1. The Cobra Story

It all started with two.

The Cobra Kawasaki Police Cruiser.

By now every cruiser is familiar with parts and pipes from Cobra, a company whose quality and craftsmanship stands at the highest level. As we shall see, since its very inception, Cobra’s lead has set the standard for the entire industry. But not many know that the concept of metric customization was actually created by Cobra, something I learned in detail only after a recent interview with Camron Bussard, Marketing Director of Cobra Engineering.

From Day One, Cobra has been led by the vision of two men, Tim McCool and Ken Boyco, both of whom grew up around motorcycles. Both biked Southern California’s back country as kids in the sixties and seventies. Both longed to cut out careers for themselves in the world of two wheel motor sports. And both would eventually go to work with DG, making ATV and off-road parts, and that’s where these two moto-pioneers met, in the late 1970’s.

Eventually Tim and Ken struck off on their own to design and manufacture two-stroke exhaust systems and expansion chambers, parts which could raise the ante for two-stroke racing. At the time, their company was called T&M Engineering, but one day about twenty years ago while Tim was on the phone, a customer asked Tim who he should make his check out to. Tim had a Cobra telephone in hand. He looked at the handset and replied “Just make it out to Cobra.”

Both Tim and Ken loved off-roading, and thought about ways to make dirt riding safer. The first major development at Cobra was the Sparky, a compact spark arrestor for dirt bikes that easily slipped onto stock pipes. Prior to the Sparky, devices that kept dangerous hot sparks from blowing out of exhaust pipes were large, weighty, costly and cumbersome. With the Sparky there was now a product that protected the environment without making the rider pay the price of excessive bulkiness. Off-road riders immediately took to the Sparky, and to this day it is one of Cobra’s most popular products. Virtually unchanged in its simple and effective design, hundreds of thousands have been sold since its invention.

At the time when Tim and Ken began designing and manufacturing new products, the metric cruiser market was in its infancy. Over the years, as Japanese cruisers became bigger and more serious machines, the leaders of Cobra considered what steps were needed to make metric individualization a reality. In 1993, they took their ideas of customizing metric bikes to the leading moto-mags, all whom told them their ideas were crazy. The reasoning echoed from the industry was that Japanese cruisers were for riders who couldn’t afford Harleys. Once a metric rider saved up a few dollars, he wouldn’t spend it on individualizing a Shadow or a Sabre. That money would be used as a down payment on a Milwaukee cruiser. But the two founders of Cobra begged to differ. No, there were riders out there who were quite happy and content with their metric rides from Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki. Tim and Ken knew that for reasons of looks, performance, reliability and price, cruising riders were choosing bikes from the Big Four for good reasons. And they wanted customization.

So the two guys from Cobra decided to turn their dream into a gamble. They acquired a couple of metric cruisers—a Honda V-4 Magna 750 and Honda Shadow V-Twin 1100. Torquey, bold and reliable, both models were popular bikes of their day and still continue to clock miles on the world’s roadways. Both would make great custom jobs that could rival the best in Milwaukee iron. With drawn-up design concepts in hand, Tim and Ken proceeded to a shop called Damon Customs in Brea, California. There, they were once again politely informed that they had a few serious screws loose upstairs. However, by now they were used to the criticism and they persisted. Soon their metric bikes were transformed into full-on customs, receiving extensive body work, new exhaust systems, seats, one-off billet parts and custom paint. The Magna morphed into “Magna-fied” while the Shadow reincarnated into the “Flame Shadow.”

Tim and Ken took the bikes to 1994 Annual Motorcycle Dealer Expo, held that year in Cincinnati. If they were crazy, then this show would be the acid test. At first they were puzzled because their two metric customs failed to attract much attention. What was wrong, they wondered. Then Ken realized, “Everyone thinks our bikes are Harleys!” With that, he began grabbing passers-by declaring, “Look, these show bikes are Hondas.” Quite a stir arose in the crowd. Here was something new and the spectators could sense it. More than that, the people wanted in on the new phenomenon of metric cruiser customization. Presto! Magna-fied and Flame Shadow had created an entirely new industry and now Cobra’s dream was ready to define a market. When Tim and Ken returned to their offices, the phone was ringing off the hook. In fact, production never caught up with demand until eight years later, in 2002.

Nor would it be the last time that Cobra would send a wave throughout the motorcycling industry. All metric cruising riders are familiar with the Vulcan Drifter 800 and 1500 models from Kawasaki. We’ve seen them in the show rooms and on the street: they are the Grand Kawi cruisers that resemble the venerable and streamlined Indian Chiefs of the late forties and early fifties. The Vulcan retro-cruiser Indian style was originally conceived by Ken Boyco and Cobra designer Denny Berg (with a little inspiration from their friend Don Emde). In 1996 they transformed a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, reshaping it to look as close to an Indian as possible. The big cruiser was dubbed the Super Chief. Sure, design elements of the great moto-artists have been funneled into chromed production models and “factory customs” since Sonny Barger attached Formica chrome table legs to his Harley creating the first ape hangers. But Kawasaki’s Vulcan Drifter model was perhaps the first major production motorcycle that was entirely inspired, make that created, by the work of a one-off custom. In fact, Kawasaki took Cobra’s Super Chief and shipped it to Japan for study before launching their Indian look-alike Drifter series.

Has Cobra continued to inspire the industry? For inspiration, go to www.cobrausa.com and click on “Show Bikes” at the top of the page and see what a little inventive genius can do for design. Cobra engineering and design have been quietly changing motorcycle cruising for a decade and a half, and they are certain to have more welcomed surprises in store.

