Starting with a Wild Child frame constructed within the bowels of Indian Larry Legacy, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what direction this build was going to take. There’s been many a Larry tribute bike done already, but most that I’ve seen have little or nothing in common with Larry’s ideas other than using him as a theme. BAKER R&D’s Chad Behrendt, Tom Peek, and Ryan Sanderlin, set about to build the real thing, not a half-baked universal bobber with a few of Larry’s graphic trademarks stuck on for validity. First up was getting a combo fuel-oil tank direct from Indian Larry Legacy. Besides being authentically cool looking with its myriad of caps and oil lines strewn about, the lack of a conventional oil bag hanging under the seat showcased one of the R&D developments BAKER was working on, but more on that later. Milwaukee Iron was tapped for a fender, which R&D modified to fit, and is held up by a clean, chromed strut/sissy bar they made. A set of politically correct (remember they had to not offend any companies with their parts choices) stock length narrow glide FXR forks hang out at a good handling 30-degrees. Performance Machine’s Vader wheels are enveloped with Metzeler ME880s, a classic-sized 90/90×21 in front and a reasonable 200×18 in back. PM also supplied the stopping power with their 4-piston calipers and wheel matching rotors worked by PM master cylinders for a good looking, good braking system.

With the rolling chassis in place, it was time to choose a method of making it roll by itself. “We wanted somebody really close to tailor the motor how we wanted to see it, shovelhead-style with a lot of polished parts, and to work well with the new parts we were making in R&D,” says Scout. “Greg Gates (of Gates Performance Engineering Inc.), the mad scientist of the motor world, is literally a mile or two away and Bert wanted to use as many locals as he could.” Needless to say, it was a wise choice as Greg turned out a 106” split rocker box beauty featuring his “Hi Squish” chamber cylinder heads with titanium valves and performance cam sitting on Axtell/Gates cylinders. Greg also modified an S&S G carb topped with a Goodson air cleaner and chose a Mallory ignition to light it off, eventually producing a very healthy 105hp and 117ft-lbs of torque at the rear wheel. The lads from R&D finished it with a wrapped exhaust and Larry’s trademark rear-mount oil filter. Being able to have a classic shovel look and not having to forsake high performance to get it, sure makes for a winning combo.

After placing the Gates mill in the frame, the R&D boys started installing the proto parts they’d been developing. “We were working on mid-controls, but that’s a larger project because it’s part of a proprietary belt drive that we’re still working on,” says Scout. This primary is connected to the obvious showpiece of this bike, the BAKER transmission which becomes a visual focal point for a number of reasons. This is where the fuel/oil tank comes into play. Having open space over the tranny allows BAKER to show off its new 6-into-4 kicker transmission and taking it a step further, R&D made a Lexan (often referred to as transparent aluminum) top cover to show off Bert’s pride and joy, and seeming reason to be, the internal guts of a tranny in all their constantly meshing glory. “We’ve got enough Lexan to sell clear top covers and that’s something we’ll have available soon,” says Scout. For more info on the 6-into-4 tranny and kicker cover check out the Up Close sidebar.

Local boy and custom legend Ron Finch was called upon for the gorgeous paintjob. “He’s a professional and great to work with. Historically, his paintjobs are just tremendous and they’re out there, but he worked with me,” says Scout. “It is a corporate bike and our color palette at BAKER is mostly black. We try not to get too wild and he respected that, but it still looks like a Ron Finch paintjob.” A set of 10” baby apes on 2” DBBP-Design risers completes the look and reaches back to a knockout Paul Cox Leather seat mounted on one of his comfy Rigidaire systems.

“We’re all a fan of the man. That’s why we called the bike I.L.L. Deified,” says Scout.