Zero to Hero: Biltwell's Mildly Modded 2024 Harley-Davidson Softail

Harley did a great job baking this cake, we just put the icing on top

We have a weird quiver of motorcycles around Biltwell HQ. There’s an odd modern Harley here and there but most of our personal collections consist of vintage choppers or modern ADV bikes with a few TT500’s, an FXR and even a modern classic Triumph thrown in for good measure. Earlier in the year we decided to add a “shop bike” and picked the most generic Softail Standard available. It’s nice to have a reliable and capable machine that any of us can throw a leg over and confidently cruise or take on a long trip, but stock is just a little boring.

100% ready for anything

Of course we couldn’t just leave it alone, but we also didn’t want to heavily modify it either. This bike serves as a fitment mule to test parts on, so if we gutted it and made dramatic changes, it would reduce it’s usefulness. With that in mind, we sat down with Rouser and planned the “build”. We wanted to steer clear of the wheelie popper aesthetic that’s feeling pretty tired about now and create a simple, mildly customized bike that would age well. Without any ironic retro bits, it is throughly modern and is comfortable cruising to the local watering hole or doing a multi-state rip with no worries or compromises.

Pete can paint! Note the pearl and flake in the black

The biggest visual change is the paint. We’re lucky to be right around the corner from Pete at Hot Dog Kustoms who doused these tins in new black pearl paint with classic, thin blurple flames on both fenders, fake oil tank covers, Advanblack T-Sport fairing, gas tank and even the belt guard. This was the most expensive part of the makeover but worth it and the bike really stands out in the sun.

Now it sounds like a Harley!

The not-so-standard-now Softail breathes easier after Rouser installed the S&S Mini Teardrop air cleaner and Grand National Slip-ons. A generic license plate mount cleaned up the rear fender and an FXR Division adjustable rear linkage was a must-have. LePera supplied the seat which sits lower, puts the rider more “in the pocket” and looks way better than stock.

Murdock risers, M8 Softail dash mount and Tracker Mid bars round out the control center

Since the Softy came with quite a bit of chrome and polished aluminum we decided to skip our usual tough-guy, black-it-all-out style. Chrome may not get you home but it looks good up against this paint and is definitely easy to keep clean! The list of Biltwell goodies is fairly long and all were easy upgrades that anyone with basic tools could do themselves. We wanted the bike to set up for trips as well as basic commuting so an EXFIL sissy bar and EXFIL-18 saddle bags handle the cargo-hauling duties.

Ready for launch 2024

Once the bike was finished, several of us have borrowed it for weekend trips and we’ve all enjoyed how low-effort this machine is to ride and now we love the way it looks too.

AlumiCore grips with grey replacement sleeves are as durable as they are good lookin'