Rick Strand, owner of Freebird Custom Motorcycles, specializes in motorcycles for people with special needs. He lives in “the wilds of South Dakota,” but his one-of-kind bikes, trikes, and trike conversion kits are in demand by people from all over the US who just want to get back on the road but need a little ingenuity to get there.

The trike featured here, Freedom Machine, is what Rick calls his “latest contraption.” He said, “I just finished putting it together for a handicapped person in Connecticut. He contacted me to build him his dream machine so he could fly in the wind once more. He is paralyzed from the waist down from a motorcycle accident and was told he could never ride again… I say ha! to that defeatist thinking.”

Rick’s a freebird and a free thinker and this wasn’t his “first rodeo” as he explains it. His story, and his determination to help riders with special needs, begins back in his hometown of Austin, Texas. “It was about 29 years ago my wife and I were riding down in Austin, on my 1940 rigid frame H-D flathead 80 when this 16-year-old kid decided to run a red light in front of us,” he explained. “We T-boned his Camaro at 35 mph — which sent us flying about 30 feet through the air. I got knocked out after landing on my head. They said it caused dain-brammage, but I can’t tell if it affected me none, along with a shattered ankle, torn ligaments, lacerations, etcetera. My wife only had a bruise on her ankle, but since I had the passenger pegs mounted high on the rear frame rail it snapped her back at the base of her ribcage, severing the spinal cord. Needless to say her legs don’t work no more. Well, between her determination and my mechanical ability, she has been riding a ’77 Shovelhead trike, all hand controlled, for about 26 years now.”

This talented and colorful builder is in demand by many riders, and former riders. “I get contacted from people all over the country with special needs issues, and I do my best to help them to overcome the challenges they face,” Rick said. “This project had all the bells and whistles, and the customer can take off on a ride anytime he desires with no assistance from anyone…Isn’t that what it’s all about?”

For Freedom Machine, Rick started with a 2008 Harley-Davidson 96” six-speed Electra Glide. “I put an independent suspension system on it, the best set-up available, Corvette wheels, installed a reverse in the transmission, modified the floorboards with stainless steel and the Velcro straps to hold his feet in place,” he said. “The electric shifting and the dual braking system on the handlebars took care of the operational aspect of the machine. He wanted to conceal his wheelchair while he was riding so I ordered just the box for a pull-behind motorcycle trailer and narrowed it 6-inches and shortened it 17-inches, along with lining it inside so it wouldn’t scratch up his chair. Those wheelchairs cost about five grand, you know.”

The customer wanted to take his favorite passenger along for rides, so Rick hooked him up. “He also wanted to take his wife along occasionally, so the box is on fire truck shelf rollers with a lick’em and stick’em seat for her,” he said. “I rode back there myself and it’s pretty comfy. He said he would like a kickbutt stereo, so I installed a Sony system with I-pod and Sirius and Hogtune speakers, all controlled on the handlebars, of course.”

The special sissy bar was made for transfers onto the trike. “He specified blue with silver flames, but I added the black ghost flames and white highlights to give it a little more zing,” Rick said. “Speaking of bling, the chrome trim and truck lug nut covers helped also. The only trouble is he likes to twist the grip with his enthusiasm. I guess he has some lost time to catch up on.”

Rick said he’s “grateful to be able to help others out in this respect” and wants to spread the word there is hope for other special needs riders as well. Like I said, he’s a free thinker and no one can ever say Rick doesn’t speak his mind. Hidden within his website is a blog titled “Wiz Rants” where he quotes Pink Floyd and covers everything from Old School vs. New School, holiday greed, to road rash and a list of his battle wounds: “…three broken toes, two shattered ankles, 50 stitches right leg, torn ligaments, ACL both knees…”

Rick said to give him a call even if all you want is some advice (and he’s got plenty of it), so feel free to chat him up at Freebird Custom Motorcycles 605-359-2876. But do take a trip over to his website [www.freebirdcustommotorcycles.com] to check it out some of his unique and beautiful builds. Also, you won’t want to miss his “Wiz Rants” so check those out here. He said his website was “pretty entertaining” and he wasn’t wrong.