The location of Rick's bikes in Baden-Baden is Flugstrasse 1 and this name carries history. It was on this site that Zeppelin parked his air-ships when touring the southern area of Germany. Initially, Baden-Baden's airport was a stop over on the first ever air travel course Friedrichshafen/Baden-Baden/Mannheim. And Anthony Fokker tried his prototypes here, before they taken over the skies on the Western Front in The First World War.

In 2010, the airport, only a shadow of its original size and significance, commemorated 100 years, and besides the winged old-timers and sailplanes, it's the low flying motorcycles at nearby House of Custom that draw in considerable particular attention.

There's always numerous high end, custom built motor bikes in the huge display room at Rick's and quite often just a review with the stock product reveals how highly refined Rick's motorcycles are. When Harley-Davidson introduced the latest VRSCA V-Rod, the team soon spearheaded the effort to convert and enhance the new model.

In the first years, all VRSCAs lacked tank total capacity and it was Rick's that created alternatives. His 280 V-Rod conversions are probably the most popular in the marketplace and are generally very popular from authorized Harley-Davidson dealers. But a totally built-by-Rick's motorbike is something different, as this Low Flying Rod shows. It is quite easy to say Rick's paints the engine and framework, only if you took your motorbike totally apart to carry out this kind of project could you visualize that outstanding work load makes the difference between stock and rock! This motorbike has been taken apart nearly to last component, painted, powder-coated, after which built into a low-rider muscle motorbike. A lot of the complete line of Rick's V-Rod components has been used: front fender, short-cut tail end, saddle, and the tank cover up that incorporates the Speedo removed from its stock handlebar cover up location.

All drivetrain parts as well as rims are with the 10-1/2"-wide rear end wheel hosting a 280 Metzeler tire. To install such a big rubber on the stock V-Rod frame, they work with a specially developed offset pulley featuring an additional support bearing that takes the additional forces and more. Loaded with Legend air shocks, the bike could easily be lifted from low profile to a high set up.

The stock VRSCA delivers a mind-blowing 121 horse power, which the 280 can well give on the road. This motorbike does not pretend to be a muscle bike, it is a muscle motorcycle! It's tough and geared up for the street, yet it's still a stock Harley-Davidson which can be repaired by every H-D dealer worldwide.