 KRB: What’s your perception of the clone market today? Is it strong? Is it wrong? First off, don’t piss me off with that tired clone label. I just got the new “Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Motorcycles” (Tod Rafferty, Courage Books) and it doesn’t take much research to find out that Mr. Harley and those Davidson bros back in 1903 didn’t come out of the chute with their own engine or anything very unique or proprietary in their first decade of operation. At the turn of the last century, about 25 other contemporary manufacturers were building two-wheeled, motorized transportation using similar technology of the time. Those early motorcycle companies used the same engine and drive train from company to company. Were they all clones? In our relatively short time as an American manufacturer, Surgical-Steeds has made it into the same encyclopedia, so I guess that’s proof that we definitely have our own identity. I think some marketing guy at H-D came up with that clone word about 1996, when they obviously felt threatened by a few small companies improving on the status-quo machines that they were pumping out. Let’s give Harley credit for a lot of stuff, but breaking new ground in engineering, performance, reliability, fit and finish is not the reason people buy their bikes. Those marketing guys at H-D have done an excellent job of building a mystique around their brand. KRB: OK, I give. Clone is a shitty word. It’s condescending. Do you prefer hybrid? What would you call them? Motorcycles. That’s what I build. If you need to put a name to it, I would prefer alternative American motorcycles, while Surgical-Steeds builds “pedigreed custom motorcycles.” We’ve been in business since ’89 and I got into the business because I love to build custom bikes, and that is what we still do to this day. I plan on doing this for as long as I have fun walking, talking, breathing, dreaming and building motorcycles. I took my company through all the fed’s bullshit to become a legitimate American manufacturer of motorcycles for several reasons. We can call Surgical-Steeds a manufacturer because Steeds took the time and invested the cash to achieve EPA-, DOT- and California CARB-approved certifications of compliance to legitimize our niche in the market. That is why I believe that the pedigree status applies to the Steed brand. Our motorcycles have had federal VIN (vehicle identification numbers) since 1994. I started building complete frame-up customs back in 1989. We decided to get our federal license because I was tired of being treated like a criminal when I went to the Arizona MVD to title our custom bikes. Donnie Bitman, who started Illusion Motorcycle Co., inspired me to get a federal manufacturers license. I figured if he could get one, Surgical-Steeds should too. About a year later in ’95, there was a handful of companies like Titan, Big Dog, Pure Steel, American Image, American Eagle, Castle, California Customs, et al, that also decided to build and legitimize their “alternative” motorcycle companies and got licensed. I think that each of these companies had a unique and genuine vision of how they could improve an American motorcycle. KRB: What killed the companies that are going away? GREED. I think a lot of companies started building bikes for all the wrong reasons. Once you’ve lost the passion for what you’re doing and are only out for the money, you are doomed to fail. Everybody has to make a living; I think that most of the companies that have died were out to make a killing. The whole ’90s rush to do an IPO and make a fortune building thousands of motorcycles was flawed. How custom is a bike if there are more than two that look exactly the same? Why would anyone want to pay thirty-five grand plus to have a bike that is exactly like somebody else’s? I remember in 1997, during Daytona Bike Week, when everyone was buying a certain trail-blazing brand of American bike. One afternoon, on Highway A1A in front of our booth, two guys pulled up to a stoplight with the exact same white motorcycle with a purple scalloped paint job. Both of these guys thought they had the coolest custom bike on the planet, until they came face to face with the other coolest bike on the planet. How many more just like their `custom’ existed? Right then I decided that there was no other reason except for laziness and greed to manufacture identical bikes. “Volume produced customs” was one of the best oxymorons in the business. Look where it got them. KRB: What’s the market? Who buys these bikes and why? People who buy Steed bikes are looking for a unique bike that they intend to ride. Our bikes are all individually designed to be durable and attractive while each has its own curb appeal and personality. We don’t make “jewelry” show bikes. Our bikes appeal to the guy who has done his homework and wants a quality machine that fits his personality and riding style, as well as one that is designed to be physically and ergonomically comfortable and balanced to ride. That’s what a custom bike should be. Not just a few of those qualities, but all of them in one machine. That’s what we offer in our bikes. By becoming a licensed manufacturer of custom bikes, we also offer the consumer the security that we have done our part to maintain the value of the motorcycles we build. No excuses, no compromises.  