What surprises me most is that I haven’t seen a Tom Brady bike, but Cam Newton seems to have a super fan in the form of a guy named Mitchell Anderson of Greensboro, North Carolina, who puts his football heart where his bike is. This very nice looking big wheel bagger is dedicated to Mr. Newton and even I can see that which is surprising because I see no other quarterback other than old Tom. But, I do like Mitchell’s take on what he thinks a quarterback would ride if he rode a custom Harley-Davidson bagger.

    Built around a 2006 Road King, Mitchell followed expected custom bagger practice with a big ass 30-inch wheel up front and all the work that needs to be done for proper fitment. The neck’s been seriously worked over to accommodate the wheel while air suspension front and rear handles the task of looking über cool when parked. Is it me or am I crazy as the big hoop doesn’t look that big to me anymore. It actually looks pretty natural on this build unlike some we’ve featured recently. Maybe it’s those huge 18-inch rotors that delicately dominate the front wheel in a most mechanically interesting way. Their diameter is larger than the front wheel (16-inch) on my old FLHR. Or is it the multitude of calipers gracing the front end? Somehow the eye is tricked a bit here and I like it.

    Mitchell didn’t skimp on a thing either as there’s flowing custom bodywork everywhere you look. Nothing revolutionary, but all very nicely done. Frankly, the “stripped” look of a custom bagger without a speaker or high-tech audio system in sight is refreshing to me. I love my music, just not on my bike. But, not to fret as there’s a sound system on board that’s right up my alley of aural delights and that’s that monster of a mill just sitting there waiting to be flogged.

    Details are missing on whether the stock Twin Cam 88 has been worked over internally, but I think there are two clues which say otherwise. One is that gnarly bad-boy ProCharger setup which is an obvious giveaway, but the most important one is who built this engine up. If I said Kendall Johnson Customs, you probably expect a shipload of power and you’d be right. Zach Johnson and Travis Hathcock are running the animal house now and can’t seem to build anything with more horsepower than you’d think possible for a street bike. Never stops them and this supercharged and intercooled Motor Company mill doesn’t have to worry about too many street challenges. Just bolting one on a stock engine does wonders without doing much else and this one’s been through KJC so it’s got that extra helping of engine goodness. M-m-m-m – horsepower.

    I’m going to go out on a limb here and state that this is possibly the nicest theme bike I’ve ever seen. Yeah, I don’t know who Clem Newton is, but I sure dig his team’s colors as they’re applied here. Somehow they just look great as is and I wouldn’t even have noticed a themey thing to this even with Cam’s number on the bike. Personally I take #1 as Harley related first and foremost and the resulting paint scheme is quite attractive. Mitchell gives credit to Back Yard Baggers for the paint so here’s my two thumbs up for a sports-themed paintjob anyone could live with even if they were a diehard Patriots fan like yours truly.

    Surprisingly to the legions of big wheel doubters out there, this bike looks ready to hit the street as well as the show circuit. It’s not too outrageous and it even has a Butch Watson-built High Rollers seat that looks pretty damn comfy for a custom bagger seat. Plus it looks good as all Butch’s work does. And in case you’re a Carolinas fan or maybe you’d just like the bike for yourself, it’s for sale. Mitchell claims he will repaint it if requested, but somehow I don’t think he’ll paint it another team’s colors especially the Patriots. Hey, I could be wrong, but you’ll have to see what he says.

   In the meantime, I can go back to worshipping my boy Tom and wish the Panthers the best. A tough season so far, but as the dear departed Yogi Berra infamously said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”