The flamed trike you see before you is the work of Steve “Big Daddy” Stirewalt of Dirt & Street Cycles in Rockwell, North Carolina. Steve’s been a busy lad owning and running Dirt & Street for the past 35 years while also winning numerous AMA titles dating back to 1966. I don’t know if all that racing over 40+ years and the inevitable tumbles led to his interest in trikes or not, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Trikes are not just a sideline for his shop, but a prominent feature along with a wide range of builds including the only CBX chopper I’ve ever seen. Obviously the guy loves the unconventional and is not afraid to delve in it when it pleases him.

 

   

    Originally born as a 2012 Harley-Davidson Road King and morphing into a custom trike where you’d have hard time finding the original bike surely required a money gun set on automatic. But, to the right person, it makes perfect sense. Just because you’re on three wheels doesn’t mean you have to give up your style. The trike conversion Steve chose for this ride was from DFT (Darn Fine Trikes) in Addison, Illinois. What makes this conversion stand out from the average meat and potatoes trike is that it’s not the typical straight axle, but a fully independent rear end. Pretty sophisticated stuff for the trike world as I know it and unfortunately this technical wizardry is hidden under the DFT Smoothie bodywork. The design, machine work, and castings on the pretty DFT coil-over shock rear end is that nice looking to me, but probably not to the average trike guy who probably carries a passenger and needs luggage space and weather protection. Honestly, I have no idea how any of this really works on the road, but independent suspension has so many benefits (when done properly) in autos that I can only imagine an intelligently designed and executed trike rear end could be the same. Of course all that added complexity compared to a solid rear axle does come into play over time I would assume, but normally ride quality and handling go up with an independent rear suspension so the benefits of either have their appeal.

 

    Normally most trikes seem to wear their conversion and a few H-D doo-dads as their fashion statement. Match the stock H-D paint on the fiberglass trike bodywork and it’s done and done. Hey, I don’t blame owners as they’re in pretty deep just converting a Harley, but Steve took this Road King to the next level with a long shopping list of custom parts and pieces. Besides the DFT Smoothie bodywork, check out the whole big front wheel conversion he did that surely melds nicer with the fat trike wheels and tires out back. That one move alone takes this bike out of conversion trike land and into radical custom world as far as I’m concerned. To back it up, Steve recently won the People’s Choice 3-Wheel radical class at the Easyriders Charlotte show and if it’s a People Choice winner it’s gotta have appeal to the right people. In case you missed the custom front wheel, the acres of white paint with flames are sure to grab your attention. Either way, Steve’s built a striking trike that can tour the show circuit and win or tour the country with a passenger and luggage and still be a winner. That’s not something you can say about many radical customs, but you can about Steve’s radical show and go trike.

 

  For more info on Dirt & Street Cycles, click on http://www.dirtandstreetcycle.net/.

 

   If you’re an independent thinking person and you’re interested in trikes, be sure to check out all different DFT styles and fitments at http://www.dfttrikes.com/.