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ot many people can say at 74 years old that they’re still riding and building motorcycles, but Rick Winters is one of a kind. Hailing from Middleport, New York this month’s Dennis Kirk Garage Builder has spent almost his entire life dedicated to building and riding motorcycles. Not for fame, or money, but simply for the love of two wheeled machines. As a retired machinist, Rick has been around moto parts and pieces for as long as he can remember, but his family wasn’t too keen on him riding them when he was a kid. However, one of his friends just so happened to ride and offered to let him take it out for a spin. Like a kid in a candy shop, Rick hopped on and ended up crashing not
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October - November ‘21 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE
too long into the ride. Luckily that didn’t turn him away and he ended up hooked on motorcycles. The first bike he ever owned was a 1975 Bridgestone 2 stroke but the first one he ever built was a 1941 Harley WLA, and he’s built bikes everywhere. 6’x8’ utility sheds, 2 car garages, old barns, you name it. The only place he’s never been able to build is the living room, which he says would be the best because you could watch TV while you worked on your bikes! Now, on to the real reason you’re here, the bike gracing these pages, Rick’s 82 Super Glide. It started simply as a 78 Super Glide that was having some engine work done. At the time, Rick had just started drag racing and had really taken a liking to it, when one day he was
puttering around and thought about how well the bike would run if it was lighter weight. He had it in his head as a rigid frame with the rest being Superglide components, wheels, front end and the like with a stripped-down lightweight Sportster tank type of frame. That idea stayed where it came from until a few years later when he came across a friend of his who had a three-wheeler conversion with a Shovelhead engine. For some backstory on that, the original owner of the Shovelhead was hit by a car and ended up losing his leg in the aftermath. Once he recovered from his injuries, he took what was left of the bike, got hold of another, chopped up bit and attached it to the dresser frame. He figured with a three-wheeler he’d still be able to ride with his missing