KRB: People like yourself build bikes because you love it. What happens when you try to standardize your craft or try to make it mass market? Standardization can lead to quality, but it also brings the risk of being complacent or boring. Certain quality issues may arise by being too custom, and using the latest and greatest parts. Relationships with quality vendors who are in the business for the right reasons are very important. There is a new company springing up selling a new product every week. A lot of these new products are great, but far too many of them have not had the proper amount of R&D and are prematurely placed the market. When you are leading the way with innovative parts, it is very important that you have a confident relationship with your suppliers. I can’t, in good conscience, put someone out on one of our bikes that has parts on it that may not be tested, safe and durable. That level of confidence only comes with good relationships with your suppliers, and that takes time. Since we are a small volume manufacturer, we can see which components are holding up, which are failing and can make improvements to the components on the run. We don’t need board meetings to make design changes. If it doesn’t work consistently, that part won’t be a component on our motorcycles. We work closely with our suppliers to keep improving all the components on our machines. KRB: Most of the guys in the clone industry must buy the majority of their components from another source. That means they’re paying an extra margin. How tough is it to build these bikes and make a profit? Harley-Davidson has tons of suppliers that they source their products from, so does GM and every company that produces anything. I guess the guys who make steel or copper just make it directly from dirt, but all the stuff that it takes to build a Steed motorcycle comes from somewhere. A lot of it we design and test in-house and then have specialists build for us to our specifications, like our Monoglide chassis. Some of the components come from distributors, but as a manufacturer, we’re working closely with the people who directly create the components we select for our machines. Now the person who is trying to build a bike in his garage has a much bigger challenge ahead for himself if he thinks he’s going to save money by building a bike at home. Too often it is too late for them to turn around after they realize what they’ve gotten themselves into. The prices of quality components really do add up. The level of expertise to build a reliable machine is rarely calculated into the equation, nor is the time it takes to assemble and paint the project. Usually the home scratch-built bikes don’t get finished, or when they do, their owners have difficulty insuring them for what they are worth. I have heard that in some states they are imposing limitations of registering homemade vehicles, and the insurance companies are getting more particular with the special construction titles. KRB: Where are the most sales? Easyriders stores, bike shop/dealers or what? Do you have a dealer program? Until this last year, all of our sales were directly through our shop in Scottsdale, Arizona. We’ve decided to take a cautious approach to establishing dealers. This season we have signed up a dealer in Southern California, V-Twin City, which has two stores, one in Pomona and a new location in Santa Ana, to sell our products. We are in negotiations with potential dealers in Colorado, Texas, New Jersey and Florida. This year we would like to sign up 10 authorized Steed dealers to rep our bikes who share the same commitment to quality and customer support that we provide in our Scottsdale store.If there are any dealers sharing these qualities and interested in joining our team, please contact me at dealer@surgicalsteeds.com KRB: For the guy on the street, is he better off buying a manufactured custom or would he be better off paying a little more and having a one-off custom built? At Steeds we offer both of those qualities to the consumer with our pedigreed custom bikes. You asked, so I’ll tell you: He’s better off buying a Steed. That’s my one moment of shameless self-promotion. There’s a reason I organized this company like it is, and I’m glad that you are asking these questions to help spread the word about what a true manufactured custom is all about. KRB: At one time the average manufactured custom was the full-blown custom on the street or at the shows. Some guys will spend a chunk of their lives hand building a custom in their garage that won’t come out as nice as one of these bikes. On the other hand, it’s forced the truly custom shop to take a giant step forward to be