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But, I almost hate to admit it, there are a couple of trikes I’ve really, really liked and they couldn’t have been more different if they tried. One was a stripped/stock ’38 Indian Scout that I loved to death and the other was a Boss Hoss trike. Both had their own special qualities that made them endearing, the Indian was just stupid sporty to ride and was a blast on dirt roads (well it was) while who couldn’t appreciate straddling (and I do mean straddling) a 355hp V8 Boss Hoss and lighting up a set of tires like an old LS6 Chevelle? Strangely, I found them both capable and fun to ride under normal boring conditions too. But, hey, that’s just me.

Well I think I’ve finally found another one to add to my trike like-list of two with this way cool, totally bad-ass looking, I-wanna-ride-that-thing custom trike from the nice folks at Snake Alley Customs in Lake Barrington, Illinois. SAC president, Marty Behan, is no stranger to Barnett’s Magazine already having graced the pages (and many other magazines) with customs that feature a built-in hot-rod attitude that makes your throttle hand twitch. Actually, Marty and crew have got to get a lot of credit in my book for being way ahead of the current curve of modifying stock Harleys into real custom rides. While most everybody else was doing the ground-up-only thing years ago, SAC was taking customer Harleys and turning them into real-world riders that looked special and had muscle car performance. Now, they’ve taken the trike phenomenon and added their own twist with a trike that dares you to ride it ‘cause it looks like sheer, unadulterated fun, not because you have to.

Just take a look at that thing again. It’s all about attitude. Even the name, Mad Max, sets the tone correctly. There’s nothing on this bike that shouldn’t be there. There’s no silly fiberglass box on the back covering up American Trike’s (www.americantrike.com) wicked cool quad-coil-over shock independent rear end. That setup with its single wavy brake rotor looks as technically interesting and clean as anything under a bazillion-dollar hot rod in the pages of HOT ROD Magazine and luckily, minus the over-chroming of a show queen. Snake Alley fabbed up a frame with a reasonable 34-degree rake that doesn’t allow the 15-foot front ends of push-only show trikes, but provides stability, a cool stance, and ease of getting-it-on when owner Tim Bailey feels like letting the 106” Accurate Engineering Panhead have its head on the highway. From a stop, spinning the gorgeously-understated red powdercoated 15” steel rims with baby moons shod with a pair of 12-inch-wide, street rod-style Mickey Thompson Sportsman tires has got to be a rush. Classic hot-rod style that just makes sense with this build. Snake Alley balanced off the fat tire back end with a spoked red wheel up front wearing a beefy 200mm Metzeler tire that looks like it is ready to do its share whether steering or braking or just stylin’. Dual HHI front brakes add a feeling of serious intention while fitting the pure mechanical style of the bike.

There’s no glitz, no glamour (unless you really appreciate simplicity and I do), and no fakey-do shock value tossed on Mad Max just for the frak (thank you Battlestar Gallactica) of it. The lack of chrome, a flat black (unlike H-D’s trendy Dark Series, flat black is true to the classic hot-rod style Snake Alley was obviously after) paintjob by M-N-K Customs (www.mnkcustomworks.com)on the only bodywork, a Snake Alley fabbed Fat Bob tank, a simple black solo saddle by Alligator Bob, and a set of red steelies and spokes says it all in one fell swoop. This is a trike that has an Old School fenderless ’32 Ford roadster aesthetic (and who doesn’t like that?) and it’s meant to be used.

Like the often stated simplified definition of a motorcycle as being “an engine and two wheels”, Snake Alley Customs has redefined a trike for me as “an engine and three wheels.” Cut the height of the apes by half and leave everything else as is and I’d call Mad Max possibly my definition of a perfect fun trike I’d love to own and ride as a motorcycle. If you feel the same way, contact Snake Alley Customs for yours at 847-381-2500 or visit www.snakealleycustoms.com for more info.