Velez-Malaga motorbike builder stuns Europe with record six Harley-Davidson awards

Spanish motorcycle builder Fran Manen has created European custom bike history after his Velez-Malaga workshop, Lord Drake Kustoms, claimed six major titles at the continent’s biggest Harley-Davidson gathering.

Six titles, one weekend

Competing at the European H.O.G. Rally Custom Bike Show in Cascais, Portugal, Lord Drake Kustoms entered four modified motorcycles and walked away with four championships and two runner-up finishes. No single participant has achieved this tally in one edition since the event began more than 30 years ago, delivering the strongest showing in the championship’s history.

The event is know as Europe’s most important gathering for Harley-Davidson owners and one of the largest motorcycling events anywhere, the rally brings vast amounts of entrants from across the continent each year. Manen’s success is extra incredible, partly because it comes from an independent Andalucian outfit rather than a huge multinational manufacturer or dealership network.

Babylon sweeps top prize

A single creation dominated the weekend’s headlines. Named Babylon and built specifically for the competition, it claimed the event’s three most sought-after honours – Best of Show, People’s Choice and champion of the Cruiser class, which many consider the toughest category in the contest.

Constructed on the frame of a 2005 Softail Springer and powered by a Twin Cam 88 engine, Babylon features a hand-built exhaust system, a gold-finished kick-starter and a bespoke reinterpretation of the Bar & Shield emblem. According to the workshop, nearly every visible component was redesigned or manufactured specifically for the project.

Demand proved so strong following its unveiling that Lord Drake Kustoms has now announced a limited production run. Only ten units will be produced, each finished to the same standard as the original and issued with a numbered certificate of authenticity.

Decades of recognition builds a career

Founded in 2008 as a small operation in Miami, Lord Drake Kustoms now runs from two bases, its original American premises and its main headquarters in Velez-Malaga, from where finished bikes are shipped to buyers around the world.

Manen’s personal record stretches is impressive, he remains the only Spaniard to have won at Daytona Bike Week, often compared within the industry to an Oscar win, and he has taken first place at the Rat’s Hole Custom Bike Show in the United States on three occasions. Currently ranked runner-up in the World Custom Bike Building championship, he now counts six European titles and six runner-up finishes across his career.

Putting Andalucia on the map

Achievements at this level place a small family business among names historically associated with American, British and Central European engineering. Velez-Malaga has a population of fewer than 90,000, yet a workshop based there has now taken six trophies from Europe’s leading motorcycling contest, a result few builders outside the industry’s largest operations manage to reach.

Family comes first, says builder

Writing on Facebook shortly after returning from Cascais, Manen reflected on what the weekend truly meant to him. “Trophies, motorcycles and businesses will eventually fade”, he wrote, “but family remains the one constant through years of sacrifice and hard work”. He added that he hopes his children remember him not for the bikes he built or the titles he won, but for pursuing his dreams without giving up on the people closest to him.

He also thanked his wider circle of support, including relatives, close friends and his team at Lord Drake Kustoms, as well as colleagues at Nautilus Dragados, another of his business ventures, noting that no major achievement is ever built by one person alone.