Modified Stockers
That’s not always the case as you can easily see in the Dyna makeover called The Beach Cruiser by Ric Greene, owner of Southeast Custom Cycles in Concord, North Carolina. One look and it’s obvious this is no Heidi Montag surgical aberration of a perfectly good, but often unappreciated Harley Big Twin. Ric’s taken a Plain Jane Super Glide and turned it into a sexy supermodel without the cost, reliability hassles, and upkeep of a ground-up build or a supermodel. “A lot of people do baggers or Softails, but not many people do Dynas. It’s the best handling big bike in Harley’s lineup,” said Ric. “They’re snappy fast bikes, especially the ’07-and-up bikes with the 96, and they’re confidence inspiring and comfortable too.” That’s all true, but one of the most important things about a Dyna is what you get for what you pay. “If I was out shopping for a bike and I could buy this bike for $15,000 or a new one for about the same price, I know what I’d do. You park this next to a new one and you’re definitely going to see the difference and I don’t think this bike is going to depreciate as much as a new stock one,” he said. Obviously Ric’s a bit prejudiced here, but that doesn’t mean he’s not absolutely correct as far as I’m concerned.
Ric’s transformation of a 2008 FXDC totally changes the look without breaking out the torches and that’s something a Dyna owner with a thirst for individuality, a modest budget, and a home workshop should take notice of. “I did this one real quick, a simple parts order and a paintjob really,” said Ric leaving out any mention of using good taste as his main design element. “Honestly, there’s no fabrication on that bike and the end goal was something that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, something that appealed to everyone, yet custom enough to where it could win a home bike show.” Many Harley customs start out with the same good intentions but, like Heidi Montag, totally lose it along the way. Frankly, this bike looks like something that you should be able to get right off the showroom floor and that’s no slight to Ric as simple, but striking is the hardest thing to do. Just ask Harley.
Ric’s modifications, other than paint, are something just about anybody with rudimentary tools and decent mechanical skills could accomplish. Bolting on a set of HogPro Indy wheels immediately created a clean, tough image to work around. The stock brakes were left untouched and the black calipers blend nicely with the wheels. Ric glammed it up a bit with a set of chromed, lowered forks and enhanced the ever important stance with a set of Burly Brand lowered shocks out back. Putting the beach in beach cruiser are a set of Softail Deluxe bars on Southeast’s own 3” risers coupled with a slim and trim LePera solo saddle and stock foot controls for a comfortable and classy riding position. No Pilates regimen is required to endure riding this bike, just a full tank of gas and some spare time.
As far as bodywork, dead stock was cool other than the neat Southeast Bobber Bucket headlight. For paint, Ric chose his take on a popular paintjob with glossy hot rod flames over denim black shot by Chris Fox of Fox Custom Paint in Salisbury, North Carolina. “I’m not a flame guy, but I told Chris I wanted hot rod flames and make ‘em look cool,” said Ric. I gotta agree as most flame jobs are passé, but on a bike like this it adds just the right degree of sizzle. Something was missing, though, as Ric checked out the finished bike. “I’m going, ‘What is this bike missing?’ My wife walked in and said, ‘What is all that silver in the middle? It’s not making the bike flow.’ The next day I took the all-silver motor down and got the cylinders black. Now it looked right,” said Ric.
Summing up, Ric said, “I love the fact that our bikes start out as a production bike because I love being able to transform a stock ugly bike into something that somebody else says is sexy. That’s it for me.”
Up close: HogPro Black Magic Indy Wheels
Ask somebody to name who sells the most custom Harley wheels in theUSA. and you’d be sure to get every well known brand name in the world other than the claim byCanoga Park,California’s HogPro that they are the number one seller of custom H-D wheels. Hey, it’s right on their website. Besides selling premium wheels from companies like RC Components, Xtreme Machine, Performance Machine, and others, they also sell a very stylish line of HogPro branded wheels like the Black Magic Indy wheels found on Southeast Custom .Cycle’s featured Dyna.
Their secret to success is possibly that these USA-made wheels feature a high tech look with a clean six-spoke design in a black anodized finish with machined highlights for a price that’s more than competitive shall we say. With eight Black Magic wheel designs to choose from and a wide variety of sizes to fit most applications, they’re definitely worth looking into when you’re wheel shopping. If black isn’t your bag, there are even more wheel designs available in chrome or polished finishes for the pack rats among us.
Ric Greene talked about his choice of HogPro wheels and said, “I knew what paint job and what type of wheels I wanted to do. I like black wheels and Phil Stephenson [HogPro’s co-owner], he’s an awesome guy and great to deal with, has got killer wheels that I use on a lot of my bikes.”
Like Ric, if you’re trying to save a buck, but don’t want to compromise on quality or looks for your Harley, HogPro’s lineup of in-house and name brand wheels is definitely worth checking out at www.hogpro.com or give them a buzz at 818-886-6545.
Builder: Southeast Custom Cycles
Set right in the heart of NASCAR stock car racing in Concord, North Carolina, Southeast Custom Cycles prides itself on stock Harley-Davidson makeovers unlike the NASCAR “stockers” which are about as stock based as the Space Shuttle is to a Cessna. Southeast’s Ric Greene has taken the old ‘50s and ‘60s NASCAR approach of modifying real door slammers into racecars to Harleys with a steady stream of tastefully modified production models like our Dyna feature bike. “I saw this downturn coming and we’ve always done used bikes to pay the bills and custom bikes as a hobby. I started noticing that if a bike is a nice Heritage with a set of wheels, it’s gonna sell a whole lot faster than the average Heritage,” he said. “We’ve taken the approach that any bike we get in, we wanted to make it a simple, less is more, cost effective custom and it’s been successful.”
One intelligent way Ric does this is by basically leaving the engines stock other than maybe exhaust and air cleaners. “The stock 96 is quick if you remap ‘em, new exhaust, and let ‘em flow good, they’re even quicker. Because of cost, I leave the area of building up a motor open,” said Ric. “When we do build up motors, they’re bad. On bikes like these you can’t overprice yourself nowadays. I’ve got to keep the price point right.” In my opinion, he’s actually being pretty modest about his work after perusing the gallery of bikes for sale on his website which features tons of super-neat modified production bikes.
Ric brought back a personal memory of a super-picky service manager I once turned wrenches for.” There’s a highway on the way to my house and every bike I build gets a top speed test. Every bike! I peg the speedo and if it stays intact, I know I built it right,” said Ric with a laugh. Exactly what my boss said too.
More info at www.southeastcustomcycles.com or call 704-723-4038.
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