Harley-Davidson chose the name Dark Custom for its new theme of design for a series of retro-style, blacked-out models. According to the director of market outreach for Harley-Davidson, Andy Benka, the new style is targeted at young riders and evoke the feel from the early days of Harley-Davidson when motorcycles were rebellious. A young rock star-looking man himself, Andy Benka said that the new models of motorcycles have a “visceral” feel to them.
Harley-Davidson Motorcycles showed off the Dark Customs line, which included the new 2008 Cross Bones, the most extremely developed of the new look, at a large area at the Chelsea gallery region of Manhattan in March. The Dark Custom models fit right in to the neighborhood, all decked-out in black as opposed to the usual gleaming paint and shining chrome of the traditionally Harleys. The black finish on the wheels, the oil tanks, the handlebars and the air-cleaner covers are in both gloss and matte. The Dark Custom bikes were displayed like garden statues and the astonishing finish on these bikes looked as if every touch would leave a print.
These bikes are described by the designers as “grungy” and “gritty, created to get “dirty and roughed up”, the question is whether bike owners will be able to let themselves get down and dirty.