Of course it sports bags and some swoopy bodywork to try and keep the bagger connection, but half of this bike thinks it’s a bagger and the other half thinks it’s a chopper. That crazy-cool front end incorporating air suspension reminds me more of chopper time than baggerville. And, yeah, the big-ass, big spoked, brakeless, fenderless front wheel looks more chopper than bagger to me anyway. Same goes for the headlight and bars. If you could bolt that whole front section onto a long and low one-off chopper frame it wouldn’t look the least bit out of place.
The rest of the bodywork is pretty traditional custom stuff with a swoopy stretched tank, frame covers that blend the back to the front, and a bag and fender section that looks more lead sled than Road King. Well, actually all the custom baggers have become more lead sled with every one that’s built. Lots of bodywork allows lots of paintwork and for a lot of the fully-faired bikes that’s the difference at first glance and sometimes even the second. Not so much for Road Kings, though, as it seems they tend to be more fenderless chopper than bagger. Could a bike like this be ripped of its bags and made into something else entirely? Might be interesting to try.
By the way, you remember I said this was parked and that means it was ridden. The license plate is not a dealer plate, but a private one and that says good things about this Road King. It can and it has been ridden contrary to what everybody seems to say about big wheel baggers. When you check out the riding position and even what looks like a comfortable seat, it’s actually pretty easy to see how this could be possible. Everything looks pretty damn normal considering what you might have expected and even the floorboards look ready to rock. The bars look like they’d be exactly where your hands should fall and nothing unusual like giant apes to maybe make things feel a bit unusual.
With no gigantic fairing full of big speakers to look over, it could be the perfect big wheel bagger for people who are afraid of big wheel baggers. Plus there’s no twiddling with an iPhone, Bluetooth, stereo, touch screens or even gauges, although I wouldn’t mind having a few necessary gauges at least. It’s just getting on, hitting the button and driving away to see how a big wheel really is on the road. Timeless rides the crap out of their bikes like they were meant to be used. Well, it’s my version of what a motorcycle is meant to do.
This little gem of a chopper bagger started life as an innocent 2014 Road King before turning to the custom side of life. The air-ride linkage front end is extremely unusual and extremely good looking. The reversed triple clamps reach back over the extended steerer tube to where it sticks out like the head tube on a bicycle. I’m sure there’s been a lot of engineering work on getting the correct geometry, but understanding it quickly is past my pay grade. Suffice to say, it looks daringly cool and charmingly mechanical. The 30-inch front wheel sure has a lot of very fat spokes and if you want to count them to find out how many, that’s cool with me. All I know is there’s a lot of them and they’re fat. And, there’s not a brake part in sight.
Frankly, it doesn’t look like Timeless mucked around too much with the more than adequate OEM show-bike engine, the Twin Cam 103. There’s nice Stage 1 stuff including Timeless’ own deep breathing air cleaner and a set of killer 2-into1 pipes proudly bellowing in clear view versus hiding under bag extensions. You’re not heading to Bonneville with this rig, you just want to cruise at speed. This Twin Cam wants to sing out on a lonely desert highway free from talk radio and classic rock.
As always, it always ends up with paint and other finishes to complete the look the builder had in their head. Timeless chose a dark blue base with lighter and brighter blue panel graphics to compliment the base coat. Looking straight off a ‘70s chopper, the end result jumps at you. Maybe you don’t like that, maybe you do, but it is a dramatic paintjob that catches your eye. It does fit the early lead sled vibe I seem to remember although, like Homer Simpson, I can’t trust my brain. It fits this build well.
Getting back to where this all started, though, I can’t help but look at this Road King and see it stripped down and re-customized. Can the bags and fender, same for the frame covers and tank too. After yanking off the chin spoiler and replacing the tank and fender with something more appropriate and, let’s just say for the hell of it, painting it flat black, would it be a bad ass chop or just a bad Road King custom?
For more info on Timeless Bike Designs, visit them on Facebook or whatever you personally like. This is just a suggestion, not a demand.