Nightblade

"It's amazing what a lick of dark paint and a chubby rear tire can do for a brand. Drop the hillbilly chic and suit up for some matte-black mistique. Ever heard of flogging a dark horse? You have now."

- Southern San Andreas Super Autos description.

The Liberty Chop Shop/Western Motorcycle Company Nightblade is a cruiser motorcycle featured in The Lost and Damned and Grand Theft Auto Online as part of the Bikers update.

The Lost and Damned
The Nightblade appears to be based on an 10th Anniversary or an older Harley Davidson Dyna Street Bob.

The bike is depicted with a rather long body, featuring a small front mudguard attached to the center of the wheel and s, while the upper area features a circular headlight mounted on the lower clamp and two small turn signals on either side of the upper clamp. The handlebars are connected to the bike by dual support frames.

The main body features a single lower frame that splits into two frames below, a long fuel tank with chrome trim around the side panels, a rounded oil tank and a black leather seat that extends towards the rear fender and having a reinforced frame on the rear. The engine bay features a circular air filter and dual exhaust pipes on the right side, with the latter coming from each cylinder block and merging into one wide pipe, while the section below the oil tank features foot pegs for the passenger.

The rear section consist of a small fender with a single red light and license plate on the end, while the turn signals are mounted on a rigid frame connected to the red tail light and the end of the bike's main frame. The rear wheel is connected to a triangular frame and features the corresponding chain drive and sprocket on the left.

The primary color of the bike is applied on most of the bike's components, while the secondary color is applied on the side panels of the fuel tank. It uses a set of wire rims similar to the Freeway and wrapped in medium-profile tires, with the rear one being wider.

Like other similar bikes, there was a Beta version of it in Grand Theft Auto IV. It was mostly identical to the TLAD iteration, but the transmission cover had "Nightblade" badges on it and the handlebars were slightly different, with a single speedometer on the center.

Grand Theft Auto Online
The Nightblade returns in Grand Theft Auto Online with a complete redesign, inspired from the Harley Davidson Night Rod Special.

The Nightblade retains the generally long design, but assumes a more robust body. The front retains most of the features from the TLAD iteration, but the headlight is mounted on the upper clamp and lacks the turn signals on the sides, while the handlebars have sleek mirror wings.

The main body has tubular frames around the body, a dam spoiler in front of the engine bay and side covers located behind the triple clamps and below the fuel tank, while the engine bay has a single exhaust pipe on the right side, coming from the front cylinder block. Directly over the fuel tank area, there is a dial set derived from cars like the Schafter and the Tailgater, but rearranged in a way that the speedometer is on the center, the temperature gauge on the left and the fuel gauge on the right. WMC badges can be seen on either side of the fuel tank as well.

The rear area of the bike features a flat leather seat with white outlining around it, together with a long rear fender with a wide red brake tail light on the end. The rear wheel is connected by a black, dual-sided swingarm, supported by what looks like air suspension tubes on either side. The chain drive and sprocket are fully animated and feature a black covering above, while a small plate holder can be seen on the left, with the license plate and a small red main light above.

The primary color of the bike is applied on the main components, while the secondary color is applied on the frames. The wheels appear to be similar to the "Speedway" rims also available in Los Santos Customs, albeit with a permanent black finish and wrapped in high-profile tires, with the rear one being wider. The outer surrounding of the rims can also support a dedicated wheel color, which can be painted by selecting a custom rear wheel, applying a color and change back to the stock wheel (as it won't reset to the default alloy color).

The Lost and Damned
The Nightblade has above average top speed and acceleration, as well as acceptable braking. However, the heaviness of the bike and the long body often struggles to take corners and is unable to perform wheelies.

The Nightblade uses a chain-driven, V-twin internal combustion engine with a 5-speed manual transmission, as evidenced by the foot-actuated gear shifter. The engine emits a high-revving, odd-firing noise which sounds to be partially or fully unrestricted, identical to the Lycan.

Grand Theft Auto Online
The Nightblade performs well for its type. It has a relatively high top speed and good acceleration. Its handling is also nippy compared to other choppers. Its heavy weight does not significantly restrict its ability to maneuver, although it does stop the player form being able to perform wheelies. Its durability is weak against harsh collisions and landings after a jump as it can only take a couple of punishments before the bike starts billowing smoke and eventually catch fire and explode.

The bike is powered by a push-rod V-Twin engine and coupled to a 5-speed manual gearbox, evident by the foot-actuated shifter. The engine produces a distinctively low-revving, loud engine sound, slightly smother than the ones from most chopper bikes.

The Lost and Damned

 * The Nightblade appears, along with the much rarer Wolfsbane, in Malc's first random character encounter. After finding DeSean, he leads Malc and Johnny to the cheating bikers in Westminster, where their bikes can be seen. Once the random encounter is completed, the player can take one of the seven bikes, which three of them are Nightblades with a blue color.
 * Can be seen in the bike races.
 * May be one of the bikes the player has to steal for Angus.
 * Can be found driven near the Hickey Bridge, if the player is on a bike.
 * Can be found parked under the highway at the Angels of Death Clubhouse. This is under the Hickey Bridge on the southern edge of North Holland.
 * Can be found after midnight at the crossroad in front of the Linen Lounge (North Holland) while driving a Double T Custom.
 * Found in North Holland ridden by the Angels of Death in a unique teal blue color.

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * Can be bought from Southern San Andreas Super Autos for $100,000.

General

 * The Nightblade plays the following radio stations by default when entered:
 * TLAD: Liberty City Hardcore.
 * GTA Online: Radio Mirror Park, Vinewood Boulevard Radio and Los Santos Rock Radio.

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * In the international Traditional Chinese release, the bike is called the 暗夜魅影 (lit. "Night Shade"), which shares the same name as the Nightshade, a 70s muscle car.
 * When the Bikers update first launched, there was a small promotional event for the Nightblade, where the player could unlock a Western Motorcycle Company hoodie upon purchasing the bike.

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