The Build
When a longtime client-friend calls Doug Keim, the conversation tends to go somewhere interesting. This one was no different. The owner had done other custom work with Doug before — he knew what was possible, he knew who to trust, and when the idea of a serious daily rider started taking shape in his head, there was exactly one phone call to make.
The brief was straightforward: great looks, trick pieces throughout, and big power. A machine that could hold its own at a show on Saturday and eat miles on Sunday without complaint. So he went out, bought a brand-new Harley-Davidson Road King, and dropped it off at Creative Cycles. From there, Doug and the crew got to work putting the vision together.
The Rolling Chassis
Performance Machine wheels front and rear — with a 23-inch wheel up front. That's not a bolt-on swap. Running a 23-inch front wheel means the geometry has to be corrected, so rake was added to bring the trail back into spec and keep the bike handling the way it should. Done right, it looks like it was always supposed to be there. Done wrong, it's a handful. This one was done right.
Stopping power comes from a single 13-inch front rotor with a 6-piston PM caliper, and an 11.5-inch rotor out back also with a PM caliper. Billet lower legs, cow bells per the owner's specs, and billet trees round out the front end. Full-wrap front fender, tall bars, and a drop seat sub-frame change the whole stance of the bike. Stretched bags and rear fender with custom inset LED tail lights, LED lighting all around — the owner had strong ideas for the visual direction, and between him and Doug, they got it exactly where it needed to be.
Then Doug got to do his part. The engine is a custom-built 120-cubic-inch V-Twin — not a crate motor, not a bolt-in upgrade. Built. From the ground up, with all the right pieces inside to support what it's being asked to do. The result is 150-plus rear-wheel horsepower and the same in torque. This is not a motorcycle you accidentally roll the throttle on.
The primary received a full complement of upgrades, including a massive clutch built to handle the additional output without drama. Behind that sits a Baker 7-speed transmission — one of the finest gearboxes available for a Harley-Davidson platform — with chain final drive for clean, efficient power delivery to the rear wheel.
Out back, a Legend Air Ride system handles the suspension. Drop it low when you're rolling through a show or pulling into a parking lot, and it looks exactly the way it should. Get out on the road and it rides exactly the way it should. That's the whole point of air ride done properly — it doesn't make you choose between looking good and riding well. An electric kickstand rounds out the convenience features, because when a bike is this well-sorted, the details matter all the way down.
The Paintwork
Now let's talk about the paint — because the photos, as good as they are, genuinely do not do this machine justice. Mirror-smooth gloss black. Not just black — the kind of black that makes everything else on the bike pop. Laid over that: platinum leaf and hand-pulled pinstripes. Clean. Precise. Exactly right.
The owner had a strong vision for the look of this bike, and the execution matched it. In person, the depth of the black and the shimmer of the platinum leaf together create something that photographs can hint at but never fully capture. You have to stand next to it. It is, without question, gorgeous.
The concept from the beginning was a real daily rider — not a trailer queen, not a show bike that gets nervous in the rain. A machine you can actually live with, that happens to look like a million dollars and run like it means business. Doug and the Creative Cycles crew delivered all of that and then some.
Very comfortable. Very capable. And she hauls, to put it plainly. That combination — serious performance wrapped in serious style, built by someone who has been doing this for five decades — is exactly what Creative Cycles is known for. Kingz is a perfect example of why longtime clients keep coming back.
What Was Done
- ▸Custom-built 120ci V-Twin — 150+ RWHP & matching torque
- ▸Full primary upgrades including massive clutch
- ▸Baker 7-speed transmission
- ▸Chain final drive
- ▸Performance Machine wheels front & rear
- ▸23" front wheel with rake correction for proper trail geometry
- ▸13" front rotor — 6-piston PM caliper
- ▸11.5" rear rotor — PM caliper
- ▸Billet lower legs & cow bells (per client specs)
- ▸Billet fork trees
- ▸Full-wrap front fender
- ▸Tall bars
- ▸Drop seat sub-frame
- ▸Stretched bags & rear fender
- ▸Custom inset LED tail lights
- ▸LED lighting throughout
- ▸Legend Air Ride rear suspension
- ▸Electric kickstand
- ▸Mirror-smooth gloss black paint with platinum leaf & hand-pulled pinstripes