There seems to be two basic styles of custom baggers to me or at least that’s the way I’ve broken them up ─ fairing and non-faring. Yeah, that may seem totally obvious and overly simple, but I think each initial design takes its own route to custom nirvana. The fairing bagger has as absolutely as much bodywork and electronic gizmos as possible while the non-fairing (which I might as well refer to as a Road King) bagger has a lighter hand on the design helm with purity of line and sweet simplicity taking place. If this was the custom car world, fairing bikes would be by the likes of George Barris and non-fairings would be more Chip Foose. Well, at least that’s the way I usually see it.

 

   Needless to say then that the 2012 Harley-Davidson Road King that’s been pulled, stretched and completely reshaped in every direction by XecutionStyle in Elmer, New Jersey, falls under my cleaner and simpler non-fairing-style category. Kyle Morley is the main man at XecutionStyle and his specialty is wielding a spray gun or an air brush to create some extreme paintjob customs for not only his company, but that of many others. What’s a bit interesting is this FLHR Jack Cofano shot at the Ray Price Motorsports Expo was built by Kyle’s dad, Rich. Apparently custom blood runs in the family and this collaboration shows the two can be successfully mixed without the least bit of rejection.

 

  My take on Rich’s take on a custom bagger is a bit of a bastard hot rod bagger that’s ready to do a burnout at a moment’s notice. It’s a spare profile that suggests a Road King without using a stock line. From the big-ass front wheel that’s more hot rod purposeful looking than a duded-up design that’s trying to steal the scene all by itself. Straight, thin spokes reach out to the wheel rim with lots of air space in-between more like a rail dragster than a custom car design. It’s complimented by a 16-inch Glenndyne Design rotor featuring dual calipers on either side of the fork leg. An unadorned, but FLH-shapely fender tightly hugs the front wheel. No fluff, just tough. Looks good, works good, and sets the tone for the rest of the build.

 

  Obviously you’ve gotta have some sort of ground-dropping air suspension front and rear on any custom bagger worth its weight in trophies and in this case, Rich chose to not have it sit on its frame tubes, but on an electric center stand. Frankly, I think the difference right there is what separates show-type bikes. If you really planned to do some riding, it’s be too hard to lay it on the tubing and scratch even the underside on rough tarmac that you’re sure to run in to. Short electric center stands seems to infer it’s not always going to be dropped on carpet at a show and that’s cool with me. Hey, it’s not a fact, just an assumption by me and I might be wrong as hell about it, but I doubt it.

 

  All of the bodywork from the chin spoiler which almost doesn’t exist to the smoothly-shaped tank and the rear Black Death body kit by TopShop is bagger-sleek-of-line with a complete lack of doo-dads to try and “break it up.” When you’ve got something with minimalist-flowing lines giving the maximum overall affect possible, you’ve don’t have to cover it in iPads and speakers and gauges and chrome and whatever else you can think of to make your artistic statement. The lines stand for themselves.

 

   Where all this smoothness takes a lovely hit is the heart of the beast, the good ol’ Harley Twin Cam that now can trace its roots back 17 years. Funny how I still think of it as a “new engine” even though its old enough to get a license in human terms. But, it doesn’t show its age a lick here with a somewhat gritty performance appeal mainly because of that nasty-cool 2-into-1 pipe that looks the business. You gotta believe it’s got a load of amplification through the open-mouth megaphone that will announce your presence with authority more than bazillion-watt audio system annoyingly playing the wrong kind of music. A bad-boy bagger open belt primary balances the other side for nastiness while the wicked cool serrated-metal grate floorboards and foot controls finish off the mechanical business end of this build.

 

   What grabs me is the soft finish Kyle chose to run with. I’ve seen a lot of Kyle’s work that involved layer after layer of paint with air brush work galore and it showcases his talent for incredibly involving detail work. Not this time. Shot with PPG’s finest in what I’ll call a soft gray and titanium satin finish, the color sneaks up on you. Clever use of the two-tone design on things like the engine and bodywork doesn’t slap you in the face, but draws you in for a closer look. If this bike was painted like a traveling circus and pulled up to you at a light and the rider challenged you with a big blip of the throttle, you’d probably give it a go. But if this shadowy specimen did the same thing, you just might make a turn instead when the light turned green. It looks tough, sounds tough, so it must be tough, right?

 

  Whatever Kyle and his dad Rich are up to with baggers like this, I can only give them two thumbs up and say “Bring it on!” I love the simplicity of style and the hint of performance all wrapped up in a package that’s not trying to be your new best friend, but it’s okay if it works out that way. It’s a strong, clean design that’s sure of itself and doesn’t have to act like the late Rip Taylor to get your attention. Can’t ask for too much more than that unless you’re a Rip Taylor freakazoid and if you are, good luck, you’re on your own.  

 

 For more info on XecutionStyle, visit http://www.xecutionstyle.com/ or check out Facebook under Kyle XecutionStyle Morley.