The Sound Of Music | 2011 Harley-Davidson Road Glide

Using this 2011 Road Glide as a daily rider is akin to swatting flies with a 12-gauge pump. It’s far louder and more powerful than the job requires, but it must be fun. Tommy Bedford had Dusold Designs modify it just for that purpose, though. Well, that plus handling this beast with a heavy throttle hand. Tommy is a power player. Burnouts and wheelies are his meat and potatoes. If ponies are his entrée, then thumping bass is the gravy. I really hope he isn’t into show tunes, though. Nothing kills a good mood for me worse than a musical blasting at max volume.

The project launched with a meeting between Tommy and Mike Dusold. They kicked around some ideas but with this being the second bike Dusold was creating for Bedford, he wanted to change up the colors and style. Bike one sported a harder-edged look with tribal, bladed graphics and two-tone paint. The sleeked-out orange beauty you see here is the final realization of what came into Mike’s brain during that intellectual jam session.

By leaving the frame, suspension, and transmission stock, Mike Dusold saved Tommy some cash in the bargain. That also freed up the funds needed for what Tommy Bedford really wanted—horses. His Twin Cam V-twin was the proud recipient of the Screamin’ Eagle treatment. Namely, a big-bore kit, EFI, air cleaner, and tuner. By the time the new Thunder Header 2-into-1 found itself bolted to the motor, Tommy’s mill displaced a cool 110 ci—more than enough for daily commuting. Unless, of course, you live in Mordor.

Tommy’s new sound system was just as ambitious as the engine, if not more so. Dusold Designs filled the Road Glide with all kinds of sound-cranking fun. Most shops upgrade motorcycle audio systems with motorcycle audio components. Not here. The shop blessed Tommy Bedford with all automotive grade sound. All of the wiring is big 4- and 8-gauge size. A set of 6x9-inch Alpine speakers and amps in the saddlebags are aimed at each other for bass. Up front in the lowers you’ll find coaxial 6.5-inch Infinity Kappas speakers in the lowers. The system also has a head unit integrated into the bar controls. The shop tells us Tommy’s bike has navigation, Sirius, the whole bit. You’ll also find custom-mounted 6.5-inch separates with dome tweeters on this bike, as well as custom brackets for crossovers inside the fairing. Dusold Designs says, “It’s nothing ground-breaking but it certainly works well. His last bike had four sets of separates and an 8-inch subwoofer. It’s pretty insane.”

Most of the other changes were for looks. Dusold cleaned up the booty somewhat by changing out the license mount for one of its own. A 21-inch Ego Tripp Modular wheel resides in place of the stock Harley one; its rear counterpart came from Pickard USA (as did the floorboards). Handlebar Lee ape hangers relocate Tommy’s grip to shoulder level. The bar’s curved design lends Bedford’s bike just the right touch of funk.

The paint was funky in a way too. I had a bit of a fit trying to find a word to describe it. After some soul searching, checking my horoscope, and finally swallowing my pride and checking the thesaurus for guidance, one word stood out: organic. Tommy’s first custom Road Glide was green with point tribal graphics. The orange paintjob on this one, with its rips and tears, reminded me of torn flesh or the cheese strings brought about by ripping a slice of pizza away from its brothers and sisters in the box.

The greatest thing about Tommy’s paint is that anyone who runs this kind of graphic is damned unlikely to blast show tunes through his/her stereo system on the road. Thus, I’m less likely to hear them. If you’re going to shout over the lion’s roar emitted by a beefed-up V-twin motor like Tommy’s, you shouldn’t do it with anything found in a musical (possible exception: Rocky Horror Picture Show). A high displacement powerplant isn’t exactly what pops into my brain when I think “daily commuting bike,” but if you want yours to be, well, fun, more power is a great way to make that happen. B

Spec Sheet