competitive, such as Cyril Huze, Paul Yaffe, Jesse James or Donnie Smith. What has that done to the market? I don’t think that anyone on your elite list has the federal manufacturing licenses and certificates that we do. We offer personal attention to our customers and we work closely with our clients and dealers to build each Steed with all the features and accessories that are important to them. All of the guys on your list are incredible builders and are very talented and innovative movers and shakers in our chosen profession. The challenge for all of us is to be innovative, consistent, ride-able and to maintain the value for the consumer. KRB: Does the Twin Cam make manufactured customs passe if they continue to use the Evo platform? The Twin Cam is the result of Harley-Davidson engineers catching up to the improvements made by the aftermarket and complying with government restrictions on valve train noise. The Twin Cam was basically derived and evolved from the need for Harley to compete with what S&S, Merch, T.P and all the other alternative motor and component companies were doing for many years — building reliable big-inch motors. Now Harley has definitely made the pricing more competitive with its motor program, but when you have the choice, the alternative manufactured drive trains are generally way ahead of the curve. The aftermarket is already offering improvements to upgrade the factory Twin Cam. You do the math. KRB: What could happen next that would harm this market? In contrast, what could happen that would make it even stronger? The worst thing that could happen to this market would be to see another manufacturer bite the dust, or see new companies spring up that haven’t done all of their homework and fail when they aren’t managed properly. I feel very strongly that the consumer confidence in the alternative American segment has suffered some enormous blows and a big negative hit with the financial failures of Big-X, Titan, Confederate and Quantum. I hope the other established alternative American companies can weather the storm and keep building quality machines. There are enough people out there who want what we all have to offer for us all to be successful at what we do, and each of these companies cater to a different consumer. That’s what America is all about, choices, and it sucks when our choices are limited by anything. KRB: What is your perception of the metric cruiser market and its impact on ours? A totally different guy is going to buy into the metric machine. I think that you are trying to compare apples to oranges. On the other hand, it exposes more people to riding who hopefully will want to trade up into a custom American machine someday.  KRB: Here’s an interesting one: Guys buy these bikes to be macho. At one time, a guy who built his own custom and rode it around the country was macho. He did it himself. He lived or died by his abilities and skills. Now a guy can just buy that machine. Is he macho? Muy macho, yes indeed. Either way, these guys are on a bike because they want to ride and have the experience. You can appreciate what it takes to build one by doing it yourself, or understand your own limitations and have a professional build it for you. Here’s the whole “land of the free, home of the brave” concept coming into play again. Do you hear a song kicking in? KRB: The reason I ask that question is that there’s a much smaller audience out there that rides 180 mph sport bikes. They consider cruisers of all forms as lightweights. They are the ones riding on the edge of the curve from a technology standpoint. What do you think? Technology meets American traditions in our machines. These guys are muy macho in their riding and opinions, and there is plenty of room on the road for all of us as long as the cops aren’t watching. KRB: I’m a big bore fan. What performance formula do you prefer for reliability in a variety of situations? I’m riding a 98-inch motor in my personal bike. I like the torque. We also offer 107s and 120s for the guy who wants more. We’re doing a couple of bikes with Patrick Racing 113s that are supposed to be the best of all worlds. Just like blondes, brunettes and redheads, too many versions and not enough time in the day to ride them all. KRB: What’s your perception of the future for Surgical-Steeds and the industry as a whole? Will we all ride sport bikes to hell? I think that this will be a year of slow, sustainable growth for Surgical-Steeds. We’re looking for a few good dealers, and I know that they are out there. I think it may take until next spring to see how it washes out with all the other alternative manufacturers. I just hope that the industry as a whole does not suffer too much of a beating in the court of public opinion. When the dust settles, I know that I’ll still be building custom bikes for people who can appreciate them. It’s a pretty cool job to go to every day, and I’m not ready to retire quite yet. Web site: www.surgicalsteeds.com Online store at www.musclebikes.com  |
