Down economy? I don’t think Dirico Motorcycles, formally Red Wing Motorcycles, cares as they proceed with the launch a new line of bikes.
The bikes are designed and engineered by Mark Dirico, with plenty of artistic input from Steven Tyler, lead singer and songwriter for Aerosmith.
June 15-16 I was invited to test ride the bikes near Boston during a visit to Mark’s design garage. This is truly a Guy’s Garage with state-of-the-art bike goodies housed in a stone, brick and wood building — I could totally live in this place!
After touring the garage and rubbing shoulders with Steven, Mark and Bert Baker of Baker Built — who supplies the 6-speed tranny for Dirico’s Pro-Street model and others — we headed out to dinner.
Tuesday morning led us to Manchester Harley-Davidson, where the bikes are hand-made, one at a time. Dirico clearly values quality over quantity here, and offers a two-year warranty with his bikes.
Departing Manchester we put the bikes through their paces in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, ending up at the Aerosmith concert at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Mass. — go figure!
We tested three models: The nostalgic Flyer has a DOM Mild steel Dirico chassis, 88ci 1450cc Harley-Davidson Twin Cam B engine and a left-side drive Harley 5-speed tranny. The Pro-Street model has a sleek and tough H-D 103ci Twin Cam B engine, Rowe Machine hand-built DOM Mild Steel frame, a Baker Built 6-speed Tranny and RSD Chrome in all the right spots without overdoing it. Dirico’s Speedster has a 110 ci HD Twin Cam B 6-speed.
The paint jobs were outstanding; plus, if you’re in the mood for even more customization, riders can order a matching electric guitar signed by Steven.
The name of the game with Dirico is comfort, stability and performance, and they certainly live up to it all. Riding most of the day with the occasional stops for food and fuel, I didn’t feel like I would need a chiropractor after the day was over. The bikes’ comfort and excellent balance made for a very enjoyable ride, plus the scenery in New England was incredible.
Learn more at www.dirico Motorcycles.com.
