Rarely do form and function meet on a level playing field, but when a person finds a way to blend the two it’s like mixing vanilla with chocolate ice cream—everyone loves it. The combination of the two is appreciated by all because it appeals both to the flashy person that only cares about looks and the guy that only cares about how well it functions. That’s the same rationale behind why so many people feel certain styles embody an entire class and become the standard that every other entry in that class is judged against. Aaron Glenn, owner of Glenndyne Design in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has a motto that he’s quick to deliver, “A design should flow seamlessly and effortlessly across each detail, blending form, function, and genuine style in harmony until it meets a place where everything works perfectly.” And, speaking of function, his latest creation serves two: he wanted a practical bike that he could ride on a regular basis and he wanted to show off some new parts.
It’s hard to beat a Road King for cruising comfort, so Aaron searched for and found a used donor bike built in 2007. Immediately the bike was whittled down to the frame and cases in preparation of the modifications he had in mind. The motor received his attention first, and he punched out the cylinders to up the displacement to 107ci and reassembled it. The original air cleaner was replaced with an S&S air cleaner and the pipes were swapped out for Glenndyne’s own “Buck-Nasty” two-into-one system with full-coverage heat shields and a definite performance gain over stock. Maximizing performance, Aaron upgraded the ECM to a ThunderMax EFI module with Auto-Tune; optimizing his other performance enhancements. Given the reliability of the rest of the drivetrain, the transmission and primary were kept as they arrived from the factory.
As a revolutionary wheel designer, (he holds a few patents on the internal brake three-piece wheel that he invented). Aaron’s company manufactures some uncommonly cool versions of the wheel, but this bike’s purpose was intended to be for regular riding and he wanted to use his new 26-inch wheel, called the G5 Ano-Accent, for the front with a matching 18-inch version for the rear. A huge seven-spoke 16-inch rotor was attached to the front wheel with stopping power provided by a bright-red four-piston Wilwood caliper. One might suppose that a wheel and rotor combo of this size would have to weigh a ton and make the bike difficult to handle at low speeds, but Aaron knows the opposite is true: “I did a bunch of extensive research and testing on these (and all my) wheels. I kept the ratios between the rim diameter and rotor identical to their stock counterparts and kept the outer perimeter as light as possible—this gives the wheels excellent handling characteristics and that 26-inch wheel only weighs about 17.5 pounds.” Given his history with wheels, it’s not hard to believe his claims that in addition to looking far better than anything OEM, his brake/rotor/wheel culmination is lighter and stops quicker, too. A bike only needs so much braking ability on the street, so Aaron felt that the stock H-D caliper mounted on one of his seven-spoke, 11.5-inch rotors at the rear would be more than adequate for this bike.