Following the conclusion of the King of Kings competition in the first months of the year – an online effort meant to crown the best custom bike coming from international dealer network – Harley-Davidson wanted to give the same time under the spotlight to all those American customs shops left without in-person events as the world went into lockdown. Hence The No Show was born.
The event took place on Youtube, on Harley's own channel, where 60 builders from 10 countries (but mostly Americans) presented their latest creations starting June. We’ve already talked about a number of these builds, and now it’s time for another.
The gallery above shows a 2019 Road Glide Special handled by a shop in Long Beach, California, called SMCO. That’s short for Suicide Machine Company, because the two brothers who set it up, Shaun and Aaron Guardado, thought it would sound cool. And it does.
The whole idea behind this Road Glide was to gift it with a more aggressive riding position, one better suited according to its builders to trips down highways. In the process of doing so, SMCO came up with a sort of billboard bike that advertises the best of the best in this industry.
We’re talking about Öhlins suspension, Brembo brakes and hand controls, Saddlemen accessories (most of them in carbon), Hofmann Designs carbon fiber rear fender and bags, and of course new wheels. Up front we have a Klock Werks windshield, sitting about a special LED light cluster designed by Baja Designs.
The paintwork on the bike is unique as well, and extensively features the number 466. It doesn’t mean anything in particular, but was chosen because it combines the two numbers Suicide Machine use during their racing exploits: 46 and 66.
Below is the short video that made the bike known during The No Show, narrated by one of the builders.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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