Buying a new ’07 Deuce and modifying it straight off the showroom floor are the actions of a guy who knows what he wants. Needless to say it was a memorable purchase for the dealership, and according to Kevin Decker, the general manager of Horsepower H-D in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, “John walked right into the store and picked out a pearl white ’07 Deuce and paid cash. Then he walked right over to our parts and accessory guy with the P&A catalog under his arm and started picking out parts that he wanted swapped on the bike before he even had a chance to ride it.” Like tasting a new food, most people don’t add salt and pepper until it is sampled first. Kevin couldn’t have known that John had clicked off a few miles on his friend’s Deuce, that first taste was what made him hunger for the machine in the first place.

John began upgrading the bike with a pair of H-D Detonator wheels designed with three-spokes and made from billet 6061 aircraft aluminum. The stock one-piece rotors were traded for matching Detonator style full-floating rotors with a drilled stainless steel outer and a chromed inner carrier on each end of the bike pinched by H-D 4-piston calipers. While the rear wheel was off, he replaced the original black swing arm with a clean, chromed version that compliments the finish of the wheels and capped it off with a chromed rear axle cover. He also replaced the plastic lower belt guard with a chromed steel version that looks high quality compared to the original.

Not willing to leave the stock lighting alone, John upgraded to the Bullet series from the H-D parts catalog. He used a pair of turn signals with red lenses in the rear and amber lenses clamped to the legs of the front end instead of hanging them off the handlebars like the stock configuration. The headlight housing was swapped out for a Bullet headlight constructed from deep drawn aluminum and a visor style shell with a replaceable halogen bulb.

Stock hand controls were swapped out for chromed versions and paired with flamed grips and foot pegs with rubber inserts for more comfortable riding. The prevalence of chrome on the handlebars made the stock mirrors stick out like a pair of sore thumbs, so he had them switched for a pair that coordinated with the rest of the bike. He also had the shop change out the stock derby cover, air cleaner cover, and the motor’s nose cone cover for gold flame accented covers. Then, he had them add a passenger backrest and small chrome luggage rack. The only parts on the bike he didn’t get out of the P&A catalog were the chromed brake calipers. John had the pair disassembled, chromed, reassembled, and bolted back onto his bike, completing the chrome finish.

A 2007 Deuce is a pretty nice bike in its stock form. A 6-speed Cruise Drive transmission and sequential port fuel-injected 96” Twin-Cam motor are all standard fare for the FXSTD, but H-D knows how important customization is to their customers and offer thousands of ways to personalize every model they have, including the Deuce. After riding the bike for a couple months, John brought the bike back to Horsepower H-D because he needed more power to beat his friends on their hopped up bikes. “I rode the bike from the day I bought it in November until the winter weather got worse in late January and started snowing. I was the only fool riding in the 12-degree weather, but I couldn’t resist riding the bike of my dreams,” John said. With the imminent snow he wasn’t going to be able to ride for a few months so he went back to the shop for more new parts. They installed a Stage II 103” Screamin’ Eagle Big Bore kit for his stock motor, but it was time for another change as well. He had been eye-balling a ’06 Harley paint set when he first bought the bike, and because it was already going to be on a lift for a few weeks he thought it would be a good time to improve the bike’s looks as well. The paint set he chose is called Flesh Tear, and this version came in silver and burgundy metallic. Unfortunately it made the wait for warmer weather even more unbearable. It was early February when he brought the bike in, but it only took two weeks for the paint install and motor enhancements, but he couldn’t ride until late March.

Since the bike has been finished and the riding season started in spring, John has put about 5,000 miles on the bike — more than some bikes see in years. “I’ve ridden as often as I can and this year, I’ve already taken trips to Daytona Beach, Gettysburg, Sturgis, and Myrtle Beach. I’m making up for riding time I’ve lost in the past.” There’s no doubt that John is one of the lucky ones. His lottery win gives the rest of us hope that our dreams might be realized as well. The question is: what does John dream about now?