Spotlight: Stephen Jones of Jonesbilt

We've been following Stephen Jones on Instagram for a minute now. He's the owner of JonesBilt, a custom shop that focuses on Harley Davidson Trackers. Stephen took a minute to answer some questions about his bikes and shop for us in our newest Builder Spotlight, read more below.

Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.

If it goes fast, it’s for me. I’ve spent my life with my hands on a wrench, my face under a welder’s mask, my heart connected to every project, and my soul on display in the finished product. From my early days riding and fixing, to my time as a diesel mechanic and fabricator, and now in my custom bike shop, I’ve always known what the metal wants. Most guys would walk past a 20 year old bike and never look back. I on the other hand immediately see it in its final state, and can’t stop myself from turning that vision into reality. Of the many bikes I’ve “Bilt” my current personal ride Augustus is one I’m particularly attached to. If you knew me, you could pick that bike out of 1000 others and know it was mine. In the same vein, my new line of Jonesbilt Hooligans are easily identifiable, to know them is to know me.

Now lets jump into that Tracker from the top of the post:

What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?

It was a 1998 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom.

Why was this bike built? (Customer project, company promotion, personal, etc.)

I have a passion for the dirt track, and wanted to build a bike you could ride to the race, win, and ride home.

What was the design concept and what influenced the build?

I took a minimalistic approach, using dirt track specs as a guide. As well as something you'd see in Mad Max.

What custom work was done to the bike?

The heart got pumped to a high compression 1250 cc, and every critical component replaced by track proven bits from S&S, Screamin’ Eagle, and Manley. She rolls on duel 19” Maxxis DTR-1’s, suspended on Ohlins, Saddlemen tracker tail section, Biltwell bars and pegs, and a complete delete or replacement of the original chrome. All lighting necessary to be road legal is a custom design of mine.