Iacona’s Red Rider
iacona’s red rider Presenting an exclusive glimpse into the realm of custom craftsman Steve Iacona of Iacona Customs. With a
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Story & Images: Mark V
Before making the move to Maiden, North Carolina four and a half years ago, Michael Beland had spent the last 13 years running A-1 Cycles and everything else motorcycle related from West Palm Beach, Florida. Originally a small-town Massachusetts guy it was there that A-1 Cycles was launched in 1996. Since then, you may have seen him on the anything from the Speed and Discovery channels to the pages of American Iron and Hot Bike magazine.
Now and until further notice Maiden, NC will be home. Investing in good property and building his headquarters, Michael will be the first to tell you it’s the best move he has ever done in the industry, and today A-1 Cycles is one of the big players in the motorcycle mail order industry. Learning to work with the internet and not against it was the secret to his success!
It was in between all this history that I first met Michael while in Daytona for bike week some years back. I got a call from Buzz Kanter who I was shooting for at American Iron at the time, I was given a number and was told to go meet this guy with a killer FXRP and shoot it. We have been friends ever since.
The shoot went great! Was a good morning on the boardwalk and the bike was truly killer! What I found out later after speaking with Michael was the bike started out originally as a FXLR Lower Rider. Single disk, chromed out, and a 131” MERCH engine. Yup she was a street racer.
But what Michael really wanted was a FXRP. Like most if not all bike builders Michael stripped the bike down to the frame. Then the search began. Period correct fairing and hard bags were just the start. In the process the forks were pulled two inches to lengthen the suspension and new brakes all around. Longtime friend Jesse Jurrens, owner of Legend Suspensions dropped some tall Legends REVO’s for the rear and the rest is history… Except for the paint. Working with only the color black, the bike is a mixture of flat black and satin black, it was a first in color matching for Michael to work on the two different finishes in the same color. As accents, black powder coating was added to the engine and other places of interest. With the gold pinstriping added it became noticeable that the bike started to remind Michael of the famous ride of Burt Reynold’s in “Smokey and the Bandit,” and from that the name Burt was given!
A clean, super-fast and road worthy bike is what you see before you! Michael enjoyed the bike for years but now it resides with a friend out west in Cali. Its still kicking ass and looks as new as the day I first laid eyes on the machine.
I hope you enjoy the images and the shared story. The funny thing about this bike is that it was never featured in American Iron. Rumor has it someone in the office didn’t like the color green, go figure. I myself love the color green, especially when it’s accompanied by my good friend Ben Franklin! Whatever the reason the bike was timeless then and is still timeless today, just like my old buddy Ben.
Enjoy the view!
iacona’s red rider Presenting an exclusive glimpse into the realm of custom craftsman Steve Iacona of Iacona Customs. With a
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