Harley-Davidson Nightrain

             Bet you didn't know there are now more motorcycles on the road than anytime in history. Some of the great brands of the past may be gone but others have come along to pick up the slack. Harley-Davidson at one time made a model called 'Nightrain.'
They selected the name due to everything on the bike being blacked out. Little did they know there would be riders like me who would come along and chrome just about everything on the bike.

          This is my 1999 HD Nightrain... and it is a show winner with lots of blue ribbons and trophies to back up that claim. I had a LePera seat on it for a while, but for comfort I had a Softail Custom seat reupholstered with buttons and orange piping around it for a unique look.

            Yeah,..it is the old 80 cubic inch Evolution engine, but I have changed the camshaft, done some valve work, and installed the hyper-charger. It runs extremely well and I have NO problem keeping up with the current models of the twin-cam engines. Note the chromed oil tank, transmission cover, cam cover, and chromed push-rod covers.

            The wheels are the main attraction to this bike. They were purchased from a company in Minnesota and the model is called Triad because of the triple spokes. When I ride on a sunny day you can't help but look at it because of the flashing light they give off from the sun. The brake rotors and the main drive pulley all match the pattern of the wheels. From this angle you can also see the chromed forks, voltage regulator cover, Kuryakyn pegs and grips, and the chrome piping around the front fender.

          Here is a better look at the brake rotor so you can compare it to the wheel behind it. The chrome axle covers clean up that corner of the bike, and you can see at the top a saddle-bag spacers. I rarely put the saddle-bags on because they cover up the beautiful wheels. I went through a couple of exhaust systems before ending up with the HD Screaming Eagle pipes. I have retained the baffles in the pipes, but it still sounds terrific when I crank it.

       Opposite side of the rear wheel to show you what the rear pulley looks like. The drive belt cover has also been chromed to go along with its shiny other parts.

          The Nightrain comes with the bobbed rear fender of a Softail...but after a couple of years I got tired of it throwing up rain water on me and fellow riders, so I switched it out for a Heritage Softail rear fender. The single small tail light of the Nightrain has been replaced with one I bought from J & P Cycles in Iowa.. This particular light assembly is called Aurora. I defy anyone to say they didn't see my turn signals...they are almost blinding. Chrome tip at bottom of fender came from HD.

           I have contemplated flames, pin stripes, or even a change in colors over the years.... but when I clean it up there is no better looking paint job than this glossy black. Note the chrome buttons on the controls, and the sun shade over the speedometer. Only one of the gas caps is real but I changed both of them to the skull series offered by HD. I found the gold Eagle medallion at a garage sale and cleaned it up and mounted it below the dash for contrast with all the chrome.

                My windshield is a Memphis Shades and it takes all of fifteen seconds to remove and install it. I usually have it on for longer rides or at night to keep the bugs out of my teeth. I detested the stock Nightrain handlebars from day one and that was the very first thing I replaced on this bike. The current ones are eleven inch pullbacks and they are very comfortable for me. I do have a mustache bar mounted so I can stretch out, but I only do one leg at a time. When I first mounted it I came home from work (thirty minute ride) and when I tried to take my feet off the mustache bar I couldn't... they had gone to sleep. Scary moment !

            Left side shows my strategic use of chrome on the primary cover, horn cover, coil cover, frame inserts, passenger pegs, and even the oil filter.