Despite the glory days of custom motorcycles making mainstream headlines being well in the past now, Harley-Davidson as a brand continues to support the hard graft of those who live and breathe custom motorcycles.
Following the success of Harley-Davidson’s ‘Breakout Boss’ customisation competition in late 2022 and 2023, the newly announced Number One competition was met with eagerness and friendly rivalry from Harley-Davidson owners across Australia and New Zealand.
Determined for their bike to be crowned the ‘Number One’ Harley-Davidson, more riders than ever submitted their motorcycles into the competition, all with a shared passion for the history, custom culture and evolution of the iconic American brand.
To champion Harley-Davidson’s ever-growing number of riders and motorcycle models, the competition has grown exponentially and expanded into three categories: Club Style, Heavyweight Cruiser and Bagger. Each category consisted of 14 motorcycles, which were submitted to a three-round public voting system and an expert panel of judges to assess the artistry, ingenuity, and creativity of the build.
The judges had the privilege of deciding which bike was ‘Number One’ in the final competition week from April 1-5, and Australia and New Zealand’s ‘Number One’ Winner is John Cage and his Club Style FXR.
“It’s a massive honour to have my FXR crowned Number One across Australia and New Zealand and to have that work recognised by the Harley-Davidson community,” said John Cage, on winning the Number One competition.
“The depth of the competition, finalists and winners across each category really highlights how diverse the Harley-Davidson community is and the different tastes, styles and cultures that influence how we all customise our bikes.”
The winners of each category in the Harley-Davidson ‘Number One’ competition were:
CLUB STYLE: John Cage - FXR
HEAVYWEIGHT CRUISER: Matt Mueller - Breakout
BAGGER: Glen Couper - Road King
The final decision in naming Number One was entrusted to a panel of judges who had decades of experience in motorcycling and motorcycle customisation.
“To see entrants from every corner of Australia and New Zealand emerge for the “Number One’ competition is absolutely astounding,” said Nigel Keough, Managing Director for Harley-Davidson ANZ.
“As riders and bike lovers, we live for opportunities to show off our bikes and to rev the engines in some friendly competition.”