The dark side of Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson has a dark side - a range of authentic custom models.

The Dark Custom motorcycles came as a response to customer demand. The range now includes Cross Bones, Fat Bob, Street Bob, Night Rod Special, Night Train, Nightster and Iron 883 models. According to Harley-Davidson's Stuart Farrell, "A significant part of our customer base was looking for something that embraced the darker side of the brand. It quickly became apparent many people on the edge of the brand had been waiting for Harley-Davidson to provide them with a product that was unpolished, anti-establishment and whatever you want it to be". The motorcycles in the Dark Custom range follow a new design trend, which mixes urban style with raw visuals and can be further stripped down to bring out the rider's own personality and style.

The Dark Custom Range is for individualists who choose performance over aesthetics and the basic Iron 883 is the purest in the range. It's finished in matt black paint and unpolished alloy so that it absorbs light rather than reflects it, with low-rise, drag style handlebars, chopper rear mudguard, special fuel tank graphics and matt black alloy rims. New for 2010 is the Fat Boy Special, a darker interpretation of the modern Harley. Dressed in satin chrome and denim black it remains a bike very much for the individual. A 'dark' XR1200X is also scheduled for a 2010 release in Australia.