Matt Ruthig, owner of Gateway Customs Trikes & Cycles in Odessa, Florida, just might unknowingly subscribe to that formula and his business seems to totally reflect it with this radical show-winning trike build. When he’s not busy building radical custom two and three wheeled motorcycles, he’s really busy converting stock Harleys into trikes with his company’s own bolt-on trike rear end design that doesn’t require you to modify your Harley bagger, Softail, or Sportster in any way. Plus it’s easily converted back to a two-wheeler simply by removing the trike rear end and bolting the stock parts back on.

 

  But, what’s a better way to showcase what is probably your bread and butter than to create a wild chopper trike that get’s anyone’s eye regardless of age to show off your skills and your company’s trike conversion? That’s precisely what Matt’s done with this ground-up build. This is not a converted Softail chopper trike, but a build that started from a single tube in a jig and went from there. If by chance something like a fuel tank was a purchased item, it didn’t matter a bit as it was heavily modified until it was something else.

 

    Actually, the interesting part of this build to me involves the time frame and I don’t mean how long the build took, but when it was built. The trike has been on the road (and show circuit) for upwards of five years which means Matt had his finger on the pulse of the whole trike thing and acted accordingly. Building a chopper trike always catches just about anyone’s eye even if they’re not into two-wheel chops, it’s just that interesting to look at. The fit and finish of this original all-metal trike is top notch and it’s an in-house project from the Gateway rear end to the gorgeous sheet metal work to the sun-catching candy Brandywine paintjob. As they say, “It’s all good.”

 

   There’s no doubt that Matt’s got the eye for what’s hot and what’s not. Building a trike and getting the right stance is not the easiest thing with all that it encompasses. He nailed this one, though, with a look that’s already going sixty just sitting there. There are a lot of shiny bits and normally, that’s not my thing, but in this case with the striking, yet subtle paintjob, it just looks right from any angle. I love the choice of big rim/low profile tire rear wheels and the fender treatment is to die for. I don’t know how well they ‘fender’, but the almost spoiler look is way cool and aggressive looking without taking away a thing from the wheels. Nice, nice approach Matt and a perfect way to showcase your trike rear end kit.

 

   Most chopped trikes I’ve seen were hardtails, but Matt’s version uses his new Softail kit along with what looks like an overbuilt (nothing wrong with that), one-off swingarm. Big and thick aluminum side plates forming the ‘swing’ part of the swingarm are strongly connected to each other with a sturdy ladder-style construction. When you hit the gas on that big-inch Ultima engine, nothing’s going to twist or act anything other than right with Matt’s design. There’s still plenty of ground clearance as the air ride has been deflated for Jack Cofano’s show photos. This is no grandpa mobile, but I bet the average grandpa sure would like to take this beauty for a ride as well as any young studs who might wonder what a chopper trike is like to ride more than a conventional aftermarket-converted H-D Ultra Classic or Road King.

 

   Either way, Matt Ruthig’s got a winner on his hands regardless of age and a great calling card for his business. If you’d like to find out more about Gateway Customs Trikes and Cycles’ two and four wheel customs of just getting that Harley of yours into a trike configuration with a reasonably priced bolt-on kit, be sure to check out http://www.gatewaycustoms.com/.