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To the old school
way.
 I
have been riding motorcycles since 1947. I switched forever more
to Harley in 1950. Since then, I have ridden a Harley in 50 States
and on three Continents (North America, Europe, and Australia).
Not a record, but not too shabby, either.
In 1951, I built my
first frame-up custom bike (we called them cut-downs, bobbers, or gow
jobs). It was painted black and over its tank flowed some of the
first yellow tipped, red flames the world had ever seen. With a
smattering of chrome plating, it was a real snazzy bike, in those days.
I suppose I liked the attention, because I’ve been building custom
bikes, for others, and myself ever since. My recently built blue
big-bore WLD, pictured here
(the gow job),
is not too far removed from that early effort.
One thing led to
another, and I worked as a mechanic at a couple of Harley dealerships.
You would think I had found my calling, but, no, I went back to school,
and became a mechanical design engineer, working in the aerospace
industry.
Lets move on to
the sixties. Working part time, out of my garage, I painted bikes
for my pals, and built sissy bars, exhaust systems, and the like.
The most common engine of the day, was the Panhead. I got the idea
to make and sell finned rocker covers for them, so I enrolled in a
pattern making course, in a Jr. College, for a couple of semesters, in
order to create my tooling. Along the way, I developed the BIRD
DEFLECTOR, which was a simpler project. The FINNED DISHPANS were
an instant success, and I went into business in 1967. I founded
Custom Cycle Engineering Company, which still exists today, in
Oceanside, California. I no longer own the company, but I still design
the products. Somehow, I also found time to be the technical
editor for two (now defunct) magazines: “ Custom Chopper” and “ Custom
Bike”.
I am listing some
of my obsolete products for sale on this web site.
Today, we are in the
midst of the billet age. While I’ll admit, I helped to create the
billet revolution, I haven’t forgotten my roots. I am still deeply
involved in perpetuating the old school methods.
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