When someone goes into retirement, they want to do all of the things they simply couldn't do while they were working, like taking trips with friends and family or just taking it easy. Could you imagine working your whole life in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and not getting one day off to see the sights and check out the babes? That is what happened to this 2003 Police Special Road King. It spent the first half of its life on duty making busts and protecting the city's citizens from the bad guys. Now that it's in retirement with a fresh civilian makeover, this bike is spending its golden years as a killer kustom.
The current owner, Jamie Cummings, is responsible for overseeing the transition that was brought to life by the crew at PT Customs. At first glance, it's hard to tell if this bike is a newer Road King or a '60s FLH that someone slapped apehangers onto. The upgraded paint is a two-tone scheme of gloss black and candy tangerine with flip-flop flake that really sets off the sedated use of chrome. There is just enough of each of the colors that it really highlights each part of the bike.
There are more than a few "old-school" touches, such as bag fillers made out of '57 T-bird rocker panels and a classically styled "snout" air cleaner as well as the two-into-one, wrapped and flex tube-covered exhaust, which was made in house at PT Customs. Nothing says timeless like the black DNA 16x3.5-inch 60-spoke wheels shod in Metzeler 140 wide whites. Furthering the look, the rear fender has been filled and smoothed as well as outfitted with a Tombstone taillight and lay-down license plate mount. The seat is a custom Corbin job with some sort of exotic animal giving its life in the name of style. The bike also garners a two-wheeled lead sled look, sitting lower than stock thanks to Progressive Suspension lowering goodness front and rear.
Though there isn't much to squawk about regarding the motor, Jamie knows that keeping the stock 88 cubic inches is the best way to make sure the bike spends more time on the road than in the shop. The bike even retains its stock five-speed transmission for reliability's sake. The hockey-puck Police bags are also stock units that received a little bit of jazzing up to fit the bill. The bike did receive a fair amount of blacking out as well to retain its classic good looks. The highlights of the blackout theme are the 18-inch Chubby apes, frontend, nacelle and engine guard.
After a winter-long revamp, it's good to see that with a lifetime of hard work finished, the only duty this redecorated officer now sees is highway cruising and bar hopping.