rim to change the rear wheel from 16” to 18”. This Cross-Bone uses a VW car filter.

3 Harley-Davidson FLH Shovelhead

Harley Davidson FLH Shovelhead at a vintage yard
Via ddclassic.com

Artist James Roper Caldbeck is a custom bobber motorcycle builder – he has built some of the best vintage bobbers in the motorcycle world, including this Harley-Davidson FLH Shovelhead. Clean, low-slung road beasts coupled with the appealing retro vibes is the language he speaks, and he is not anywhere close to Milwaukee.

The FLH Shovelhead Bobber features a new engine and transmission rebuild, and a new electrical system. The original colossal battery box is also replaced with a much smaller battery, which is covered with a much smaller Harley-Davidson Sportster battery cover. Basically, James chopped down anything that looked plastic, huge and ugly on this bike, and replaced them with the smallest and appealing parts possible.

2 Harley-Davidson WL Flathead

harley-davidson_wl_flathead parked outside
Via ddclassic.com

Well, another custom Harley-Davidson bobber. This Harley WL Flathead must be the only bobber with parts collected from anywhere, and anything – the headlight is from a bicycle. The builder of this bobber, Philip Van Geest, says that he understands what a practical bobber should look like, and he would collect parts from as early as the ‘50s just to make sure he achieves what he intends to build – just like this custom WL Flathead.

The bobber features a 1942 Harley-Davidson WL 750cc engine. The idea was to create a skinny bike to maneuver the streets of the Hague. And as a result, this WL Flathead bobber was born.

RELATED: 14 Most Insane Bikes Featured On American Chopper (1 That's Hideous)

1 Harley-Davidson Panhead Bobber

Via fity.club

The Harley-Davidson Panhead bobber took Cay Brøndum a little over 200 hours to build. The bobber was built with parts from all over the world. He started with a bare frame, and then from fleamarket, eBay, and also from his friends, he collected the rest of the parts.

The fork at the front is an original 1949 Hydra-Glide. There are Panhead originals like the chopped handlebars and the 3.5-gallon tank. The combination of all these parts created an authentic classic bobber that you can still drive today. The bike can handle just fine, as long as the road is straight.

Would you love to throw a leg over a dinosaur? The Harley-Davidson Panhead bobber is your perfect choice – its so oily and noisy, and its way too expensive. And hey, the beast does not spare the gas.

NEXT: 15 Incredible Images Of Vintage Motorcycles