Harley-Davidson Black Dog Is a Bad Omen on Wheels, Someone Is Not Afraid to Ride It

You know how most of the people on this planet believe black cats are bad luck omens? Well, Brits have this dog thing, a creature black as night, with red or yellow eyes trapped in its head (that is, when it has a head, as some versions of the creature depict it without one) and serving the Devil.

Nasty things, all of the above, but as usual with folklore motifs, the black dog also has a bright side, as to some people it represents some sort of supernatural guardian protecting travelers.

And the Germans over at Harley-Davidson custom shop Thunderbike are now here to give us another interpretation of the black dog, in the form of a modified Fat Boy wearing the name. Not connected to the mythological creature in any other way than through the paint job, the bike is owned by a British national, and that too explains the choice of name.

Following roughly the same design lines Thunderbike has gotten us used to when it comes to Fat Boys, this one rides on custom aluminum wheels with five spokes, sized 23 inches at the front and 21 inches at the rear and both wrapped in Metzeler tires.

The entire bike is connected to the ground not only by the said wheels, but also by an air suspension system that helps lower and rise the two-wheeler depending on needs.

The engine sitting in the frame of the Black Dog is still the original Milwaukee Eight 114 Harley originally fitted in there, only gifted with a Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde with short exhaust pipes that reach straight for the back.

A wealth of other custom parts (to a total of over 30) have been fitted on the Fat Boy, including a swingarm conversion kit to support the much larger rear wheel, the front and rear fenders, various covers, the handlebar, and so on.

Although we’re not told how much the transformation cost as a whole, we do know the parts fitted on the ride alone amount to the equivalent of almost $15,000. And that does not include the base bike, the exhaust system, the man hours, and the paint job.

And to sign off with a sort of a twist, if you check out the gallery above you’ll notice how the Harley-Davidson Black Dog is not exactly entirely… black, but a combination of that with blue and red. To make sure nobody in the UK mistakes this bike for something else while it's ridden down the road, actual black dogs with red eyes are painted on either side of the fuel tank.