Leave it to Shannon Davidson, head honcho at The Chopp Shop in Taylorsville, North Carolina, to come up with a radically customized bagger that looks like it could be parked on any Harley dealer’s showroom floor. It’s no the latest upsized 32-inch wheel bagger, but it looks like it has the ability to actually hit the road and that’s saying a lot as most big-wheel baggers are kinda cool looking, but not inviting to hop on and just go. Extreme radical bikes are often easier to look at than actually ride, but this bike scores in both categories.

 

   Shannon started with a 2009 CVO FTLRSE3 which is not a bad base to build on by any means. If you just rode the pee out of The Motor Company’s stock custom offering, you’d have a fairly exclusive and potentially satisfying ride as is, but stock is not what owning a Harley is all about to most owners. They gotta have something that’s just a bit different and a customized bagger like Shannon’s could be just the ticket. Obviously this is more involved than a set of aftermarket pipes and a tune, but it’s not some six-figure build like a lot claim.

 

   One thing that doesn’t need much, although every bit extra helps on a heavy bagger, is the 110-inch Twin Cam engine. Sure, a neat set of pipes and a tune and maybe a little sprightlier cam goes a long way to waking this bike up a bit, but remember, this is a custom ready for the show floor as well as some cruising around and power bragging rights are not necessary or needed, frankly. If it sounds good, looks good, and reliably runs like hell, that’s more than enough. Stopping up front is now by way of a single six-piston caliper and rotor replacing the stock twin disc setup which is probably more than adequate for its intended use. What’s going on out back is a mystery to me, but I’ll assume it’s possibly factory stock as the only person who sees this wheel is the guy who changes your tire.

 

  There are a lot of bodywork modifications and aftermarket replacement parts so it’s not just a plug and play and be on your way custom. No sir! What has been done is that the major body pieces (gas tank, frame covers, rear fender and bags) look like they’re a one-piece unit until you get close enough to see the necessary seams. Where this bike really shines is the subtle, but extremely detailed paintwork. This is where the bike reminds me of the original ’09 model with updated tasteful graphics that incorporate the famous Screamin’ Eagle logo and the H-D logo on the tank along with sexier silver striping that I wish the original had. Another neat touch is the silver raindrop scallop surrounding the big boy Pioneer speakers on the bag lids that not only highlights the speaker, but gives a feeling of motion even at rest. I really like the way the orange spokes on the front wheel purposely bleed over the black rims until they meet rubber adds a huge visual enhancement to the size of the wheel. You end up with a much spokier look without have to go unnecessarily large and I appreciate that touch.

 

   Yup, chalk up another one for Mr. Davidson and don’t be surprised to see something like this appear from you l now who some years down the pike. The engine’s done, the paint’s in place and all H-D has to do is “borrow” the basic template and they’ve got a winner. But, I wouldn’t hold your breath as the numbers probably won’t add up. And, that’s why we have people like Shannon Davidson to make your dream a reality.