Custom 2004 Harley Davidson Road Glide








Kim Suter, owner of KC Creations in Overland Park, KS, and his affable wife Cheryl have been riding motorcycles since they were kids. In his basement workshop, Kim was always tinkering with his buddies’ Pans and Shovels. He took a detour from his bike-building career to run a gasoline business with Cheryl, but bikes were always a big part of their lives.
In the mid-’80s on a trip to Sturgis, Kim had a hard time finding his Softail Custom amongst the hundreds of other “custom” Softails. His license plate was the only thing that really distinguished his scoot. He decided right then and there to build himself a bike that would set him apart from the throngs.
In 1995, Kim decided to dedicate his efforts to full-time bike building. KC Creations was born. Over the next 10 years, Kim and Cheryl always had a touring bike for taking long trips together in style and comfort. Just before Sturgis 2004, Kim sold their personal bagger. Cheryl didn’t want to get rid of the bike, but Kim promised her he’d have another one built in time for the upcoming rally.
Kim chose an ’04 Harley-Davidson Road Glide for their personal chariot. The fixed-fairing, dual-headlight touring machine would serve as the perfect basis for Kim and Cheryl’s personal ride. But stock just wouldn’t do. Soon after delivery the motor and tins were removed. Unable to leave the frame alone, Kim chopped into the brand-new frame and added 5 degrees of rake to the neck. The rest of the cradle was left alone. To keep the trail acceptable, a set of lowered H-D forks and rear shocks was utilized. Metzeler rubber on dual 18-inch Weld Racing wheels, with matching rotors, keeps the shiny side up.
While the motor was out of the chassis, Kim decided to add some extra ponies by bumping up the displacement to 95 inches and throwing in a set of Andrews bump sticks. To realize the motor’s potential, the heads were flowed by Mike Wilson. The stock EFI was juiced up with a Cobra unit to help out with tuning the vitalized mill. A Forcewinder velocity stack was bolted on to feed air to the motor, while Samson True Dual pipes pump air out. Shifting duties were left to the stock H-D five-speed fitted with a 34-tooth pulley.
Both of the fenders were pitched in place of a sleek Russ Wernimont front unit and a Ness ground-effects rear fender. The Ness fender covers the mounting hardware for the saddlebags and smoothes out the rear of the bike with its frenched and radiused license plate. A custom-made trunk was fitted above the rear fender, complete with a padded backrest. The original H-D hard saddlebags were fitted with two pairs of CycleVisions round taillights that serve double duty as brake and turn signals. Scott Thomas treated all of the sheetmetal to a bath of shades of black, pink, and purple with bold pinstriped graphics.
As the big Sturgis Rally alarm clock rang, Kim had the bagger finished and ready to go–of course, with Cheryl waiting to take in all the smells, sensations, and scenery as they headed off to Colorado and the mighty Rockies. This modified Road Glide has clocked miles all over the country and is probably rolling into a town near you. Look for it.