Chrome, chrome, everywhere

There is one thing you learn very quickly with Harley Davidson motorcycles and that's "There is no such thing as too much chrome!"



The pictures above are left and right views of Blackies', 1,340cc engine.



This is a view of the rear tyre with belt-guard and sprocket cover. Blackie is belt driven (rubber belt) and not chain driven.

Meet Blackie

Well the first order of business is to meet my trusted steed of ten years, "Blackie". (Click on below image for more detailed view).















Blackie is a 1996 Heritage Softail Classic that I bought second hand from a doctor in Witwatersrand in 1998. The purchase was made through U.S Steel in Sandown, Johannesburg for R105,000 ($16,400) and before I even took delivery, I spent R20,000 ($3,125) accessorising him. It took six weeks to perform this initial sprucing up due to lead time of parts etc.

Over the last 7 years I spend a further R10,000 ($1,562) on accessories, bringing my total investment to R135,000 ($22,000). As you can see, this is not a cheap hobby!

As you can see from the odometer, Blackie has not travelled very much, only 20,565 miles (32,000 km) which amounts to 2,056 or 3,200 km per year.

Welcome to Black Harley

This is a fun blog based on a crazy whim of mine to create a travelogue of my various meanderings through Cape Town on my trusted steed of some 10 years now.

I don't get to ride very much, but the idea is to take my camera with me and snap various places and/or Harleys I encounter of interest or beauty. Hopefully this will provide a window into the world of owning one of these magnificent steeds. Simple isn't it?

I am going to be using very high res pictures (2240x1680) in this blog so all you have to do is click on any picture you see to view the glorious detail.

Finally, if you have any pictures of weird or wonderful Harleys or places you have visited with your steed that you would like to share with this blog readership, then email them to me at black_harleigh@yahoo.com with a short description and I will load an entry onto the blog.

Cheers for now!