2007 H-D Road Glide
There are bikes in this and other magazines in which all we're doing is re-telling the story that's already laid out on the spec sheet. If you have an eye for detail, there are times that you can read the first paragraph, scan the bike and the specs for the particulars, and you've got the story. Or, in the case of baggers, there are times that the paintjob is the story. Sure there might be some chrome doo-dads brightening up things, but there may be a paintjob, some bolt-on parts, and the builder call it a day. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you. Sometimes simpler is better.
But this bike goes one step further. Somehow pulling off a killer, hard-edged look, with a mostly empty spec sheet and stock paint, Adrian Drakes' Road Glide is a study in carefully selected parts and finishes to create a custom, well finished bike that will turn heads wherever it goes.
The biggest difference is that all the chrome that the bike came with has been replaced with "Night Train Wrinkle" powdercoat. But unlike the bike of the color's namesake, not all bright bits have been eliminated; polished or dull aluminum sets off the dark, textured paint at key points throughout. Chop Shop Cycles, who did the work, also painted the inner faring to tie it into the bike better. The list of aftermarket goodies is a short one, all selected to further the dark hard-edge look of the bike, from the gloss black Covington's Fork Bells and RSD wheels, to the dull Todd's Cycle Strip Bar apes and custom embroidered seat. More contrasting machined/black finishes are to be found in the holes on the Battistini controls, while the lined theme that comes on the bike in the form of cooling fins continues onto the Arlen Ness saddlebag latches, blacked out, of course.
CSC's details abound on this bike as well, with a re-shaped windshield pulling a rounder profile, a lowered front fender to hug the 18-inch wheel more closely. Though the engine remains stock, Chop Shop added Rinehart duals and a Screamin' Eagle Intake, but also heat-wrapped the headers underneath the blacked-out heat shields...that's detail.
It wasn't one of those sky's-the-limit jobs done in 10 days to make it to Bike Week builds either. Adrian's bike was done like so many of ours, over a couple of winters, a few pieces at a time, as money allowed. And just like every bike I own at least, it's still not done. While the speakers have been upgraded to higher-output JL Audio units, this winter will see the bike get a full-on high-end audio system. According to Chop Shop's Zach Densmore, "The future of this bike is never-ending...Adrian is always up for the next 'hot look.'"