What is a Bagger? The debate seems to rage on with no clear-cut answer. Every time we run a Bagger that pushes the envelope, my e-mail inbox becomes full of “why did you run that bike, it’s not a Bagger?” messages. The simple truth, a Bagger is anything you want it to be. That means you can have a fairing or not, have soft or hard bags, or even removable bags. Nobody can tell you that your bike is not a Bagger. Dave Dupor of DD Custom Cycle is one of those guys that could care less what other people think. When Steve Mills asked him to build a one-off Bagger that wouldn’t get lost in a crowd, Dave was more than happy to accept the challenge.
The name Tenacious could describe the drivetrain alone on this Softail. An S&S Evolution style 124” show-polished motor is the heart of this beast. With diamond-cut heads and fins from Diamond Heads, this baby runs as good as it looks; producing over 120 horses with a very manageable 10:1 compression ratio. Shifting comes from a right-side drive six-speed transmission connected to the motor by a Performance Machine Contour belt drive.
Tenacious is a word that can also describe the aggressive stance of the Rolling Thunder Drop Seat Chopper frame. With 40° of neck rake and a stretch of six out and four up, this Chopper/Softail/Bagger screams aggression. The American Suspension Phantom fork adds to the Chopper look. It features an additional six degrees of rake in the triple trees and 12” extended tubes. The Phantom name is derived from the internal brake lines and the hidden front caliper, giving you one of the cleanest looking front ends on the market.
A Renegade 21” Tahoe wheel rides up front; it’s wrapped by an Avon tire and has a matching Renegade Tahoe rotor mounted. The rear wheel is also from Renegade, it’s an 18.5 x 10” Tahoe wrapped by a 300mm Avon tire. An HHI sprocket/rotor combo handles the braking and final drive functions. The handlebars are DD Custom Ghost Bars with Performance Machine grips. Attached to the bars are Eurocomponents mirrors and an Auto Meter speedometer. The headlight is from Headwinds. The distinctive gas tank is a combined effort between DD Custom and Rick Abbot at Kat Daddy Customs. The fenders are Fat Katz blanks that have been given special styling cues from DD Custom. Shifting is courtesy of Battistini controls, while Steve’s feet rest on Battistini floorboards. Hot Rod House made sure that all of that custom sheet metal was molded properly, including the DD Custom chin spoiler, gas tank, frame neck and rear fender mounting system. MNK Custom Works handled the paint, including all of the silver leaf details.
Steve Mills has two bikes in one. He has a cruiser with saddlebags for long rides, and within minutes, he has a custom Chopper for bar hopping. All he has to do is pop off his custom bags, thanks to the DD Custom quick release system. If you see Steve cruising the back roads of Milwaukee, whatever you do, don’t tell him his bike is not a Bagger!
For more information on DD Custom Cycle, call 847.356.8053 or visit www.ddcustomcycle.com.
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