Behold Project X, One of the Very First Harley-Davidson X500 Customs Out There

The Motor Company’s beginner-friendly X500 comes with a liquid-cooled 500cc parallel-twin good for up to 47 hp at 8,500 rpm. On the other hand, torque peaks at 34 pound-feet (46 Nm) in the region of 6,000 revs, and it makes its way to the rear hoop via a six-speed gearbox. The motorcycle employs adjustable suspension fore and aft, while weighing in at 459 pounds (208 kg) with all the necessary consumables.

Now, this fresh variant is sure to get a lot of hate from Harley purists, but the brand must diversify its offerings in an effort to grow its client base and stay relevant in the future. Who knows? Perhaps the Street 500 walked so that the X500 could run, and the latter is already getting some attention on the custom bike scene. Black Cycles of Brisbane, Australia is among the first shops to have a go at modifying the new Harley on the block.

Noel Muller and his teammates were approached by a returning customer named Jacob, who’d ordered an X500 and was planning to have it customized right away. His only request for the Black Cycles crew was to build a cafe racer, so the specific details of how they would get there were left up to them. As soon as the brand-new donor rolled into their garage, the Aussies dug straight in.

They took all the original upper bodywork out of the equation, along with the subframe and various accessories that gave away the bike’s low-budget nature. With Harley-Davidson's newcomer fully dismantled, the following step involved some extensive fabrication work to give it a much cooler attire fit for the cafe genre.

First, Black Cycles fashioned a bespoke subframe out of steel tubing, encasing it shut with metal plates to hide the electronics stored within. The replacement framework completely changes the motorcycle’s rear-end geometry, while leveling out its bone line in preparation for a custom gas tank. Now, the fuel chamber is a work of art in and of itself.

Steel was once again the material of choice for crafting this item, with two X shapes stylishly bulging out on the sides. These are a direct nod to the creature’s nickname, as the authors dubbed it Project X at an early stage of the transformation process. Moreover, the tank was topped with a pop-up filler cap and shaped to work with the OEM fuel pump and airbox underneath.

Black Cycles wrapped the exterior in snazzy carbon fiber lining, while placing a gorgeous custom seat atop the subframe. The upholstery was taken care of by Adam over at Carman’s Auto Trimmers, and the X theme is echoed on the seat with some extra padding and orange stitching. Noel and his squad worked wonders at the front end, too.

We still find the stock LED headlight that came from the factory, but it is now housed inside a cylindrical nacelle made from scratch. This part received the same carbon fiber treatment as the fuel tank, all courtesy of Enhanced Composites. As for the front fender, it is the only piece of OEM bodywork left on this X500, considered a good match for the sporty look that Black Cycles’ gurus were after.

Interestingly enough, the standard swingarm-mounted license plate bracket has been kept. It was simply downsized and outfitted with multi-function Kellermann LEDs, so as to maintain visual clutter at a bare minimum out back. The cockpit features clip-on handlebars with Highsider mirrors, billet aluminum switches, and Motogadget bar-end turn signals. Additionally, the latter brand also supplied a digital Motoscope Mini speedometer.

It lives in between the tank and top triple clamp for an ultra-clean look, but we’re not done talking about the bespoke parts just yet. The project’s authors also came up with a new coolant overflow tank, as well as a custom battery box discreetly mounted beneath the swingarm. Of course, Project X needed a few suspension tweaks to get the stance just right.

This job was handed over to Chris of XXX Rated Suspension, who’d lowered both ends by about 60 millimeters (2.4 inches). On the other hand, things stayed pretty much unchanged down in the footwear department. The X500’s factory exhaust didn’t make the cut, though, so a bespoke stainless-steel unit can be found in its stead. Black Cycles capped off the plumbing with a Yoshimura silencer, and the paintwork was handled by Justin at PopBang Classics.