What happens when a Fortune 500 company with billions of dollars in sales wants to make a big splash to promote their line of automotive paints? They figure what would really stand out on the Hotrod show circuit is a chopper with a radical paint job. So when Marty Harp and Rick Dixon from Main Street Auto body in Mason City, IL went looking for a chopper for the Dupont Custom Finish display, they knew they wanted something special. When Marty saw a Vengeance Raider at a car show in Oklahoma City, Marty knew he had found the right platform to showcase both the Dupont Custom Finishes and his artistic skill.
The bike Marty chose is a stock 2003 Vengeance Raider. With a 6” stretch in the down-tubes, 2” extra in the backbone and a 40-degree rake, the Raider had just the right chopper stance Marty was looking for. But what really impressed Marty about the Raider were fit & finish and the components that make up the overall package. Marty commented: “When I saw the Vengeance bikes, I was blown away. These are truly ‘show quality’ production bikes.”
The “stock” Vengeance Raider Marty chose features an S&S 113 Ci engine with full-show polish, a 5-speed transmission and a massive 250 series rear tire. All the cables and lines are plastic-coated braided stainless steel and the bike is equipped with matched billet wheels, rotors and pulley, billet forward controls, billet hand controls and billet triple trees. Best of all, the billet is show chromed to keep everything a shiny as possible. The Raider is truly a show bike straight from the factory.
So how did this radical bike come together? Marty contacted Vengeance and arranged for the frame, fenders, tank and oil bag to be shipped to his shop in Illinois. Marty laid down the Dupont Sea Mist Pearl Metallic and then laid on three layers of crossover flames. Magenta Pearl flames with orange pin stripping, Purple Pearl Metallic flames with a jagged blue pin stripping and silver flames with black pin stripping. Then Marty airbrushed the silver flames with bevels and highlights to give them a cool extruded steel look. But the piece-de-resistance is on the 10” wide rear fender that covers the massive 250 series rear tire. With the layers of flames as a backdrop, Marty airbrushed an amazingly detailed cracked skull with deep blue eyes. Marty’s artwork deftly combines the look of a traditional chopper skull with the large-eye style of Japanese Anime art. The two design schools are blended together to create a radical new skull design that is somehow eerily familiar.
So where can you go to see this radical show bike? Marty and his wife Kelly will be touring the country with the bike as part of the Dupont Custom Finishes display. They are scheduled to attend events including the Good Guys shows and the NSRA shows. So when you’re checking out the radical Hotrods this year make sure you stop by the Dupont display and check out the Vengeance Raider that Marty & Rick dressed in Dupont’s finest.