The Making of Matt's Black Magic

The new trend in the Harley-Davidson world is the Dark Custom line of motorcycles. Just to name a few: The Nightrain, Street Bob, Fat Bob, Nightster, and the Night Rod special. All with the common characteristics of having that blacked-out look. The style really gets its roots from the bobber era. Then mix that with the garage/primer influence and you have an idea of how the look has evolved into what it is today.

Well I, like many people, have really gotten hooked on this new look. I have always appreciated a fully chromed-out bike, but there is something about the dark, customized style that I can’t get enough of. Basically I knew that this was the look I had to have.

My problem was that fact that Harley-Davidson has yet to develop a Dark Custom bike on their new touring chassis. Four out of the five Harley frames house one of these Dark Custom bikes. So why was the touring family neglected? Is it because of this huge misconception that the touring bikes are for old fogies? Do the designers at Harley-Davidson think that this styling only appeals to younger riders? Maybe they think that younger riders won’t buy a touring bike because of the false stigma that has been stuck on these bikes? Well regardless, some of the good people at Laidlaw’s decided to fix this problem.

I knew I had to have the premium frame, which in my opinion is the touring. Then I wanted to combine this with a wicked, blacked-out look. Jerry Laidlaw recommended I start out with a police Roadking. This was a good choice because it already has a ton of black on it.

After I nailed down the bike I started bouncing some ideas off Justin McGinnis in service. He quickly caught my vision and started making recommendations that I really liked. Justin has worked in the motorcycle business for 11 years and really has a knack for putting together some awesome creations.

Initially, two of the most distinguishing features on the bike were the forward mounted controls and the ape-hanger bars. Justin showed me some custom wheels that matched the controls perfectly and we went ahead and slapped those on there as well. There were a lot of other details after that, but to simplify things we powder coated everything black!

When all the powder coating got back Ron Corwin was the man assigned to piece it all together. He is the head mechanic in our collision department and has worked on more hogs than a bacon farmer. The bike came together perfectly. My Dark Custom vision was now a rolling black hole, a black hole with chrome accents that is.

Hopefully in the future we will see some factory Dark Customs on the new touring chassis. I guess that will all depend on how the current ones sell. I do have to say the Electra Glide standard comes in black denim this year which is a step in the right direction. It would be a great choice for a sinister look. Until next year..…Willie G., take note!