Peter Branz of Lardass Customs in Richlands, North Carolina, has found his own niche within a niche with his customized 2006 Night Train and, like any Night Train owner I’ve met, would defend his choice for any number of intellectual and emotional reasons. Oh you know things like it’s tough, it’s bad ass, it’s as black as you can get a factory Harley, it’s a cheap Softail, it’s a smart buy or whatever. 

 

   From what little I know, the Night Train model originally was introduced in Europe as a Euro-only model in 1998 for some reason I know nothing about before having its USA intro in 1999 as a one-year Evo-powered model. In 2000, the Night Train got the counterbalanced Twin Cam B like all the other Softails and a new era began for it. Now I know there are old wives’ tales about the Night Train nomenclature first coming around with the introduction of Willy G’s infamous boat tail Super Glide in 1971. It’s kinda true in a roundabout way as the model was never officially called that, but there were “night train” references in Super Glide advertising. Nope on a 1971 Night Train then and as far as the Euro-only 1998, well I’m sticking with the 1999 USA-model Night Train ‘cause that’s the only thing I’m really sure of.

 

  What this bad boy of a bike was in my opinion was a tip ‘o the hat to its spiritual predecessor, the 1995-1997 Harley-Davidson Bad Boy or FXSTSB for those of you who love formations of capitalized letters that appear random, but are not. This blacked-out Softail mit springer was an early example of Harley trying to do bad in a good way. Yeah, it was pretty bad ass for its time, but the new 1999 FXSTB Night Train got even blacker and badder along with being a little more affordable Softail for the guy with big dreams and a small(er) budget. Any references crediting GUNS N’ ROSES’ Night Train sing-a-long song or the wickedly-inexpensive preferred drink of choice of lovable rail-riding hobos, Night Train Express, has nothing to do with Harley’s choice of name that I’m aware of, but you never know.

 

 

 

  Oops, I’ve been unconsciously blabbering again and gotten off track with Peter Branz’ story about his Night Train. Peter not only wanted a customized bike, but he wanted one he could actually get on, hit the starter button, and ride the piss out of and then do it some more before it had a chance to cool down. “The idea was to change a popular bike (especially in my area) to stand out from the rest. Getting rid of all the chrome and going dark was a priority,” said Peter. “The only light was from the gold-leaf which I’ve loved from my time being a firefighter in New Jersey before joining the Marine Corps.”

 

 

 Leaving the 88” Twin Cam alone in displacement, Peter made it work a little harder with a smart assortment of performance upgrades. Oh little things like a hotter Andrews TW37 cam being pushed around by Screamin’ Eagle pushrods and lit off by an upgraded complete Screamin’ Eagle ignition module including SE coils and wires. And, you can’t forget those little things like the free-breathing Kuryakyn air cleaner sitting on the SE intake or the final product of all this combustion fun coming out through the LA Choppers header-wrapped exhaust. By the size of the pipes and the apparent lack of hot gas obstructions, I would think that Peter’s neighbors are always aware of when the Train has left or arrived at the station. Either way, this should be a lively ride as is for what little it’s pushing.

 

   With the engine ready to rip, it was time to move on to the frame where Peter did basically nothing to the frame itself, but swapped out the stock Softail shock for a pair of Progressive Suspension’s lovely lowered Softail shocks along with a similarly-lowered fork. Now he had the bad boy stance any true Night Train owner shoots for so he swapped out the boring chrome-rimmed laced wheels for a pair of black-rimmed/fat gold spoke DNA Mammoth 52-spoke (21” front/18” rear) wheels. That was a game changer appearance-wise by itself in one swipe of a credit card. Peter also did some sheet metal mods to the rear fender that anyone who’s not a big fan of duck tails on motorcycles (that would be me) appreciates. Now he’s got the 200mm Metzeler looking badass and ready to kick ass under a short, but sweet fender. Speaking of ass, he also changed out the stock frumpy seat for a clean LePera Bare Bones saddle. But, that was not quite enough so Peter called in the big guns from TNT Powder Coating (for the obvious) along with Prestigious Metals for paint to add their dark touch along with the gold leaf scallops. “The gold leaf on black? People think I am a Steelers’ fan because of it, but I am actually a Patriots’ fan,” he said adding, “Go ahead, start the bashing.” Not from me Peter as I’m a Patriot’s boy myself.  All in all, smooth, simple and smart changes all.

 

   With the bike apparently done and done, is it done? “No! I’m getting a 21×3.5 front whee,l same colors, new powder coat and all the chrome plumbing is getting changed to brass to go with the gold,” said Peter, “and maybe some new handlebars, a 2″open belt primary, and a chain final drive with a sprotor.” But even more importantly, has he found the time to enjoy his new ride? Apparently quite a lot as he said, “Absolutely! This bike has been ridden to all events on the East Coast from Daytona to Laconia ─ never trailered!” Sounds to me like this Night Train has only just begun its trip through Customville with Peter Branz at the controls and it’s not even on the trip back yet.