Most of the parts you see on Rick’s über-custom 2013 H-D Road King called Dirty Thirty (for reasons that are unknown to me as you can see it’s a clean and classy ride) are manufactured right in Rick’s custom shop inside his spotless Baden-Baden, Germany, Harley dealership. Talk about a one-stop shopping experience for those with the financial wherewithal. You could order the Harley of your dreams and roll it right into the custom shop without ever riding it to make it into the custom Harley of your dreams. Or, you could just let Rick and his boys have their way and you’ll have something you never dreamed of.

 

   Take this nifty big wheel Road King feature bike for instance. Yeah it’s got a 30-inch front wheel like some other custom baggers, but this ‘Rick Rod’ wheel is made right in Rick’s shop from a big ol’ blank of aluminum to his exact specs and style. And, not just the 30-inch wheel, but the custom Rick’s rotor and the 6-piston caliper to go with it. Rick’s very proud to say that it’s the first 30-inch wheel to meet the über-tough standards of Germany’s infamous TÜV test procedures. If it can pass TÜV standards, it can take whatever the real world has to dish out. And, believe it or not, the real world is what Rick’s Motorcycles are all about. “Yes, all the Rick’s Motorcycles are built for riding,” said Rick. “The best promotion you can get is when the customers are riding their bikes and they are happy with it!”

 

   Fitment of the big front hoop is courtesy of Rick’s extra 12-degree trees and an additional two-inches of fork length to set things right. That and Rick’s own air ride system, front and rear, keeps things on the level. If you don’t believe it, be sure to check out the accompanying video of Rick riding Dirty Thirty ‘hands-off’ at speed. Speaking of speed, Dirty Thirty is not some stock Twin Cam with loud pipes, but a 103 equipped with a genuine Harley Stage 4 kit that not only makes for 103hp and 110ft-lbs of torque, but does it in an emission and warranty friendly manner. In case you’re not aware of what’s in a Stage 4 kit, it consists of a set of Screamin’ Eagle CNC-ported cylinder heads, 10.5 to 1 pistons, SE-259E cams, Perfect Fit pushrods, a 58mm throttle body and a SE clutch spring. All good Motor Company stuff made to work together for performance, reliability and those pesky emissions. Rick’s jacked up the HP numbers a bit with a modified Kess-Tech ESM2 FL Double exhaust with pipes running all over the place to get to where they symmetrically dump out the goods.

 

 

  For reasons I haven’t quite been able to put my finger on, Rick’s Road King doesn’t quite have the outright outlandishness of most big wheel baggers. I like the bag work, the tank work, the fenders, and the seat and bars and how they all work together. The proportions are not so over the top and the orange and black paint and graphics by Marcel Sinnwell of  Sinnwell-Design give it a custom factory look like it was a prototype of some sort. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for this to roll off a York assembly line, so take this as a compliment for what it is ─ an all-out custom with a hint of factory. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the headlight which I just don’t get, but maybe that’s the idea. I once read an article by a famous auto designer who said it was important he put something in a design that wasn’t perfect so everybody could pick on that piece, pat themselves on their back, and compliment everything else. I’m going with that here.

 

 

   All in all, Rick’s Motorcycles has come up with another of their many fabulous customs of all sorts. By that I mean they do a lot more than just trendy baggers with a resume of customs from vintage to new, rigid to Softail and everything in between including Sportsters and V-Rods. Be sure to check out Rick’s website and see for yourself at www.ricks-motorcycles.com.