Think about that 30-inch wheel and realize that it’s almost double the size of a wheel on a stock dresser. Throw on a Vee Rubber tire ($800) and it’s almost up to my waist. To put things into perspective, Ballistic’s 18-inch (!) rotor is actually larger than the stock Road Glide’s wheel and dwarfs a Buell perimeter rotor which most of us think of as a giant rotor. That (now) little Buell piece would fit inside the Ravenous’ rotor.
Needless to say, custom baggers have taken over where ground-ups left off and actually it should be no surprise that things have gotten so crazy. Custom bikes (or “concept bikes” as Rodent refers to them) are conceived as boundary-pushing shockers meant to win shows at all costs. You gotta give credit to Ballistic for being the first and not the least bit intimidated at going slightly beyond-beyond.
Hey, maybe I’m just a bit old fashioned as I’m still not sure that what is now considered sorta the norm bagger-front 21-incher is a good idea. The added weight of a bigger front wheel along with the added gyro affect has never impressed me too much. A 30-incher with all the additional rake needed for fitment is just not my cup of tea. But like I said, maybe I’m just old fashioned or maybe just old and cranky. Yeah, that’s the ticket, I’m going with old and cranky.
Check out Ballistic Cycles’ website (www.ballisticcycles.com) to see all their extremely well done way-out customs and be sure to check out their YouTube videos of their 30-inch wheel baggers in action.