<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"    For the past couple of years, Milwaukee-based bike builder Harley-Davidson has been getting back to its roots. Engineers there have been building and designing motorcycles with a minimalist look, so owners can customize bikes any way they like\u2014as long as the end result is sufficiently bad to the bone. And the new Dark Custom bike family fits the bill\u2014menacing, old-school two-wheelers that, surprisingly, are not meant to be ridden by gray beards. After so many retro-styled vehicles targeting guys trying to relive their misspent youths, Harley is building for today&amp;#039;s young and restless.   &amp;quot;Recently, there&amp;#039;s been a trend toward dark, gritty, edgy, stripped down bikes, and it has been driven by young riders,&amp;quot; says Andy Benka, director of market outreach for Harley-Davidson. Skateboarders, snowboarders and BMX-ers, for instance, share the same rebellious, subversive characteristics found in the traditional Harley rider. &amp;quot;They want to ride without being hassled,&amp;quot; Benka adds. &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s the person we want Dark Custom bikes to appeal to, and it&amp;#039;s why we went back to building street bikes the way we did post-World War II\u2014simple and raw.&amp;quot;   The latest bike in the Dark Custom series is the FLSTSB Softail Cross Bones. It&amp;#039;s got a shiny Springer front end and other post-war bobber styling cues, like a sprung solo seat, gloss black round air cleaner cover, chopped front fender and half-round rider footboards. Mini &amp;quot;ape hanger&amp;quot; handlebars drape over custom-style dual gas tanks, which are split by a glossy, black &amp;quot;cat-eye&amp;quot; console that houses the speedometer and other gauges. Halfway down the tank the chrome gives way to a hand-laced leather panel that disappears under the sprung solo seat. Fat front and rear tires give the bike a brutish stance. Even so, she&amp;#039;s a real looker.   While the Cross Bones might look like it came from a bygone era, its performance should be state-of-the-art. Power is provided via a 1584-cc twin cam 96B balanced engine, which is mated to a six-speed cruise drive transmission. The engine is powder-coated black with polished rocker box covers and pushrods and untreated fins. The engine breathes through a straight-shot exhaust with chrome slash-cut mufflers. Fuel economy is rated at 35 city/54 highway.   Available now, this new hog comes in dark blue pearl, dark blue denim, vivid black, black denim, olive pearl and pewter denim finishes. Plus, Harley offers plenty of aftermarket accessories to help you make it your own. A ticket to ride will cost around $17,000. \u2014Chuck Tannert   RELATED STORIES \u2022 SIGN UP: PM&amp;#039;s User-Powered myBike Community!  \u2022 TEST DRIVE: Harley&amp;#039;s New Lineup Rocks the Road   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a5200/4254316/>