Larry Page of Crozier, Virginia, knew he wanted three things when he came to Donnie Smith's shop, Donnie Smith Custom Cycles (DSCC) in Blaine, Minnesota, for the second time: a big frame, a big back tire, and a big motor. He said he likes to ride nasty-looking stuff and the wilder the better-with taste! It's important to Larry that his bikes above all be rideable while maintaining a certain level of class. In Larry's opinion, bikes these days have been taken to amazing levels, but some have gotten "outrageously goofy-looking." He thinks a 300mm rear tire really is wide enough. As we talked about his wide-tired custom, Larry explained that if he was going to build another bike, he said he'd definitely go back down to a 180mm to 200mm tire. He also really likes the fact that bobbers and skinny-tired hot-rod-style bikes are dominating the scene again.
Larry's been riding since he was 16 years old, so a motorcycle seat is as comfortable as being behind the wheel of a car. Larry's day job consists of running his own hot rod business and seven car dealerships. No doubt his love of vintage cars influenced the look of this '06 Donnie Smith custom, although it was (as it is with many builds) the frame that really gave this build its initial inspiration. Frank Pedersen of Motorworx designed a custom frame that Larry just had to have. His "big frame" had 40 degrees of rake and 4 inches of stretch. To give him the "big motor" he wanted to go along with it, they went with a 124ci S&S motor and mated it to a '06 Baker RSD six-speed tranny. When we asked Larry which element of the bike really stands out, his answer was the Goldammer front-end. He thinks it really sets the tone for the rest of the bike. Donnie Smith himself agrees. Once they had chosen the frontend, the rest of the parts selection-like the cobra gas tank-was pretty easy.
A big part of that ease was also due to Donnie and his crew's incredible wealth of knowledge and depth of experience in the motorcycle industry. Simply put, the man knows his parts and he knows which parts work best. Larry met Donnie several years ago when he bought his first bike from him. When Larry joined the Hamsters motorcycle club, he was struck by Donnie's ride that was built on a Frank Pedersen frame. Combined with Donnie's years of bike-building experience and meticulous attention to detail, Larry knew Donnie and his team would be more than capable of building his ideal custom. Part of that team includes Donnie's right-hand man, Rob Roehl. Rob was responsible for most of the sheetmetal work including the front and rear fender and fuel tank. He also customized the handlebars/risers and installed the DSCC exhaust.
When it came time to paint the bike, there was no question of the HOK color for Larry. Although Donnie protested the last five bikes to roll out of the shop had been candy Brandywine, Larry said he'd just have to make it six.
So how does this stretched out, wide-tired custom handle once you get her out on the road at high speeds? "Unbelievable!" was Larry's prompt reply. For as long as the bike is and as low as the Keith Nybo seat is set, it handles really well. As Larry put it, "you can stuff it in a corner, no problem.