Modified Stockers
’97 Dyna Wide Glide Gets A Chrome Makeover
Story and Photos by Wendy Manning
This bike belongs to Paul Medlin of El Paso. Prior to this article, I always referred to Paul as “My Tanning Guy” because he owns the Aruba Tan salons here in EP. You know, I’d see him out and about and I’d say to Buck, “Hey, there goes My Tanning Guy…” Then one day last summer (seriously, if you’re Irish and Scottish like me, a tanning salon is a must here in the Sun City as lying in the real sun is tantamount to lying on the sun) I was at the salon grabbing my tan when Paul’s son pulled up on the bike and I got to see how really cool it is up close.
The bike, nicknamed Bubbles for the soap bubbles integrated into the flame paintjob, started out as a stock ’98 Dyna Wide Glide and belonging to Paul’s good friend El Paso lawyer Robert Gibson.
“Robert was the original owner, and he had all the work done on it at Bikers & Babes Motorcycles in El Paso,” Paul said. “Over a period of about four years, he had everything on it that could be chromed, chromed. He widened the back tire, got a new rear-end, changing out both tires as far as the wheels go. It got its name Bubbles because of the custom paintjob on it,” Paul explained. The original owner met the painter at Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and saw the flame paintjob and wanted the same. Because it had been a custom job, the painter wouldn’t do the exact same paint scheme, so the bubbles were added for originality.
This is Paul’s first motorcycle and he says he really lucked out. “Robert wanted someone to ride with and he bought a new bike, so I bought this one from him,” he said. “When I got it a little over two-and-a-half years ago it had about 6,500 miles on it, and since them I’ve put about 3,000 miles on the bike. Paul likes to ride and uses the bike for pure recreation. Two years ago Paul rode Bubbles to Sturgis and plans on going back for the 2010 rally. Among his travels he attended the biggest bike rally in Texas, the ROT Rally in Austin, this past summer. There he won the hardass award for having traveled 1,500 miles in the heat of summer on that seat. “That seat isn’t really made for long distance riding. It was 103-degrees and high humidity. Driving back from Austin across that desert, through Fort Stockton into El Paso, during the daytime with the sun in your face….” he said, trailing off into laughter.
| SPECIFICATIONS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||