Photo: Bad Land
In the world of wine lovers, the term Cloudy Bay is synonymous with a vineyard based somewhere in New Zealand, most renowned for making certain types of Sauvignon Blanc ever since the 1980s. Generally speaking, the world of wine lovers does not include bikers, known to go for more extreme alcoholic beverages. But they too now have a Cloudy Bay to talk about and enjoy.
That's the name custom Japanese garage Bad Land chose for one of its Harley-Davidson builds from years back. We're talking about a Night Train kind of Softail modified to such an extent that it looks completely different than stock, and on top of that it now seems all but ready to get more valuable as it ages.
It's unclear what model year the Night Train originally was (the breed was in production for a little more than a decade in the late 1990s and 2000s), but that matters little now. In this new form, the bike is a testament to just how talented Bad Land is in reinterpreting American-made two-wheelers.
As usual with such projects, the changes compared to stock start close to the ground, where a set of custom wheels were fitted. We're talking about hardware made by specialized shop Rick's Motorcycles. Part of the Super Steve series, they are 21 inches in size up front (held in place by a Goldammer fork) and 18 inches at the rear, and both are wearing Avon Cobra tires.
The wheels are backed by a Legend air suspension system, and shielded by fenders the likes of which you'll see nowhere else, made by Bad Land itself. The shop is also responsible, aside from the general idea and build, of course, for the handlebar rising above the front wheel and oil tank.
The front and foot controls have been made by Performance Machine, as was the braking system – with the hardware at the rear coming as a drive-side braking system. Topping all of the above off are a motogadget speedometer, a Rebuffini air cleaner, and Kellermann turn signals.
The engine on the bike is the one Harley-Davidson originally fitted in there, only it now draws from a Thunderbike-designed fuel tank. It also breathes through a custom exhaust system, put together by Bad Land in such a way as to perfectly match the overall design.
The last time the Cloudy Bay popped up in the news was all the way back in 2018, but nothing has been heard of it since. We don't know the bike's current whereabouts, and as usual with Bad Land builds it's impossible to say how much the bike cost to put together. But even with so many unknowns, it's not at all difficult to enjoy it as a proper cross-border interpretation of an all-American machine.
It's unclear what model year the Night Train originally was (the breed was in production for a little more than a decade in the late 1990s and 2000s), but that matters little now. In this new form, the bike is a testament to just how talented Bad Land is in reinterpreting American-made two-wheelers.
As usual with such projects, the changes compared to stock start close to the ground, where a set of custom wheels were fitted. We're talking about hardware made by specialized shop Rick's Motorcycles. Part of the Super Steve series, they are 21 inches in size up front (held in place by a Goldammer fork) and 18 inches at the rear, and both are wearing Avon Cobra tires.
The wheels are backed by a Legend air suspension system, and shielded by fenders the likes of which you'll see nowhere else, made by Bad Land itself. The shop is also responsible, aside from the general idea and build, of course, for the handlebar rising above the front wheel and oil tank.
The front and foot controls have been made by Performance Machine, as was the braking system – with the hardware at the rear coming as a drive-side braking system. Topping all of the above off are a motogadget speedometer, a Rebuffini air cleaner, and Kellermann turn signals.
The engine on the bike is the one Harley-Davidson originally fitted in there, only it now draws from a Thunderbike-designed fuel tank. It also breathes through a custom exhaust system, put together by Bad Land in such a way as to perfectly match the overall design.
The last time the Cloudy Bay popped up in the news was all the way back in 2018, but nothing has been heard of it since. We don't know the bike's current whereabouts, and as usual with Bad Land builds it's impossible to say how much the bike cost to put together. But even with so many unknowns, it's not at all difficult to enjoy it as a proper cross-border interpretation of an all-American machine.
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