Whether you see it as a pure reason to ride or a platform for building your own custom vision, you can’t help but appreciate the way this machine gets you right to the bare essence of what riding a Harley-Davidson® motorcycle is all about. A silver Twin Cam 96™ V-twin engine, rubber-mounted in the rugged Dyna® frame. The powerful mass of a 49-millimeter fork topped by a bullet headlamp. A comfortable handlebar and mid-mount foot controls. Plain no-nonsense. Riding the way it was meant to be.

Stripped-off parts. Drilled metal. Primer. A bike that gets down to the bare bones of what motorcycling is all about. The old-school chopped front fender and retro air cleaner cover. The smooth lowered suspension, closer to the road than any other Softail®. An air-cooled, rigid mounted, 1,584 cubic-centimeter Twin Cam 96B™ balanced engine, with a blacked-out finish that's pure badass. Strip down a bike to what really matters. You'll feel it in your bones.

Sometimes the best trip you can take is one back to the basics. The Softail® Standard is just the bike for the job. Beautiful as seen here or decked out in Genuine Motor Parts and Accessories. The simple, classic lines begin with a raked fork. Head back to the horseshoe oil tank and the unmistakable shape of a wide bobtail fender. Once there, check out the brawny 200mm rear tire — a custom touch new for this year. It feels great teamed with the taut hidden suspension. Fire up the dual-counterbalanced, silver powder-coated Twin Cam 88B™, in carb or EFI, and your primal urge to blow out of town is about to be satisfied. Just gas up and go. Nothing is more basic than that.