The caption on the latest reel from @tom_harley_vibes sets exactly one rule for his new motorcycle: “Can’t touch this.” The 14-second video is that rule acted out three times in a garage, with a woman who keeps trying anyway.
The bike is a gloss black Harley-Davidson Road Glide, and according to the caption it takes the place of an FXDR. “The FXDR was love. Now the ROAD GLIDE ERA begins,” the post reads. “My new Harley-Davidson Road Glide is finally here. New era. New bike.”
The reel opens tight on the lit headlight in the nose of the fairing. A fingertip comes in from the right, about to land on the black paint just above it. The camera pulls back to show a woman in a backwards red cap, a tan top and denim shorts, reaching for the fairing with an open hand. Before she makes contact, a man in a burgundy cap and track jacket rises up from behind the bike with his own hand raised, talking at her. She snaps her hand back and stares.
The second attempt is on the handlebar. Her fingers hover over the left grip and the switch housing next to it. He leans in from the side again, and her hand goes up, palm out, like she has been caught. For the third try she walks around to the back of the bike, toward the hard saddlebags. He gets there first. The camera finds him bent over the bag with his arm stretched across the lid while she stands behind him, looking on.
Between the attempts, the video does what a reveal video is supposed to do. There is a sweep over the whole bike from above as it sits on a polished floor, then low shots of the front wheel and fairing, the stitched seat, the black engine under a tank with dark Harley-Davidson lettering, and the saddlebags with red light strips running down their rear edges. Everything on the motorcycle is black, from the paint to the engine to the exhaust.
The garage is dressed for the occasion, with brick walls, red tool chests, arcade cabinets, a jukebox and neon. In the final shot a theater-style marquee glows above the bike: “TOM HARLEY VIBES. NEW ROAD GLIDE. NEW ERA.” He is finally in the saddle. She poses in front of the bike, then slides down to the floor beside it.
It is a joke, but anyone who has brought home a new black motorcycle knows the instinct behind it. A few things the skit gets right, and what to do about them.
Gloss black shows everything. Fingerprints, dust and the fine circular scratches called swirl marks all stand out on black more than on any other color. Clean it with a soft microfiber cloth and a spray detailer, never a dry rag or a shirt sleeve. Dust dragged dry across clear coat is what puts the swirls there.
The three spots she reaches for are the three that take the most abuse. The nose of a fairing collects bugs and stone chips. Grips and switch housings get handled every ride. Saddlebag lids get scuffed by boots when a rider or passenger swings a leg over. Clear paint protection film on the fairing’s leading edge, the bag lids and the sides of the tank is cheap insurance on a bike that will be ridden.
Metal does the real damage. Rings, watch bands, belt buckles, jacket zippers and the rivets on jeans are what scratch a tank or a lid, usually when someone leans across the bike without thinking. That goes for the owner as much as for visitors.
Ask first. Looking at somebody’s motorcycle at a bike night or in a parking lot is expected. Touching it or sitting on it without an invitation is not, and no owner should feel awkward saying so.
The move from an FXDR to a Road Glide is also a change in the kind of motorcycle, not only a new paint job to protect. The FXDR is a stripped power cruiser. The Road Glide is a full touring bike with hard bags and a fairing mounted to the frame, so the fairing stays put while the handlebar turns underneath it. Riders coming off a naked cruiser often find that strange for the first few rides. There is also more weight to balance at walking pace, so a session of slow turns and tight U-turns in an empty lot is time well spent before the first loaded trip.
The marquee in the last shot says it plainly: new Road Glide, new era. For now, the era comes with one rule.