If the difference between men and boys really is the cost of their toys, Les Desavedo of Bentonville, Arkansas, is Rambo. His garage is a retiree’s dream, stuffed full of Jet Skis, a boat, a couple of Trek bicycles, and other rewards of his years of hard work in Wyoming’s gas and oil industry. A beautiful, gleaming red ’76 Shovelhead sits waiting for repair, a reminder of its former owner (Les’s deceased brother-in-law Ron), and a father-son project that Les began years ago. Oh yeah, the swimming pool’s in the back.

One of the toys that Les is proudest of though, is the canary yellow ’99 Custom Springer that he bought from Matt Archambo of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Matt, manager of the Service Department at Janzen Toyota, built the bike for himself, a three-year, 300-hour project. He bought the frame on eBay, and then went about modifying it to suit his tastes. He added one-inch drag bars and modified the front fender for a lower ride, then molded the rear fender to fit the Corbin ostrich leather seat. The blue, red and orange tribal flame paintjob was done at Janzen Toyota’s Body Shop. DM Custom LED taillights (one of Les’s favorite features) make for a nice, sleek line of light across the rear fender. While Les claims to be a bit more John Lee Hooker than Jerry Garcia, he really likes the Grateful Dead points cover as well.

Matt says he built the bike wanting to do “something different,” and at the same time, he wanted something that he could ride long distances, making several 2300-mile round-trip journeys to Las Vegas. When he was ready to sell, Les happened to be searching for a new H-D. “It wasn’t really what I was looking for, but I saw it and it just really caught my eye.” After a little haggling, “Matt made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Les laughed.

Les loves the way the Springer looks, and the way it revs. “I like the full Chrome Springer front end. And along with looking cool, the two-into-one pipe sounds great,” Les said. He appreciates the fact that it rides and handles so well. “Lots of power, without sacrificing reliability,” he said.

While talking to Les, his gorgeous daughter Sherry showed up with her gorgeous Doberman, Taio. They were good enough to pose for some pictures while Wes was on his cell phone confirming details of his latest purchase, a 2005 BMW 1200 LT. He plans on flying to Phoenix to pick it up later this month. His toy collection just keeps getting bigger and better. At this rate, his next project may just have to be a garage expansion!