KING30 | CUSTOM 2003 HARLEY-DAVIDSON ROAD KING

King30 isn’t only a bike build. It’s about the evolution of the skill set that leads to the bagger’s creation—specifically, David Rautenberg’s genesis from garage builder to full-time professional.

After working many years as a mechanic for various motorcycle dealers, David was hungry for something more. He began building and experimenting in his home garage and transitioning into the creative end of the custom spectrum. The outcome of those early days was a burgundy chopper with an inverted front end, fully equipped with air ride, and a nasty S&S-based powerplant. From there, he couldn’t go back. He was thoroughly hooked on creating his own iron.

After realizing his love of the creative freedom that build provided, David pursued his custom builds full time. A lot of blood, sweat, and paperwork later, PDR Performance was up and running. The shop opened its doors in the summer of 2007 and has moved full throttle ever since. From full-custom builds to general day-to-day mechanic work, no job is too big or too small for David and his small crew. “PDR Performance has quickly established itself as a well-known shop in the Carolinas,” David tells us. “But we’re steadily expanding our presence across the country.”

The bike David dubbed King30 was built with the intention of being classy and having smooth-flowing lines: “I think we hit that on the head,” he says. “To me a lot of guys just throw a ton of money at a bike and lose focus on what really matters. It has to flow and have the right lines from panel to panel like an Italian sports car.” Which it does, thanks to the combo plate of David’s fabrication skills pulling together the Detroit Choppers FL front tire skin, Yaffe stretched tank, and TOL back fender into a sleek, sexy beast.

This build took PRD Performance 30 days from start to finish, going under the knife as an anniversary edition Harley-Davidson Road King. According to David: “It rides and handles like a dream with 5 inches of tunable suspension. After you enjoy your ride hit the switch, let the MRI centerstand down to let the air out, and let this beast stand at attention.”

King30 is pretty slick. What it really represents, though, are countless hours of a man learning the ropes of custom bike building followed by making the leap to full-time shop operator.