Harley-Davidson Black Baron Is Heritage with a Naked Bottom


by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

At times, simply removing some parts and adding new wheels on a motorcycle is all it takes to transform a mass-produced vehicle into a unique build in the world of custom bikes.

The motorcycle pictured in the gallery above, even if it may not look like it, started life as a Harley-Davidson Softail. Introduced in the 1980s, the Softails have become one of the main product lines of the Milwaukee-based bike maker, presently counting 12 models in all.

One of them is the Heritage line, which now includes only the Classic 114. The bike, as do other Softails, has been a custom industry favorite for years, and not only in the United States.

For the past 20 years, a German shop by the name of Thunderbike has been in the business of converting Harley to unique builds. One of their more recent projects, based on a Softail Heritage, is the Black Baron, a conversion that might not be extreme, but it definitely is effective.

Shown for the first time in April, Black Baron is all about showing off the massive wheels that put the engine’s power to the ground. At 21 inches front and 18 inches rear, the wheels are massive, but most importantly they are both fully visible thanks to the modifications made.

As standard, Harley sells the Heritage with a large fender on the front wheel, and the rear one hidden beneath the big saddle and the side bags. Thunderbike worked around that by eliminating these obstacles from the equation.

The fender at the front has been completely removed to make room for the much larger wheel. At the rear, the saddle, a big one on the stock motorcycle, has been replaced by a custom, much smaller one, while the bags, although still there, are no longer factory-spec, but more suited to the current build.

There are a number of other custom parts fitted on the motorcycle, ranging from the turn signals to exhaust, but no modifications have been made to the engine. That means the frame holds the usual Milwaukee-Eight 114, good for 155 Nm.

 

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Honda Gold Wing Gets Android Auto This Summer

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

It’s been about three years since one of the most appreciated touring motorcycles on the American market, Honda’s Gold Wing, got the blessing of Apple Carplay connectivity. During these three years, Android devices owners must have felt quite left out.

That will change as of this summer, as starting next month the Japanese bike maker plans to roll out Android Auto on its Gold Wing bikes sold globally, and promises more motorcycles will be gifted with it in the not so distant future.

“Honda announced that Android Auto will be integrated with the current-model Gold Wing,” Honda said in a statement Wednesday.

“Customers with Android smartphones will be able to enjoy application services seamlessly such as music, phone calls and messaging. The method to update software is planned to be available in the mid of June, 2020.”

It’s a big year for Android Auto on the motorcycle market, and the battle to make it available to customers is heating up. Earlier in March, Harley-Davidson too announced the bikes it makes for the 2021 model year (Trike, CVO, and Touring) would also begin using Android Auto.

The Honda Gold Wing is nearly half a century old. First shown in Germany in 1974, it managed to quickly become a hit, turning into the flagship model of the brand and enjoying a great deal of success especially on the North American market.

The Gold Wind range presently comprises two versions for the American market, the standard and the Tour. Prices for the standard Gold Wing start at $23,800.

For that, the bike comes with a 1,833cc six cylinder engine, ran through a six-speed manual transmission with overdrive or optionally a 7-speed automatic.

The Gold Wing offers a lot of modern technologies. For instance. the so-called HomeLink feature can be had, which allows owners to control some of the functions of the home devices from the bike, allowing for instance the opening of the garage doors by using a switch on the center console.

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