Pipes ’N Wheels
Pipes and wheels kind of go together like peanut butter and jelly, or salt and pepper, or oil and water. Or is that oil and balsamic vinegar? Either way, upgrading a bagger’s pipes and wheels are pretty much the common mods that guys make. Luckily, RC Components out of Bowling Green, Kentucky, offers both. And a whole lot more.
In the wheel department, RC’s been machining those since Rick’s Custom Components first got started. Rick (the “R” in “RC”) was drag racing back in the day, and the set of wheels he’d ordered for his drag bike weren’t showing up. After waiting for two months, which turned into two more weeks, and then two more weeks after that, he decided to design his own wheels. And just like that, kids, the company was born. And we all know the old adage: If you want something done right, you do it yourself! Fast-forward to today, RC Components now operates under its 60,000-square-foot facility and offers cutting-edge products for Harley-Davidson, Victory, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki, and much more, for those looking to up the cool factor on their rides. With more than 60 employees keeping the machines going, Rick and his custom components have become a mainstay in the aftermarket motorcycle parts industry.
For wheels, we were definitely digging the look of the Crank Eclipse wheels. The Crank is a newer design for RC Components that was launched at the beginning of 2013 and is available in Chrome, Gloss Black, Flatline (a flat-black finish), and the Eclipse finish, which consists of a black powdercoated finish that is then machined to highlight the polished aluminum and black powdercoat contrast. Available in 16×3.5 inches all the way to 26×3.75 inches up front, and 16×3.5 to 20×10 inches in the rear, the Crank Eclipse ($1,249) was the perfect fit for our bike owner’s tastes. And because he was going to be upgrading to stretched bags that would hide the rear wheel, he decided to keep the stocker in place. Matching rotors are available at $339 apiece, so of course we opted for those, too.
Because we like to keep things sanitary and on the up-and-up in the matching department, we were glad to know that RC offers its own line of Airstrike air cleaners to match every one of its wheels. RC started offering these back in 2011, and the Airstrike kits, which retail for $419, have been a huge success for RC ever since. The Airstrike includes a high-flow K&N air filter and a new backing plate that incorporates a velocity stack to improve airflow to the engine providing more horsepower and torque. And of course, the air cleaner cover can be tailored to your wheel purchase for the utmost in uniformity.
In the exhaust department, RC Components started offering its own exhaust line, RCX-haust, back in 2009. The amount of pipe SKUs has multiplied in just a few short years, and most recently for Touring models, RC started offering its True Dual head pipes ($479.95). Made to complement its slip-on muffler lineup from both a style and performance perspective, the true duals are available in a chrome finish or black ceramic coating, and fit ’10–later Harley Touring models. The Gatlin Eclipse slip-ons ($549 for this combo) work with ’95–later Touring models and are available in a 3-1/2-inch and 4-inch diameter tubing with 16 different end-cap designs. We chose the Gatlin Eclipse and the 4-inch diameter slip-ons. And to go with those were RC’s True Dual head pipes in chrome. Lastly, to up the performance efficiency to make sure everything was running tip-top, the RCX-celerator ($399.95–$450.95), RC Components’ own closed loop fuel management system offers complete performance without the need for dyno tuning, building maps, or making ECU modifications. The plug-and-play unit helps compensate for the addition of airflow going in and coming out of your bike thanks to an exhaust and air cleaner upgrade. Plus, the RCX-celerator also claims that it doesn’t need to be tuned if making more technical hop-up modifications, either.