Each year the renowned Donnie Smith Bike Show brings out the best of the best in custom motorcycles, parts and products. So to some it may seem a surprising location to spot a motorcycle customized by a group of high school students. But those who have been following the Buffalo Chip’s Student Build Challenge™ know the bike these students customized will likely garner some major attention at the show. Why? Because it’s one of the first known custom 2014 Harley-Davidson® Street Glides in existence!
Black Hills Harley-Davidson sponsored the bike for the 2014 motorcycle mentorship program, and having a new-year model custom Street Glide will certainly work to the students’ advantage at the Donnie Smith Bike Show. However, in the beginning it was this same factor that provided many of the bike build project’s biggest challenges. Harley-Davidson had made drastic changes between the 2013 and 2014 models, which meant most of the custom parts had yet to be created on Jan. 6 when the build began.
The students worked closely with industry veterans, Keith Terry and Randy and Nick Cramer, and high school instructors, Chad Hedderman and Bill Johnson, to create a longer, lower-sitting motorcycle. They installed custom body components from Dirty Bird Concepts, replaced the 19-inch front wheel with a 26-inch from R.C. Components and swapped the standard black seat for a buff leather seat made by Howard Knight. Finally, the students took the bike to Ian Strachan Designs to give it a striking Ferrari-red graffiti paint job. But the class didn’t stop with cosmetics.
For the first time ever the student bike build project placed the same focus on the motorcycle’s performance as it did its appearance. In fact, the class is striving for a 175 horsepower machine after it has enough miles on it to safely run a dyno test! The bike’s new Trask turbo system with a 10:1 compression ratio, Dave Mackie Engineering hemi Harley heads, CP Carrillo dome pistons and Feuling performance parts work together to make this bike a motorhead’s dream!
So what will the judges at the Donnie Smith Bike Show think of the 2014 Student Build Challenge bike? Will the students follow in the footsteps of the 2013 class and bring home a major award? See for yourself and get an up-close-and-personal look at this amazing bike March 23 and 24 at the River Centre in St. Paul, MN. Can’t make it to the show? Simply stay tuned to the Sturgis Rider® News Blog and follow the Legends Ride Facebook page to find out what happens!
Special thanks to the sponsors and motorcycle industry leaders who make the Student Build Challenge possible: Sturgis Brown High School, Keith Terry, Terry Components, Randy and Nick Cramer, Dakota V-Twin, Black Hills Harley-Davidson, Arlen Ness Enterprises, Adventure Power, Baggster, CP Carrillo, Dakota Digital, Inc., Dave Mackie Engineering, Diamond Heads, Dirty Bird Concepts, Feuling Parts, Handy Industries, Hawg Halters, Inc., Horsepower Inc., Hot Leathers, Howard Knight, Ian Strachan Designs, Jamie’s Repair, KICKER Audio, Kinetik, Legend Air Suspensions, Owens Interstate Sales, R.C. Components, Thunder Cycle Design, Inc., Thunder Max, Trask Performance, Jack Van Kampen and Vee Rubber America, Inc.
