Harley-Davidson hoax

A DUTCH Harley-Davidson dealer has had H-D forums around the world going mad for the last few days with pictures apparently showing a new model – a 2013 “FXDX”.

The photos, which seemingly showed the new machine being unpacked from its original delivery crate complete with factory-style packaging, in fact showed a one-off special made by the dealer himself, Bas Leek of Dutch firm West Coast Motors.

But that was only revealed days after the original shots were shown on West Coast Motor's Facebook page, quite intentionally sparking huge global interest from Harley fans intrigued by the supposed new model. The original shots were accompanied by a single line: “Oops!! What did they send us now?” and no further information.

Only yesterday did the dealer come clean, revealing that the bike was part April Fool, part publicity stunt and part a message to Harley-Davidson that a real FXDX could be a success if the firm decided to make it. A post on the XR1200 Owners Group forum, seemingly from the dealer himself, explains the thinking behind the hoax and the effort that went into it.

Based on a brand new Street Bob, the bike used real Harley parts wherever possible to help give the impression it was a factory effort. The front end comes from an XR1200, as does the swingarm, which is modified and bolted to the Street Bob's Dyna frame. An original 2005 FXD fuel tank features a one-off paint scheme designed to look like a factory finish, while a huge amount of attention has been paid to getting details like warning stickers right to give the impression this is a production bike rather than a special.

Even the packaging box, appearing in the background of some of the pictures, was given stickers to reflect the bike's identity as a non-existent FXDX.

West Coast Motors, we applaud you! Now let's see if Harley decides to make something similar...