Power Player | 2010 Harley-Davidson Street Glide

Let me just start by saying, “You’re welcome, reader.” Why? Because I resisted the urge to name this story “The Trask Dye Job.” There’s no need to thank me; ascribing a cheap pun to a very expensive custom Street Glide such as this one isn’t good for anyone, especially me. Phoenix-based Nick Trask, the Kiwi behind Trask Performance created this super-powered beauty for Jermaine Dye, who wanted gobs of horsepower on two wheels. Some of you may be thinking, “Jermaine…Dye…hmmm; he has the same name as that baseball player.”

When you think about who Dye is, it’s no big shock that motor muscle is a priority for his ride. He spent the last 15 years of his life playing Major League Baseball, where he was known for his powerful hitting and strong throwing arm. Jermaine Dye was a right fielder and designated hitter who was the World Series MVP with the Chicago White Sox in 2005. That sort of history doesn’t exactly scream, “Make my bike mild, please.”

Now factor in Nick Trask. He’s the brain behind the Trask turbocharger, many of which have graced iron in these here pages. Not only does he make turbo systems for Harley-Davidsons, he also makes complementing performance parts like pipes and air cleaners, too. He’s never hit a homer in an MLB ballpark, but he knows a thing or two about power too.

Combine these two guys on a motorcycle project, and the only factor guiding their success is ambition. Jermaine had the desire and cash to get any bike made he wanted. Nick had the know-how to make it happen. The blue and black ’10 Street Glide depicted here is the product of those factors. From the clean, stretched profile with its custom paint to the 131-inch JIMS Twin Cam motor, this bike exudes high-end custom aesthetics. On top of all that, it’s also a heck of a lot of fun to open up on the open road, and in comfort to boot.

The two guys met through a mutual friend. Nick met with Jermaine (aka JD) several times to get a good feel for what he really wanted in a motorcycle. Having picked over JD’s brain, Nick got his hands on a slightly used ’10 Street Glide, tore it down to the bare bones, and applied those pickings to reinventing it from the ground up.

Pony power fanatic that he is, JD liked the JIMS 131ci Twin Cam powerplant. When it got to Nick’s shop, Trask Performance tore it apart, polished it, and diamond-cut the exterior to sweeten it up. It was reconstructed with optimal power in mind. To Nick, that meant a tuning system and exhaust that would keep up. His solution: a Fatcat D&D exhaust and a Zipper’s Thundermax ECM. Nick also fabricated a special crossover to create a true dual setup to even out the rear end. “When we ordered the pipe, D&D didn’t make what we wanted at the time. We wanted a performance pipe but with duals so we had a crossover made,” Nick elaborated. The last upgrade to the breathing equation was a stylish RSD air cleaner.

This more-is-more approach carried over to another big part of the new bike—the front wheel. Beyond gargantuan grunt, JD really wanted his scoot to stand out from the rest. He had the motive and opportunity, so he picked a 26-inch wheel from Colorado Customs. Trask Performance cut the frame at the neck, stretched the rails, and rejoined the neck at a 45-degree rake to give the new wheel a fitting home. “This bike rides really well,” Nick said. “A lot of that comes from the right frame geometry for that big wheel.” You’ll find a matching pulley and rotors on JD’s Street Glide but PM calipers give him the extra force needed to rein in all the extra ponies when he really needs to do so. Nick also modified the fairing so it would sit correctly and flow well with the new neck rake.

In fact, all of the bodywork was planned out prior to cutting the frame. Mr. Trask has done this sort of work many times; he’s got a system down that works pretty darn well for him. Unlike the motor and front wheel, the bodywork is an exercise of minimum and maximum. Yes, a stretched gas tank spans the longer backbone and yes, a sizable Sinister front fender hugs the huge Vee Rubber tire. Try finding any clutter on this bike, though. That’s the minimal part. Trask Performance went to great painstaking effort to clean up JD’s Glide, from a trim license plate frame and rear LED lighting to internally hiding every single line, cable, and wire.

Meanwhile, Steel Vision Custom Paint rendered images showing how the color scheme would come together. before ever seeing paint. When the paint shop laid down the black, white, and blue pigments that grace JD’s machine, they were well prepared for the task. The end result is a flawless, three-color combo that flows throughout the finished motorcycle.

Great paint not only finishes off a motorcycle, it ties everything together to really bring home the builder’s design. What it can’t do is show you how well a bike handles or how fast it goes. The proof is in the riding. Nick is very proud of the ride quality on the finished Street Glide, as was JD. He must be; he’s been a good friend of the shop’s ever since.” B

Spec Sheet