Incorporating Old School Designs to New Harleys

By Darnell Austria


Harley-Davidson Seventy Two Brings Back a Thin Look

The Harley-Davidson Seventy Two bike is your metallic flake fantasy, a Sportster on the highway back in time when cool young adults rode a Sting Ray and the huge players left custom bikes one after the other across the street. Those bikes were longer and thin; stylish red-tone and sparkling stainless shimmering in fuzzy sunlight.

From its red flake color and ape bars for the lean white wall wheels, the bike is a salute to that time and to the influence of the custom motorcycle culture which still set scenes even today all across Whittier Boulevard, the famed riding route in East, LA, often known as route 72. A new era of customized builders are making use of that era and new statement, not only in Los Angeles but in garages throughout the United States, even all over the world.

The appearance of the Seventy Two was credited from the enthusiasm of the birth of custom made motor bikes. At that period of time, bikes were multi-colored and bright, but also slim and stripped down to the basics revealing their skeleletal support frames.

Looking back at the early roots of custom motorbikes, you'll be amazed how uncomplicated they are, just like bicycles. It's a custom style that is very particular in America along with the California scene where there was not a single motorcycle superstore in the city where motorcyclists can buy parts in one stop. Everything was hand crafted to meet the custom biker's specifications.

Metal flake, a common style of the seventies, showed up in everything from dune buggy gel coating to plastic restaurant seat covers for customized motorbikes. Harley-Davidson carries the sparkle back on the Seventy Two with red flake paint. This finish is accomplished by using a black first layer blended with a polyeutherane system which includes hexagon-shaped flakes that are at least Seven times the size of metal flakes included in regular commercial paint. Each flake is covered with a thin aluminium coating and then colored red. Several layers of natural finish combined with manual sanding, produce a clean finish on the flakes.

The last touch for the red flake is a logo on the gas tank and pinstripe scallop details on both fenders. Every style is hand drawn, and they have symbolized the craft in decal for commercial production, to ensure that they still have the feel of manually applied graphical design; every decal is affixed by hand. The decal is then covered with one last clear coating. A solo seat and side-mounted license plate clump keep most of the chopped back fender - and more of the paint - presented all over the Seventy Two. The power train is finished in gray powder coat with stainless covers and a new round air cleaner with a dished cover. A classic Sportster 2.1 gallon peanut tank brings one final classic look to the motorcycle.

New Harley-Davidson Softail Slim is an Basic Vintage Custom Motorcycle

Strip down a Harley-Davidson Softail to its important elements and you've got the Slim. From its reduced front fender to its narrow rear end, Slim is a non-sense, back-to-basics motorcycle. Name it undressed. Coin it old-fashioned. Call it lean and rude. All that is kept is an elemental Softail profile and an iconic Harley-Davidson style that recalls timeless custom-made bobbers of the 1950s.

To keep the rear of the motorcycle simple and fresh, the Slim includes a mixed stop-turn-tail signals as well as a side mounted license plate holder. The rear fender struts rest uncovered, featuring the solid steel and fasteners. A compact leather strap hides the gas tank joint. The power train is finished with buffed covers instead of chrome with the black cylinders retained to look not highlighted. The front fender is trimmed to expose more of the wheel.

The Hollywood bar, recognized by its wide curve and cross brace, was in fact an accessory for Harley-Davidson bikes with springer forks. The word may have been termed because bike riders of that time who used the cross brace to place lights and packs had gone Hollywood with unnecessary add-ons attached with their motorcycles. For the Slim, the cross braced bar and louvered head lights nacelles are painted in gloss black. Other classic styling cues consist of a shiny black cat's eye fuel tank unit with a old school speedometer, half-moon motorcycle footboards, a round air cleaner cover, and high gloss black wheel rims and hubs. The cover over the seat is sewn in a tuck-and-roll design and style.

A counter-balanced Twin Cam 103B motor is strongly fitted inside the chassis, building a solid connection between motorcycle rider and the machine. The Softail framework imitates the clear lines of a retro hard tail body, but uses rear end shock absorber control systems supplied by coil-over shocks fitted horizontally and hidden from the chassis rails. With the combination of a 23.8-inch seat height and motorbike footboards, the Slim comfortably fits a variety of motorcyclists and provides a lightweight side-stand lift-off. A pull-back riser accessory is generally mounted to shift the handlebar back 2 inches without adjusting control cables and lines. Combine this on the top of an old school motorcycle helmet and head to a motorcycle superstore to grab your favorite all American fabricated add-ons to complete your flashback in time.




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