Harley-Davidson unveiled its latest bobber-style Softail this past weekend at the infamous Viper Room nightclub on the Sunset Strip. The tie-in to the Hollywood scene wasn't exactly clear, but a safe guess would be that H-D wants to make it known that the Cross Bones is one cool bike. And what better way to impress that image than to go where all the cool kids go. The other theme they wanted to hit upon was that of a dark scene, a theme that correlates well with what Harley calls "dark customs." If you haven't seen or been to the Viper Room, its exterior is entirely black with virtually nothing to indicate that it's a nightclub.
It was a scene full of young hipster types (including the quintessential loud, obnoxious guy), foxy ladies, plenty of media and free flowing booze and munchies. Yep, the Cross Bones' premiere was classic Hollywood, and in typical premiere fashion some big names were on hand. Big as in persons whose name is one half of the name on the bike. Big names like Willie G. Davidson and son Bill Davidson. When the el jefes come out, you know it's important to them.
When Willie G. and Bill finally lifted the silky cloth to reveal the bike beneath, what we saw was a bike that reaches deep into Harley's past for inspiration. The Cross Bones is a Softail that pays homage to the post-war past with a springer front end, bobbed fenders highlighting fat 16- and 17-inch tires riding on spoked wheels, an adjustable two-position springer solo saddle, ape-hanger bars, simple but elegant paint and dark or blacked-out finishes on everything from the engine to the turn signals. Heck, there's so much darkened componentry it's hard to keep track of it all, but another neat styling cue are the console-mounted indicator and idiot lights that remain hidden from plain sight until they're activated. Cool!
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First Look: 2008 Harley-Davidson FLSTSB Softail Cross Bones on Motorcycle.com
