If you’ve honoured Visordown with your presence (hopefully a few times) this week then you’ll know July 13 will see Harley-Davidson whip the covers off a brand-new motorcycle.
We now know it will be a production version of the ‘Custom’ prototype that has been doing the rounds for some time in turn becoming the second production model to utilise the 1250cc Revolution Max engine that debuted in the Pan America.
We have seen a glimpse of what we can expect but we have been reminded that in fact we have probably seen the finished product already and this is what you can see above. Sometimes we all need a memory jog.
As you can tell the final version - assuming it is - differs very little to the prototype which has been listed as ‘Future Custom Model’ on Harley-Davidson’s website for around two years.
It’s a modern reimagining of the the familiar Harley silhouette designed to bridge the gap between Harley-Davidson’s ambitious - if somewhat divisive - future direction while harking back to a core demographic that have been keeping the company going in what has been a few tough years.
It has got hints of the Pan-America in that chunky headlight which we think goes from ‘guppy’ to formidably sinister on this machine, but the rest is all very much Harley, all chunk, chrome and
What can we expect from the Harley-Davidson Custom?
Well, we expect a different name because while ‘Custom’ certainly indicates how Harley-Davidson will be pitching for marketing reasons, it doesn’t exactly stand out.
Indeed, it was christened the ‘Custom’ when the prototype was first revealed but it has never been mentioned by Harley-Davidson since, simply listed as ‘Future Custom’ model on its website.
Instead, looking at trademark applications filed by H-D that haven’t been used as yet, the Harley-Davidson Nightster appears to follow on rather neatly from the ‘Sportster’ moniker which has been phased out across Europe because the model line didn’t meet Euro5 regulations.
There is also the Harley-Davidson Bareknuckle but… well, you can be the judge but for us it’s a firm Deborah Meaden-style ‘No’.
Either way, we won’t have too long to find out...
