Photo: Bad Land
Ever since Harley-Davidson decided to go down this road, the concept of softail motorcycles has really taken hold. So much so, in fact, that the Milwaukee bike maker even trademarked the moniker when it launched the FXST decades ago.
A softail is a type of bike that despite looking like a hardtail (which had a rigid frame and not much of a suspension system as we know it) in fact uses modern suspension, only hidden from sight.
Since the mid-1980s, when the FXST came to be, Harley pressed hard on the softail breed, and released over the years some 20 models, including customer and custom shop-favorite examples like the Fat Boy and Breakout.
There are of course names in the lineage that are not all that present in the custom world today. The Night Train (FXSTB) is one of them. Produced between 1998 and 2009, it was quite appreciated at its time, but is now somewhat ignored by the people in the business of re-making them into new and improved two-wheelers.
Because we like to extensively go through the entire inventory of custom rides put together by crews all over the world, we’re in the unique position of being able to uncover these past builds, and bring them back into the spotlight as a reminder of what was.
This Christmas, we gift you the Harley-Davidson Diablo, a Night Train assembled back in 2010 by a Japanese specialist called Bad Land. It’s so different from stock that the original’s designers probably never thought such a thing was possible.
Black, pointy, long, and with a massive rear, the bike is impressive from every angle. Custom, equally sized wheels (at 18 inches) supplied by HPU support the machine and make the connection to the ground, with the rear one rocking a side braking system and the one at the opposite end cradled inside an AS Industries fork.
The engine itself is now an S&S 124, all powder-coated in black and carbon and tied to a 5-speed transmission, while the bike’s controls, the front and foot ones, have been supplied by Performance Machine.
Bad Land was not content with solely slapping new and aftermarket parts onto the ride. Being a maker of custom bits itself, the shop went out of its way to gift the Diablo with a lot of extra bits made in-house, in an effort (a successful one, if you ask us) to steal the show.
The triple tree, handlebar and both the fenders are of Bad Land make, and so are the headlight and handlebar. The Japanese are also responsible for the fuel tank that stretches elegantly over the upper side of the frame, and the exhaust system that makes it easier for the engine to breathe out.
Being a build that’s over a decade old, the details about how much it cost to make have been lost to the ages. The Diablo is still listed though by Bad Land as bike number 80 in the 155 bikes-strong portfolio.
Since the mid-1980s, when the FXST came to be, Harley pressed hard on the softail breed, and released over the years some 20 models, including customer and custom shop-favorite examples like the Fat Boy and Breakout.
There are of course names in the lineage that are not all that present in the custom world today. The Night Train (FXSTB) is one of them. Produced between 1998 and 2009, it was quite appreciated at its time, but is now somewhat ignored by the people in the business of re-making them into new and improved two-wheelers.
Because we like to extensively go through the entire inventory of custom rides put together by crews all over the world, we’re in the unique position of being able to uncover these past builds, and bring them back into the spotlight as a reminder of what was.
This Christmas, we gift you the Harley-Davidson Diablo, a Night Train assembled back in 2010 by a Japanese specialist called Bad Land. It’s so different from stock that the original’s designers probably never thought such a thing was possible.
Black, pointy, long, and with a massive rear, the bike is impressive from every angle. Custom, equally sized wheels (at 18 inches) supplied by HPU support the machine and make the connection to the ground, with the rear one rocking a side braking system and the one at the opposite end cradled inside an AS Industries fork.
The engine itself is now an S&S 124, all powder-coated in black and carbon and tied to a 5-speed transmission, while the bike’s controls, the front and foot ones, have been supplied by Performance Machine.
Bad Land was not content with solely slapping new and aftermarket parts onto the ride. Being a maker of custom bits itself, the shop went out of its way to gift the Diablo with a lot of extra bits made in-house, in an effort (a successful one, if you ask us) to steal the show.
The triple tree, handlebar and both the fenders are of Bad Land make, and so are the headlight and handlebar. The Japanese are also responsible for the fuel tank that stretches elegantly over the upper side of the frame, and the exhaust system that makes it easier for the engine to breathe out.
Being a build that’s over a decade old, the details about how much it cost to make have been lost to the ages. The Diablo is still listed though by Bad Land as bike number 80 in the 155 bikes-strong portfolio.
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