But, just like any person he sells a house to, Kirk has to put his own stamp on it to make it his. And, like some people he sells a house too, Kirk decided to completely renovate the Road Glide until it went from a nice move-in ready home to a mansion of itself with no stones left unturned. Instead of having to find an architect, contractor and crew, he simply turned to Joey Beam of Godfathers Baggers in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, for the re-do of a lifetime. Now, instead of a three-bedroom/two bath house, Kirk’s got a motorcycle/house equivalent of a classy mansion with its own recording studio full of high-tech gadgets and gizmos.  

   After Godfather Baggers got through stripping this nice bike back to the bare walls, it was time to begin building it back up using all the finest materials and, budget be damned, full speed ahead until it was unrecognizable as ever being anything else than what it ended up as. By that I mean you can still tell it’s a Road Glide by those unmistakable headlights, but if that frame-mounted fairing wasn’t there, you’d have no clue what it once was other than a Harley.

  Like any big wheel bagger build, it all starts at the front where the frame was modified with an eight-inch stretch by East Coast Choppers to accept that wicked swirling six-spoke Dirty Hooker 30-inch front wheel by SMT Machining. A single custom 13-inch PM rotor replaced the twin OEM rotors up front with a six-piston Performance Machine caliper making sure it still stops like OEM. Just look at this front end major addition like having a big crystal chandelier installed in the new foyer. It’s gonna grab attention, no doubt, but it needs the rest of the house to follow suit to pull it off. Making sure this happens comes courtesy of a fork leg change to something more custom appropriate like Hawg Halters Inc.’s Touring Torpedo fork leg kit with adjustability built-n that allows a new big front fender to fit perfectly too. Lots of striking stuff up front and the build, so far, is definitely going to be a showpiece.

   For bodywork, Joey turned to the fine lads at Insane Asylum Motorsports for their stretched tank, curved side panels and a set of six-inch down/eight-inches back bags. I can only assume that Insane’s 22-inch taillight kit is housed in that skinny slit between the bags and fender. I’m sure when he hit s the brakes that Kirk will have no trouble informing drivers behind him what’s up when that long slit lights up. Speed By Design supplied those crazy cool speaker lids on the bags and Tour Pak that look like something big and possibly forever deafening could happen when the audio’s cranked up to 11. Totally possible with the Hertz Audio speakers and Diamond Amps equipment on board.

  Up front the RG fairing got a mild styling update, but not enough to lose its identity. For instance, where there was once a windshield you looked through, there’s now a short custom screen that’s more bodywork than screen. Godfather fabricated the gorgeous chin spoiler that’s more like a whole face spoiler instead of just a chin type. It’s a graceful design that fills in the open void created by the stretched front end and completely covering the downtubes like they didn’t exist. Nice piece of custom work there Joey.

   The High Output Twin Cam 103 is a lovely bit of work as is for this application, but that doesn’t mean that it is factory fresh. A free-breathing Black Label Baggers billet air cleaner lets in the good air while a butch Misfit Industries Nasty Bastard 2-into-1 exhaust shoves out the bad air like a bouncer does a bad drunk. Honestly, on a radical custom build like this there’s no need for a million horsepower as you couldn’t use it or enjoy using it anyway. Although people have their complaints about the TC 103 like any other Harley’s made or will make, it’s a peach for most of us just with the Stage 1 kit. Plus it sounds just lovely thanks to those Addison, Texas, moto-lads.

  Black Label Baggers also supplied the striking billet floorboards, heel and toe shifter, brake pedal and bag latches. Obviously Godfather Baggers fabbed up that shifter rod as it marks its territory with good reason. James Carter Seats made what is probably the modern day equivalent of a king & queen seat except this time it’s a two-piece unit. Any passenger Kirk takes for a ride just better be prepared for the wall of sound that the seat is embedded in. By the way, this new style of material and design in custom seats James Carter did is something I really have come to like. It’s a very classy look. One thing sure to mention is the Speed By Design center stand that makes this bike sit loud and proud even when it’s parked and the audio’s not on.

  Loud and proud, huh? Yup, it is loud with the always unbelievable artwork by Brian Morgan of BKP Art in Easley, South Carolina. Brian is one talented sob with many stunning works of art gracing a lot of baggers we’ve featured on Barnett’s Magazine Online. His realistic style of non-reality is almost disturbing at times, but his talent and skill set always take any paintjobs he does to a whole new level. Hey, isn’t that Jenny McCarthy serving a drink to skeleton guy? Why, yes it is sir. Why Brian’s obsessed with skeleton people, beautiful girls and playing cards is something only his shrink knows. But I’m glad he is as I can always tell his work when I see it and the quality is superb too. Here the red base with white graphics is sharply striking in a good way just sitting there proud as hell.

   So we’re back to Kirk Hanson motoring around after a tough day listening to people he probably hopes never to see again. But, it’s all good when it allows him to go to Joey Bean and Godfather baggers with a Road Glide and says, “Do it right and call me when it’s ready.” When it was all done and finished, Kirk’s satisfaction level was probably satisfied before he hit second gear for the first time aboard his get-away-from-it-all custom Road Glide. It doesn’t take too much to clear the cobwebs out of any rider’s work-frazzled brain and something this personal and special probably does it even quicker. Hopefully he doesn’t have his business calls transferred to his bike as it would cut into serious riding time.