Apparently Willie Ball had the same type of experience I had, but with totally different results. Why else would a guy cover his wildly (and expensively) customized Road King in screaming, evil clowns and other oddities from Captain Spaulding’s Freak Show? I can’t say I’ve ever been there, but it’s influenced Willie Ball enough to have his Curly’s Custom Cycles Road King decked out like the old captain himself owned it. Hey, each to his own I guess. If Willie was looking to get a bit of attention, there’s no doubt he accomplished his mission.

 

   It’s no surprise to me that Willie’s Freak Show, as the bike is called, is a product of Lance “Curly” Waugaman, owner and head provocateur at Curly’s Custom Cycles in Chesterton, Indiana. Barnett’s Magazine Online has previously featured a couple of his wicked rides already like his Nitro in a Bag bagger and a really sweet Softail. Both had some eye catching graphics, but this one takes the cake. Ol’ Curly is not afraid to put himself out there and take a chance and that’s cool by me. Pushing the limits is what custom building is all about.

  Thankfully this bagger sports a now-thoughtful 26-inch front wheel made by Sinister Industries. Direct from Sinister’s Bad Boy Collection, it’s called the Billet Daddy in case you’re interested in one for yourself. What a styling difference four-inches of diameter makes, at least to me anyway. There’s still a bit of Ferris Wheel in this size and style and for once, it’s entirely appropriate.

 

  The whole carnival atmosphere of what makes a custom bagger a custom bagger is not overlooked by Curly from the low air ride stance to the custom bodywork. A slew of body pieces like the side panels and bags are from John Shope’s Dirty Bird Concepts along with his Hot Rod bars and Up-Yours performance exhaust. Meanwhile, Bad Dad came up with the dash and tank Battistinis Custom Cycles supplied the floorboards and foot controls in a style you know is theirs and theirs alone.

 

  But enough about parts and pieces, suffice to say that Willie and Curly didn’t cut any corners on this build, but that’s not what this build is really about. It’s the paint, man. Mike Paints laid on a lovely white base coat while Wayne Fuller and Dan Barrera manned their airbrushes and covered this King in scary (my words) graphics that grab your attention and shock you silly all at the same time. Take a good look at Jack Cofano’s photos and you’ll see what I mean.

 

  I gotta say that if I ever see anybody and I mean anybody on a motorcycle by the side of the road, I always stop and make sure they’re okay. Probably not a big thing anymore with cell phones and such, but I’m stuck with tradition no matter what. I will say if I somehow ran into Willie Ball parked on a roadside and saw this paintjob, I just might break tradition. Nah, I guess I wouldn’t, but I’d probably park a little ways down the road and keep my engine running while I yelled to see if he needed help. That’s some scary sh*t you got going on there Willie and I know you love every bit of it. Good for you man.

 

 For more information on Curly’s Custom Cycles, click on http://www.curlyscycles.com/.