Over the course of the last decade or so, there have been very few trikes that could qualify for custom status being not too much more than a bolt-on custom with a one-off paintjob. Like anything else trike, getting in the door with a conversion of a stock bike or even one of Harley’s new trikes was pretty damn expensive. Turning it into a true custom trike involved throwing away too much of the stuff you held the title on and replacing it with new fabricated pieces and parts. But like everything else Harley, initial sticker shock lasts only so long and it’s time to get out the money gun and start laying down some fire. Hey, just ask any person with a big wheel bagger how much financial sense it is to make a dream come true. But you know what? You only go around once that we know of so if a factory trike is not your style, at least there are alternatives out there.

   Some of those alternatives are not just alternatives, but maybe a whole new style that might make riders want one just because it’s so damn cool. That’s the reaction I’m expecting here from readers as this trike called Hellbent built by John Shope of Dirty Bird Concepts. John’s been at this custom bagger thing for quite a while so it’s no evolutionary surprise he turned towards making a trike cool too. Like everything else he does at his Phoenix shop, it makes a statement and doesn’t particularly care if you like it or not. John builds them exactly as he wants to and nothing is left untouched.

   From twenty feet away this bike will grab you as its long and low silhouette screams bad ass without saying a word. You know this is something new and different, but what the hell is going on? Scrapping rear suspension and replacing it with a rigid rear end dramatically changes everything you know about custom trikes. This one is damn good looking with a passive/aggressive look a member of Seal Team Six would understand. The concept of something so radical involving a trike kinda plays with your mind a bit and challenges you to give it a whirl. It might not be great for a cross-country trip for two and all their belongings, but it appears to be a thrill ride like no trike you’ve seen or ridden before.

   Plus John’s interpretation of a radical trike puts it into a very small legion of custom trikes that caught my eye the last one being Russell Mitchell’s Exile Cycles trike he built on one of the Biker Build-Off shows if I remember correctly. That was a trike deal breaker too for people who didn’t care about trikes and done in the Exile style you either love or hate. John’s version goes completely another way with his version of a dark custom featuring a lot of different styling and detail. Hellbent should definitely appeal to anyone who was interested in big wheel custom baggers as there’s a lot of similarities except here the bags play a noticeable difference as they can’t hold a candle to those bare rear wheels. Now that’s fat and flat on a deep dish wheel. Sounds like a Dominos ad, but they give a modified dirt track car look even though the rubber and wheels are wrong for dirt. Maybe it’s just the sheer aggressiveness of a modified I’m channeling, but they look bad ass and ready to burn rubber.

     The way John’s integrated custom bags, fender and well, the whole rear of the bike into something other than a make-believe bagger show is genius. The highest point is about the same as the rear tire height and I’m gonna say it, I like the way they hide the bags. And, the fact there’s no Tour Pak or trunk or whatever only adds interest to me. Then, I saw the exhaust outlets exiting where you might expect a recessed license plate and it got me all googly as that’s not something you ever see on a two-wheeler. It’s a different, yet irresistibly clean approach to making a trike sexy. Man, I never thought those two words would ever go together, but it’s happening here.

     The way the seat flows aft and then up to the stretched tank tying everything together without looking that way is satisfyingly artistic. That’s not something that just happens, but carefully thought out with not a line or material out of place. Even the frame covers are part of this more than the bags and finally get their day to shine filling up space behind the rear wheels. After seeing it done and finished, you might think no big deal, but John always makes what he does look easy and right at the same time. That this looks like the coolest and obvious way now to do a trike is collateral baloney. New ground has been broken here.

    Lastly, that ever lovin’ custom paintjob any custom worth its weight in gold has to have to completely define itself takes an interesting subtle turn here too. Obviously this is no circus-come-to-town trike with black being the predominant hue your eye recognizes. The bodywork, wheels and engine bring a dark side to triking from a distance, but the closer you get, you see bits of red until finally close-up, the intricate graphics. There’s a story going on here, but I don’t have the slightest idea what it is. Not my personal cup of tea maybe, but they are exquisitely done and the detailing is insane.

   Like a lot of you, I don’t look forward to having to ride a trike because of this or that, but in case there are good reasons to ride one and you still don’t like stock, John Shope and Dirty Bird Concepts are a great alternative. But, if there was ever a trike I’d like to ride just to experience it in all its custom glory, John’s trike would be on my ultra short list. Let’s see, there’s John’s trike and . . . of yeah, Russell Mitchell’s trike. Yup, I guess that’s about it ─ so far anyway.

    For more info on what John’s up to lately, trikes and otherwise, visit https://dirtybirdconcepts.com/ or find them on Facebook.