When legends live om through motorcycle – J Capper Custom

Five years after the Husqvarna incident, Jens and a friend built a V8 trike. It was never approved for road use because the engine was simply too large, but that was where everything truly began. Even then, it was never just about building something that looked good. It was about making things work.

Today, Jens builds motorcycles through his company, J Capper Custom, and the name is rooted in family history. His grandfather ran a motordrome as part of the Capper motorcycle circus, a travelling show that toured Sweden during the 1940s and 50s and collaborated with well-known personalities such as William Arne. The company itself is only just over a year old, but building motorcycles has been part of Jens’s life for decades.

“It got to the point where people wanted more and more work done, and the sums involved became large enough that it simply had to become a business.”

A Lemmy tribute on two wheels at Sweden Rock Festival 2026

During an exhibition in Sölvesborg six months ago, Jens displayed his work alongside artist Rebecka Salomonsson, better known as ArtQueen. ArtQueen creates much of the artwork seen backstage at Sweden Rock Festival, and it was she who sparked the idea of letting her rock-inspired art be complemented by Jens’s two-wheeled creations.

Jens and I are sitting in the backstage outdoor bar and, right in front of us beside the entrance to the artists’ restaurant, stands the tribute bike that has attracted more attention than any of his other creations so far. The sunshine makes it shimmer in every colour imaginable. – the “Lemmy Bike”.

“I was working on a leather bag in the garage and Motörhead’s Born to Raise Hell was playing in the background. That same day I found out that Lemmy had died. I looked over at the bike standing there and thought, ‘Bloody hell, this has to become a Lemmy bike.'”

The paintwork is inspired by an artwork featuring Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee, with neon swirls and sparks flying in every direction. Gold flakes, acid treatment and multiple layers of effect paint mean the appearance changes constantly depending on how the light strikes it.

The bike itself is a Harley-Davidson Softail with a custom-built frame. The engine is a 131 cubic inch S&S Cycle crate engine producing 2.2 litres, paired with a six-speed Ultima gearbox. It features PM brakes and clutch basket, a Screamin’ Eagle carburettor, and virtually every component has been selected with painstaking attention to detail.

“The handlebars alone cost around £1,400. The brake calipers are about two-thirds of that. Even the chromed and reinforced bolts have cost several thousand kronor.”

It would be easy to assume that such details are intended to impress people. For Jens, they are about creating the right feeling.

So far, he estimates that between 1,500 and 2,000 hours have gone into the project, at a cost exceeding SEK 250,000. It is also worth noting that a build like this is rarely a one-man endeavour.

Jens is quick to highlight his wife, Carina, who has taken on much of the work at home and has often sat beside him in the garage, sanding fairings and helping bring the vision to life.

Despite all the time, money and emotional investment, Jens has no difficulty letting go of his bikes when they are sold. Because he knows the money will allow him to create something new.

As the bike stands at Sweden Rock Festival this year, it is around ninety per cent complete.

“There are still a few final details that will take it from being good to becoming something entirely different.”

The following day, we can safely say the Lemmy Bike is ninety-one per cent finished. Mikkey Dee stops by and signs the BDL cover housing the three-inch belt drive, something Jens later plans to incorporate permanently into the bike through engraving. Several offers are made on the motorcycle during the festival. Who the lucky new owner will eventually be remains to be seen.

Next bike, next legend

At the front of the queue for Jens’s next project is a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne.

“Alongside Judas Priest and Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne has always been one of my heroes… and then he went and died as well, so building something in his honour just felt obvious.”

The motorcycle will feature a longer chassis, extended forks and increased rake. It will sit somewhere between a bobber and a chopper. The famous headless bat will naturally make an appearance, while Ozzy’s iconic iron cross will be painted three-dimensionally into the fuel tank and illuminated from within.

“And through the paintwork you’ll actually be able to read song lyrics. Those are the kinds of details I enjoy.”

At the same time, Jens is building a tribute bike dedicated to his favourite hockey team, Leksand IF, complete with holders for hockey sticks and pucks. Again and again, Jens returns to the same idea. It is the details that make a motorcycle unique. Further down the line lies another dream project connected to music. A Judas Priest bike. That one simply has to happen.

When passion comes before business

For Jens, it all comes down to preserving a soul and a story within a motorcycle.

“I hope that when someone looks at one of my bikes, they feel the same thing I do when I hear those legendary musicians. That this is something special. That it’s beautifully built. That it allows the people behind the story to live on just a little longer.”

As I leave Jens, it is difficult not to carry that feeling with me.

Somewhere, you find yourself hoping that the future Judas Priest bike reaches the band and that Rob Halford rides onto a stage aboard one of Jens’s creations. Not to put Jens himself in the spotlight. But because someone who pours so much warmth, time and soul into honouring his heroes deserves to know that the people closest to those icons recognise them in his work.