Reader’s Ride-Kalie’s Killer Sporty

Big Wheels for Baggers at Metalsport Wheels

THIS ROUGHED OUT WHEEL WILL END UP AT EIGHTEEN INCHES IN DIAMETER AND FOURTEEN INCHES WIDE! NOW THIS IS ONE BIG CNC MACHINE, IT HOLDS AND WORKS ON TWO WHEELS AT ONCE.

ONE OF METALSPORT’S DEVIL’S SLIDE 3-D WHEELS ON THE FRONT OF A STREET GLIDE. METALSPORT ALSO MAKES BELT PULLEYS AND BRAKE ROTORS TO MATCH THEIR WHEELS.

Kalie’s Killer Sporty Kalie’s Killer Sporty ii

Kalie Maden is a biker to the core. She’s a wrench, building cool scooters and the bike seen here is her personal ride. Born To Ride asked her how long she’s been riding motorcycles. “It all started when I was just 10 years old,” Kalie tells us. “Santa Claus brought me a Yamaha TTR-90. I was immediately in LOVE as soon as I hopped on and rode around the backyard. Needless to say, 17 years later, I am still just as in love, if not more, with motorcycles. With such as cool Christmas gift, we had to ask if Kalie’s dad rides. “My Dad rides. I actually have his old 1980 Ironhead Roadster 1000 from back in the day that he bought brand new off the showroom floor!” Kalie confides. “I’m working on rebuilding it, making it into a (somewhat) reliable bike, with some upgraded parts. My Mom has yet to ride her own, but used to ride along with my Dad all the time when they were younger. I’ve tried to convince her to hop on the back of my chopper but no luck yet. Who can blame her? Haha!”

We asked how she got into wrenchin’ and customizing motorcycles. “Ever since I was a young kid, I’ve always been good with my hands and curious about how things worked, mechanically. When I’d get a new toy, I’d be more concerned with the mechanics inside.

“Once I had a motorcycle, I would tinker with it constantly. I think the first time I serviced a carburetor, I was around 11 or 12 years old. The satisfaction of taking a bike that would not start or run properly, pinpointing the problem, fixing it, starting it back up and have it run better than before, was just something that drove me to do more.” Motorcycles are just such a huge part of my life. Riding, servicing, and customizing motorcycles, is my therapy. Sure, it can be so frustrating at times and you might throw a few wrenches across the garage, but you take a breath, come back, and think, ‘This thing isn’t going to fix itself, it needs me to stay calm and think straight, and this will all pay off in the end when I’m riding down the road.’”

Kalie went to the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute to become a certified motorcycle technician. She says, “The years spent at the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute really opened my eyes to see that my true passion in life is putting my artwork into motorcycles. I may not have all the skills that I’d like to have in this moment, but I’d love to keep growing and learning so one day I can roll with the big dogs that inspire me so much.” Naturally, that led us to ask about custom bike builders that have inspired Ms. Maden. “Wow, where do I start? Some