Harley-Davidson India showcased its brand new Dark Custom lineup consisting of their entry-level, urban, custom-friendly motorcycles such as the Street 750, 883 Iron and the 1200cc Forty-Eight. The Dark Custom theme offers stripped down versions of Harley’s city friendly line-up which are ready to be customised to your liking. According to H-D, 89% of Harley customers worldwide choose to customise their motorcycles.

The new 2016 lineup also includes the Heritage Softail (Rs 16.6 lakh) and the Roadking (Rs 25 lakh), both of which get a few upgrades. All Softails get Rushmore engines which pack more power and wire throttle enabled cruise control.

The 2016 Harley-Davidson Street 750 (priced Rs 4.5 lakh, ex-Delhi) gets a new and more effective Brembo braking system while also getting new handlebars and levers, thereby addressing the minor quality issues plaguing the current model.

The 2016 Forty-Eight gets a few more significant changes. Firstly, the motorcycle is now a bit lighter with reworked, pre-adjustable rear suspension along with thicker 41mm forks up front with a bigger fork brace. On the visual front, H-D Senior Industrial Designer Dais Nagao has sprinkled both the Forty-Eight and the Iron 883 with grittier, urban-chic graphics. The 2016 Forty-eight costs Rs 9.12 lakh (ex-while the Iron 883 will be sold for Rs 7.37 lakh.

Nagao has worked for the Harley-Davidson U.S design team for a little over a decade, and hails from a generation of Japanese H-D aficionados who are heavily involved in the custom chopper building scene. Prior to riding around the streets of Tokyo, we went knocking on the doors of Cherry’s Company – a private custom building outfit headed by Kaichiroh Kaurosu – one of the Japan’s most prominent chopper builders who spoke at length about the philosophy behind customising motorcycles and how he goes about making those motorcycles. There are a lot more details on that coming soon, suffice it to say that Harley’s custom friendly motorcycles are a lot more attainable now. Particularly because Harley also launched their Asia Pacific wide competition which allows riders to win a free Iron 883, Street 750 or a Forty-Eight by signing-up for a test-ride with their nearest H-D dealership. By participating, the applicant stands to win one of those motorcycles customised personally by Dais Nagao.