2007 Harley-Davidson Deluxe - The Best Looking Deluxe So Far?

When the bike came home he immediately removed all the unnecessary parts and rode it back and forth to work until the wheels arrived. Once he got the wheels on and lowered it, he got hung up on the exhaust. "I couldn't find something I liked that was bolt on, so ordered some stainless tubing and fired up the welder. From there it's the same old story. Maybe I should do this, and if I do that, then, I also need to do something over here. That continued until my new bike was in pieces with everything getting cut up. It's a sickness that all too many guys have with their machines, and it doesn't ever go away."

He ended up lowering the front fender, setting it back a little and filling the rivets. He did the same with the back and shaved the turn signals, adding a taillight from a '37 Ford. The fog lamp bar was brought in an inch and a half to tighten up the front of the bike. The dash is totally custom. He filled the center seam and handformed sheetmetal for the dash. The gauges were kept stock. To keep the retro look, Ryan threw on a couple Ford style pedal pads and repositioned the brake pedals. Gabe Lopez did both the leather seat and tool bag.

When it came time for paint, Ryan called up his long-time friend and paint rep, Scott Smith at PPG. Scott hooked him up with a nice Black, which he asked SO-CAL Speed Shop painter Mick Jenkins to apply, after Paco Castel had finished block sanding the sheet metal. It came out flawless. Ryan called on another friend, master pinstriper Jay Stemska from Troy Lee Designs, to do the pin striping and lettering.

The finished product is nothing short of a beautiful, timeless masterpiece of a custom bike, demonstrating Ryan's discriminating taste and remarkable talent.