Vélez-Málaga motorbike customiser makes history in Europe with six awards for customised Harley-Davidsons

The event took place over the weekend of 20 and 21 June in Cascais, where some of the continent’s finest custom builders gathered for one of Europe’s biggest Harley-Davidson meetings. According to Manén, no participant had previously won such a large number of awards in a single edition in the 32-year history of the European H.O.G. Rally.

Lord Drake Kustoms entered the competition with four customised Harley-Davidson motorbikes. The result was an unprecedented haul of awards: Best of Show, the prize for the best motorbike of the entire event; People’s Choice, the public’s favourite bike; European Champion in the Cruiser category; European Champion in Off-Road; European Runner-up in Off-Road; and European Runner-up in Sportster.

The star of the show was Babylon, a motorbike created specifically for this European competition. Not only did the bike win the Cruiser category, considered one of the most important in the championship, but it was also voted best motorbike of the entire event by the expert judging panel and was the public’s favourite amongst all the entrants.

This achievement reinforces Fran Manén’s position as one of the best-known Spanish names on the international customisation scene. He told SUR on his return from Portugal, that when he took to the stage in Cascais, he "wasn’t just there as a motorbike builder”, but the only Spaniard to have won Daytona three times, the current runner-up in the Harley-Davidson Custom Bike Building World Championship, and now the holder of the biggest record at the European H.O.G. Rally.

In May 2025, Francisco Alí Manén finished runner-up in the European Custom Motorcycle Championship at the Eurofestival held in Saint-Tropez, France, with his Harley Sportster ‘Bultracker 05’, which competed against a hundred other Harleys from across the continent.

On that occasion, Manén said on social media that he was still striving to “keep the name of Vélez-Málaga and Spain at the very top”. A year later, he has triumphed in Cascais with a result which, according to information provided by his team, breaks all previous records for the European competition.

Fran Manén’s career has developed between Andalucía and the USA. Lord Drake Kustoms was founded in 2008 as a workshop specialising in bespoke motorcycle customisation in Miami and currently has branches in the US city and in Vélez-Málaga, which in recent years has become the firm’s main base for its international projects.

From its premises in the Axarquía town, the company exports customised motorbikes to various countries and regularly takes part in championships and specialist events. Its creations feature in international trade publications and have attracted the interest of high-profile clients from the worlds of music, film, television, fashion and business.

Among the figures who have had a professional relationship with Fran Manén or have placed their trust in his work are well-known names including Antonio Banderas, Alejandro Sanz, Antonio Orozco and Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada. This profile has made Lord Drake Kustoms a brand recognised beyond the strictly motorcycling sphere.

One of the most significant milestones in his career is his participation in Daytona Bike Week in the USA, considered one of the world’s major events for custom motorcycle builders. Fran Manén is the only Spaniard to have won there, and he has done so on three occasions – a feat that places him amongst the international elite in the custom motorcycle sector.

The customiser compares the significance of Daytona in the world of customisation to that of winning an ‘Oscar’ in the film industry or lifting a World Cup in any sport. It is the arena where some of the world’s most prestigious customisers compete and where independent brands seek to cement their reputation with the public, judges and experts.

Cascais’ success also brings added value to an independent company founded in Vélez-Málaga and Miami in the US. The Harley-Davidson customisation market has traditionally been dominated by American, British and Central European builders, so the emergence of a Spanish firm with six awards in a single edition represents a significant boost to its international profile.

With this result, Fran Manén adds a new chapter to a long and distinguished career that combines craftsmanship, design, engineering and international recognition from the Axarquía. The best motorbike in the European Harley-Davidson Custom Championship – the most highly awarded and also the one that received the most votes from the public in Cascais – has a name of its own: Babylon, created by Lord Drake Kustoms and built in Vélez-Málaga.