Photo: Bad Land
You all know the name Leeds as one used to designate a city in West Yorkshire, England. You know, the birthplace of Marks & Spencer and home to the Leeds United soccer team. Well, as of today you can add to the list of things Leeds is meant to represent a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
I'm confident if we had any way of finding out the reasons behind choosing a certain name for a custom bike we'd be surprised at how rampant people's imagination runs. As is though, we're forced to contend with knowing the Harley-Davidson Leeds exists, but not knowing why.
The crew responsible for making and naming the project is the Japanese one from Bad Land. It used an older Night Rod (one from 2013) as the basis for a conversion that has nothing to do, from afar, with the British city, and looks more like the ride someone would use to sneak out of a dark hell.
A lot less ornate than what Bad Land has gotten us used to, the custom still uses the same pitch black colors we're used to seeing, which on an equally dark backdrop makes the machine appear like that undistinguishable menace you can feel on the back of your head as chills run down your spine. A feeling that gets even worse due to the almost complete absence of chrome parts to soften the look.
A closer look at what was done to the bike however reveals there's nothing supernatural about it, and all the changes made to it were performed as a means to make it worthy of the Night Rod name.
Rick's Motorcycles wheels sized 19 inches at the front and 17 inches at the rear have been installed under custom fenders, touching the ground by means of Avon Cobra tires. A fork sourced from Germany's No Limit Custom supports the front one, while the one at the back is held in place by a swingarm designed by Bad Land.
It's not only the design of the wheels that immediately captures the attention of the onlooker, but also the size of the rear tire. Although not exactly at the extreme end of what can be done there, it does come in at a respectable 330 mm wide, and that's something few of us can ignore on a ride.
The same Bad Land name is responsible for the much more sculpted fuel tank fitted up top, the radiator cover, and the handlebar. The exhaust, which comes as the only modification made to the bike's engine, is also produced in-house by the Japanese, and despite being simple in design it looks like the best fit for the no-nonsense Leeds.
It's not exactly clear when the Harley-Davidson Leeds was first shown - the oldest reference to it we were able to find dates back to 2022 - and we also don't know the price of the build. But can you really say that robs the Leeds of any of its appeal?
The crew responsible for making and naming the project is the Japanese one from Bad Land. It used an older Night Rod (one from 2013) as the basis for a conversion that has nothing to do, from afar, with the British city, and looks more like the ride someone would use to sneak out of a dark hell.
A lot less ornate than what Bad Land has gotten us used to, the custom still uses the same pitch black colors we're used to seeing, which on an equally dark backdrop makes the machine appear like that undistinguishable menace you can feel on the back of your head as chills run down your spine. A feeling that gets even worse due to the almost complete absence of chrome parts to soften the look.
A closer look at what was done to the bike however reveals there's nothing supernatural about it, and all the changes made to it were performed as a means to make it worthy of the Night Rod name.
Rick's Motorcycles wheels sized 19 inches at the front and 17 inches at the rear have been installed under custom fenders, touching the ground by means of Avon Cobra tires. A fork sourced from Germany's No Limit Custom supports the front one, while the one at the back is held in place by a swingarm designed by Bad Land.
It's not only the design of the wheels that immediately captures the attention of the onlooker, but also the size of the rear tire. Although not exactly at the extreme end of what can be done there, it does come in at a respectable 330 mm wide, and that's something few of us can ignore on a ride.
The same Bad Land name is responsible for the much more sculpted fuel tank fitted up top, the radiator cover, and the handlebar. The exhaust, which comes as the only modification made to the bike's engine, is also produced in-house by the Japanese, and despite being simple in design it looks like the best fit for the no-nonsense Leeds.
It's not exactly clear when the Harley-Davidson Leeds was first shown - the oldest reference to it we were able to find dates back to 2022 - and we also don't know the price of the build. But can you really say that robs the Leeds of any of its appeal?
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