Camron Bussard continued his narration, “To catch up with demands for our products, we acquired an 85,000 square foot facility run by sixty-five employees. Everything that bears the Cobra name is made right here in Yorba Linda, California. We spend money on training people here rather than setting up plants overseas. And because of our commitment to better-trained employees and to the latest state-of-the-art equipment, we were able to introduce the industry’s first Limited Lifetime Warranty on our exhaust systems. Today, all around our town are signs that read ‘Yorba Linda, Land of Gracious Living.’ And gracious cruising, too.”

Since the beginning, Cruiser Customizing has been proud to offer our members Cobra parts, and we have grown to become one of Cobra’s major vendors.. Cobra is a company that keeps one eye on old fashioned American values and quality, while keeping the other eye focused on innovation and times yet to come. Like Cruiser Customizing, the folks at Cobra are riders serving riders. So, Cruisers, if you have an experience with Cobra parts that you’d like to share, we’d like to hear about it. Send in those pictures.

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2. The BELL Helmet Story

Roy Richter, the leader and originator of Bell Helmets.

For over half a century now, Bell helmets have been saving lives. Today Bell has grown into an American tradition in moto-safety wear, but behind every Bell helmet is a long tradition of innovation. Like many kids growing up in the fifties and sixties, I learned to revere the motorcycle athletes who won at the local race track, and I held in high esteem the courageous daredevils that set new world speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. And after the checkered flag was waved, flash bulbs were exploded and champagne was being sprayed onto the crowd, the winners usually had two things in common, a big smile and a Bell helmet. Today thousands of athletes trust their lives to Bell Helmets. I trust my head to Bell.. That was a Bell Helmet you see me wearing in the wilds of India, as reported in Newsletter # 68.

Bell began as an auto parts store in Bell, California, an LA suburb. In 1933, a bright young man named Roy Richter went to work for Bell Auto Parts as a pattern maker. In his spare time, Roy built cars from spare parts he found at junk yards, and he also raced them. Although more of a designer than a racer, Roy Richter’s cars went on to win many championships and set many speed records. In 1945, Roy bought Bell Auto Parts with his life savings of $1,000. The next year, a close friend of Roy’s was killed at the race track and Roy vowed to dedicate the rest of his life making motor sports safer. By 1954 the first Bell helmet was produced and it was worn in the first Pan American Race in Mexico. Over the years to come, Bell proved its worth in many arenas of competition. The LAPD soon required its motorcycle officers to wear Bell helmets, and not long after that over eight hundred police departments made Bell helmets compulsory for their motorcycle mounted officers. In 1968 Evel Knievel crashed while attempting a jump over the fountains at Caesars’ palace in Las Vegas. When he awoke from a coma twenty-eight days later, he credited Bell with saving his life.

Bell’s motorcycle helmets draw from a proud tradition of protecting not just us two-wheelers, but other sportsmen as well. These include bicyclists like Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong (under Bell’s Giro brand); BMX superstar Dave Mirra; Indy 500 race car drivers like Danica Patrick; X-game legend Tony Hawk; NASCAR champ Tony Stewart; and 80% of the high school and pro football players (under Bell’s Ridell label). Among daring motorcyclists, supercross superstar Jeremy McGrath and freestyle guru Mike Metzger trust their lives to Bell.

Chris Sackett, Bell’s Senior Marketing Manager told me in a recent interview, “The best athletes in the world trust the Bell name and more champs have won wearing Bell helmets than all other brands combined. We’re about protecting people first and doing business second. One of Bell’s senior designer Ed Rothrock, who’s been developing helmet technology at Bell for over thirty-five years, is credited with designing the first full face helmet ever made. Many companies go to the Orient, find a helmet produced there, and stick their label on it. Not Bell. We’ve got hundreds of thousands of hours of research and development in every helmet that carries the Bell label.”

All helmets carried by Cruiser Customizing, including Bell Helmets, are DOT approved, and Bell was the first helmet to receive the Snell approval. At Cruiser Customizing we sell only quality helmets because we care about your safety, and many of us ride with Bell. Check out Bell’s full-face Apex model, new for 2006. The Apex is high quality head protection that boasts outstanding ventilation, has a light yet super-tough Kevlar shell, and is made with a UV protected anti-fog shield constructed of the same material that the best snow goggles are made of. The Apex’s aerodynamic design cuts wind noise. And the Apex shows outstanding artwork that enhances the look of any rider. Check out Bell’s great line of off-road, touring and cruising models, too and order with confidence. All Bell helmets come with a five year warranty.

Well, Cruisers, that concludes today’s lesson in Custom-ology, knowledge you can use. Like Bell and Cobra, Cruiser Customizing is an American success story because we were founded on the same old fashioned values; principles that hold the customer first and foremost.

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3. Where’s Crusty?

Peter’s white Vol is stunning. Crusty rides in class.

Crusty in a contemplative mood.

Cruiser Customizing member Peter Goodin, who rides a sumptuous white 2003 Suzuki 40th Anniversary Edition Volusia, wrote to tell us about his regular passenger, Crusty. Crusty is a three foot tall skeleton who’s been riding pillion with Peter up and down the East Coast. Peter’s Vol has over 1,000 skulls on it which, with Crusty as passenger, has won him three first-place trophies. Crusty has been photographed so much that he’s got his own website, www.wherescrusty.com. Peter asks his fellow Cruiser Customizing members to “Look for Crusty at a biker event near you.”

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4. BACKFIRE

Latest Additions to the Biker Wall

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