Creative Cycles
"Darkness Within"

There are builders who receive an Artistry in Iron invitation once and call it a career highlight. Doug Keim has received it twice — and both times, he brought something that stopped the show.

The Show

Artistry in Iron at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas was invitation only. No open registration. No applying. Each year, the organizers sent out a maximum of 20 invitations to builders worldwide — and many years, they didn't even fill all 20 spots. It was not a regional show. It was not a local gathering. It was the most exclusive custom motorcycle competition in the world, and receiving an invitation was itself a statement about the caliber of your work.

Doug Keim received two. Darkness Within was his first.

The Build

Darkness Within was built with intention — and that intention was rooted in the world as it was at the time. The death of racing legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. The tragedy of September 11th. For many people, the world had shifted. Life wasn't what it once was. Doug set out to build a bike that carried some of that weight, that struggle, that heaviness. The name wasn't chosen lightly. Neither was a single component on this machine.

The visual concept was deliberate and unlike anything on the show floor: Darkness Within was designed to look like a photographic negative. The gallery images appear to be black and white photographs — they are not. That effect was entirely intentional, built into the bike itself through the choices of color, finish, and contrast. When the world felt dark, Doug built something that looked like darkness made physical.

The foundation is one of DKCC's own Top Fuel frames — and the finish on that frame is a masterclass in what it takes to achieve truly exceptional chrome. Because filler cannot be used under chrome, the frame was built up with three layers of copper, polished between each coat, followed by a layer of nickel, before the final chrome was applied. The result is a stunning, deeply reflective chrome finish — not copper, not nickel, but chrome — achieved through an extraordinary amount of labor, skill, and patience. The fuel tank and rear fender were hand-crafted in-house. The handlebars, intake tube, and numerous other components were fabricated in the DKCC shop. The rear fender's position over the tire is adjustable via a stainless positioning link — a functional detail executed with the same precision as everything else on the bike.

The engine is a full show-polished TP Engineering 124-inch monster, coupled to an open belt drive and 6-speed transmission with a chain final drive. The exhaust pipe on Darkness Within was the prototype for what later became the very popular LMF line of exhaust pipes — another DKCC original that went on to influence the broader market.

The seat was made by DKCC's own Costa Rican Richie — and it is, plainly put, cool as hell. The chrome work is equally jaw-dropping — that deeply finished chrome frame and the photographic negative visual work together without competing with one another.

Ahead of Its Time

Consider the context: when Darkness Within was designed and built, the custom motorcycle world was still putting chrome on everything in sight. Black wheels were not what builders were doing. A black inverted front end was not the norm. The restraint, the darkness, the deliberate rejection of the chrome-everything trend — all of it was considered, purposeful, and years ahead of where the industry was heading. It is one more example of how many DKCC designs were simply ahead of their time.

The bike still looks exactly as it did the day it left the shop with its owner. Every detail — right down to the smallest piece of hardware — reflects the standard that has defined Creative Cycles since 1977. Be sure to explore all the images of this machine in the main gallery. There is a lot to see.

The Result

When Darkness Within rolled onto the Artistry in Iron floor, it did what great bikes do: it made people stop walking. In a room full of exceptional custom motorcycles built by fewer than 20 of the best builders in the world, that is the only measure that matters.