DD Custom Cycle Knows Road Glides
In a world where mass-production mail-order products are the norm and the number of individuals who rely heavily on said bolt-on parts to build their bike is always increasing, it is refreshing to see those who still do things the old-school way. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with bolt-on products—but when you’re trying your absolute hardest to stray from the pack and create a machine with its own unique voice and soul, nothing trumps hand-built, custom-formed components. There’s just no other way around it. To build a bike that makes people look and keeps them looking, you’ve got to give them something different to stare at.
“Stepping it up a few notches” became the name of the game with this one, and Dave Dupor pf DD Custom Cycle was ready and willing to oblige a customer he’d already known for a while.
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For those who need any further convincing, Dave Dupor of DD Custom Cycle is the man to talk to on this matter. Since 1999, he has been crafting award-winning motorcycles that have been praised for their details and free-flowing design work. But that all comes with paying close attention to the builds that sucked you into the world of custom bikes in the first place. “I specialize in stuff that a lot of people just aren’t doing anymore, especially with baggers,” Dave says about his approach to building his personal style of motorcycles. “I make tanks, side covers, steel front and rear fenders, steel tanks—a lot of one-off parts to give my customers something that is truly custom and something they can’t pick up just anywhere. I’m starting to see the same trend in touring bikes that we saw with choppers 10 years ago. There are too many assemblers popping up on every corner pricing parts at a dollar above cost just to make a sale. I’ve been doing this for 18 years now, and my customers are all guys who don’t want to ride bikes that look like everyone else’s.”
The frame would soon be painted as the neck was cut, raked, and stretched to give Andre the precise look he was chasing.
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Now, Dave’s customer base is pretty wide as far as geography goes. He gets guys shipping brand-new bikes from all over the country for him to work on, and he even gets worldwide orders for his DD Custom Cycle line of parts that he’s made available on his website. But some of Dave’s most loyal clients, like Andre Bell, live in and around the Chicago vicinity. Andre’s 2011 Harley-Davidson Road Glide had seen its fair share of road time, as well as custom modifications for that matter. But there comes a time when far out just isn’t far enough, and Dave often sees this kind of scenario with guys looking to put a completely new spin on their ride. “Andre’s bike has the clean, elegant appearance of a hot rod,” he says. “It’s a timeless look, and it will be in style for a long time to come. The bike actually came to me from Nerradical Ridez in Hazel Crest, Illinois. The guys there had done a really nice job, but Andre came to me to get even more stuff done, by way of having the bike raked. He wanted to run a bigger wheel, an air ride front and rear, a steel rear fender, and a bunch of other modifications that I was more than happy to help him with.”
The factory H-D fairing was treated to a molded windshield and scallop, for a look that might be familiar to some onlookers but yields crucial points with detail junkies upon closer inspection.
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“I understand that guys don’t want to show up to a bike event and park next to 85 other bikes that all have the same exact back ends, the same gas tanks,” Dave says. “They all have to be a little bit different. I get that, and I strive for clean, classy, real simple results.”
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Dave continued: “Aside from everything else, the bike has a big motor, and he’s also running our Ghost Bars, so there are no messy tangles of cables or lines—it’s a very clean bike, and I feel honored that my work is seen by so many eyes, as he rides it to shows.”
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Top Left: There’s nothing cookie-cutter about anything Dave creates, and the world of motorcycles, as well as every other genre of custom vehicle for that matter, are all the better for it.
Top Right: If there’s gas in the tank and no snow or rain predicted in the forecast, the bike will more than likely be out on the highway.
Bottom Left: Luckily for Dave, and those who love to see badass bikes on the road, Andre does ride his motorcycle as much as possible during the four to five months of decent weather they get during the year up near Chicagoland.
Bottom Right: Dave didn’t really have a strict play-by-play plan given to him after an initial brainstorming session that touched on very general stylistic elements. “Andre has been a fan of my work I guess you could say, for a long time, which I was pleased to hear,” Dave says.
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