For most of us of a certain age, hearing the name Rain Man sends us right back to the late 1980s, when director Barry Levinson brought to the big screen the touching story of a schemer named Charlie Babbitt and his autistic brother Raymond.
The two characters were magnificently portrayed on screen by Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, respectively, with the latter even winning an Academy Award for his role in the flick. And it’s a role for the ages, especially today, when we are reminded of it by a… custom motorcycle.
For a group of people, the term Rain Man, spelled RAYnMan, brings into focus not the image of said film, but a Harley-Davidson V-Rod, one so heavily modified and beautifully painted that it’s impossible to miss on the road or online. It looks not as a schemer, nor as an autistic savant, but as one of the most serious conversions of an American muscle bike we’ve seen in a long time.
The bike is the work of Rod Squad, one of the many Germany-based garages that have developed a real passion for Harley’s V-Rods. We’ve already talked about two of their projects, the Ragnarok and Alpha Dog, but this here RAYnMan seems to top them both.
First, we’ve got the visual upgrades made to the thing. A clever play of red, black, and grey make it shine in the crowd better than most others. The rims are a very bright shade of red called candy rot, which can also be found on the screws of the engine, in anodized form. Gloss black was sprayed on most of the engine block, and the body kit, sporting carbon inlays here and there, comes in grey.
It is this body kit, titled by the shop behind the build RAY, that is partially responsible for the name given to the motorcycle. It brings to the table things like airbox and radiator covers, the rear fender, and muscular lines front to back.
At the front, a Speed Demon fender was slapped over the red wheel, and above that a fork cover kit from the same shop. The front view is topped by a Fehling handlebar with internal electronics and red-light gauges.
The entire build rests on an Arnott air ride system and gets its stopping power from Galfer Wave brake discs front and rear. The engine seems to be unmodified from stock, except for the addition of a Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde adjustable flap exhaust system.
In the purest German custom motorcycle garage style, Rod Squad does not say how much it cost to put the RAYnMan together like this. Yet, knowing how these things go in that country, expect the modifications to possibly double the price of the base machine.
For a group of people, the term Rain Man, spelled RAYnMan, brings into focus not the image of said film, but a Harley-Davidson V-Rod, one so heavily modified and beautifully painted that it’s impossible to miss on the road or online. It looks not as a schemer, nor as an autistic savant, but as one of the most serious conversions of an American muscle bike we’ve seen in a long time.
The bike is the work of Rod Squad, one of the many Germany-based garages that have developed a real passion for Harley’s V-Rods. We’ve already talked about two of their projects, the Ragnarok and Alpha Dog, but this here RAYnMan seems to top them both.
First, we’ve got the visual upgrades made to the thing. A clever play of red, black, and grey make it shine in the crowd better than most others. The rims are a very bright shade of red called candy rot, which can also be found on the screws of the engine, in anodized form. Gloss black was sprayed on most of the engine block, and the body kit, sporting carbon inlays here and there, comes in grey.
It is this body kit, titled by the shop behind the build RAY, that is partially responsible for the name given to the motorcycle. It brings to the table things like airbox and radiator covers, the rear fender, and muscular lines front to back.
At the front, a Speed Demon fender was slapped over the red wheel, and above that a fork cover kit from the same shop. The front view is topped by a Fehling handlebar with internal electronics and red-light gauges.
The entire build rests on an Arnott air ride system and gets its stopping power from Galfer Wave brake discs front and rear. The engine seems to be unmodified from stock, except for the addition of a Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde adjustable flap exhaust system.
In the purest German custom motorcycle garage style, Rod Squad does not say how much it cost to put the RAYnMan together like this. Yet, knowing how these things go in that country, expect the modifications to possibly double the price of the base machine.