Resurrection & Redemption on Two Wheels: A Harley Story
In Free Reign, Harley builder Danny Wilson reveals how a love of bikes brought him back from the brink, and helped him forge a new path.
Harley-Davidson mechanic and builder Danny Wilson has faced some pretty daunting obstacles in his life. But none of it ever stopped him. Wilson found that when you have a strong passion guiding the way, you just keep getting up and going forward. In Wilson’s case, it was the love of Harleys that served as a compass in his journey.
“To be riding on two wheels with the air passing through you, it’s a solid adrenaline rush,” Wilson says.
Wilson was recently featured in Free Reign, a series co-produced by Harley-Davidson and Vice Media. The series of videos and profiles showcases fascinating innovators, artists, and enthusiasts in the Harley-Davidson community.
Wilson was born to ride, getting his taste for motorcycles from the start. “My parents rode, I’d always been around it. As soon as I was 15 I got my motorcycle license. I’ve been riding ever since. It was a natural transition to Harley-Davidson.”
He went through some some rough years along the way, growing up and acting out.
“Motorcycles, back in the day, it was a rebellious thing to do. When I was younger I got in a lot of trouble. I was really good at bad decisions,” he says.
Despite that, he was working with bikes, and doing well when a freak accident changed everything. He had been working late one night and decided to catch a quick nap in the shop’s trailer. Due to a leaking exhaust in the generator, he got carbon monoxide poisoning that left him clinically dead. Medical professionals were able to revive him, but he was in rough shape.
“When I came out of a coma they told me I was never going to walk again,” he says. “And certainly not ride a motorcycle.” But Wilson refused to accept that. “Being told I couldn’t just motivated me to find a way. And I did.”
‘As soon as I was 15 I got my motorcycle license. I’ve been riding ever since. It was a natural transition to Harley-Davidson.’
The accident lit a fire in Wilson. He became committed to his life, and his work of building the best Harleys.
“In a lot of ways it saved me,” says Wilson in Free Reign. While enduring months of grueling physical therapy to regain his mobility, he poured everything into his recovery, motorcycles, and music. The avid drummer found music to be a therapeutic outlet, and a great way to blow off steam.
Now, Wilson is at the top of his game. He is a mechanic at Buddy Stubbs Harley-Davidson in Phoenix, Arizona, where he happily works alongside his wife Rocky.
And now he and his team are competing in the battle royale of motorcycle competitions: Harley-Davidson’s Battle of the Kings. His entry in the Race Class is a 2018 Fat Bob that Wilson modded out using the MotoGP racing bike as inspiration.
“Our plan was to maximize that Softail platform,” says Wilson about the build. “We built the bike from that MotoGP, late ’60s/early ’70s era, where the bikes had a lot of hard lines, real linear, very boxy.” The Fat Bob’s V-twin was modified, for maximum performance and maximum velocity. “We did a torque cam, C&C ported heads, a new air cleaner for increased flow.”
To get the right look, he took a lot of inspiration from one of the world’s most famous motorcyclists. “We wanted to do an Evel Knievel paint idea, but with a modern twist to it.” Wilson notes. To that end, the white frame and bodywork is nicely complemented by the red on the engine. There are gray patches, inspired by the American battle flag emblem for military uniforms, as well as white stars and stripes on the body.
The work is done with meticulous care and a lot of love. We’d expect nothing less from a man who loves his bikes, his work, and demands the best from himself.
“Whatever you’re doing in life, nobody knows it all,” he says. “I learn something everyday. That what keeps me going. To always be better.”
To vote for Wilson’s inspired and inspiring entry at Battle of the Kings, you can do so online.
Photos: Vice/Harley-Davidson
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