Long Rides, Good Coffee, and Billy Buster!

Thursday already!  Wow, this week is flying by!  It’s been a great week, and boy oh boy, great things are happening at a rapid clip!

I met Melissa Pierson in person, along with John Ryan, The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing.  I’ve been a fan of Melissa’s for more than a decade after first reading The Perfect Vehicle, another great motorcycle book (actually, I’m convinced it’s one of the best I’ve ever read).

I’m just about at the end of Melissa’s latest book, and boys and girls, it’s a must read…a great look into a very unusual form of riding…the long distance ride.  These are folks who routinely do a thousand or more miles a day (for days and weeks on end).

I did a thousand miles in one day just once (on a Harley Softail coming back from Mexico; you can read about that adventure here), and that was enough for me.  I felt that one for a week.  My neck, my wrist, my back…everything was sore.   The guys in Melissa’s new book do that kind of riding all the time.   Wow.

John Ryan was there, too, and he also signed my copy of The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing.  Ryan is larger than life (literally, he’s a giant of a man and a giant of a rider), but he was a very low-key nice guy.   Much of Melissa’s book is about John, and it’s fascinating reading.   This guy is a committed rider, way more so than most of the folks any of us will ever meet.   I felt fortunate that I was able to meet him.

It wasn’t long before the inevitable occurred.  You guys and gals who ride CSC know what I’m talking about. As I was reading the paper, I heard someone say, “Excuse me, is that your motorcycle?” and I made a new friend, a real nice guy named Ron.

Ron wanted to know all about my bike, and it wasn’t long before he and his friends were outside checking out the bright red California Scooter.  Ron had a lot of questions, he asked for a brochure, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing him again.  You know the story…it’s the rock star business.  It happens nearly everywhere I go on my California Scooter.  I love it!

After enjoying the morning newspaper, a great cup of coffee, and that super cheese-and-onion bagel, I rode over to see my friend Bob Brown at Brown’s BMW in Pomona.

I hadn’t seen Bob in a while, nor had I been to his BMW store recently, so I thought I’d stop by, say hi, and check out the latest toys from Germany (except that a lot of them don’t come from Germany any more, but that’s another story for another time…the global economy, and all that).

Bob likes classic as well as modern stuff (just like we do at California Scooter), and he’s got some very interesting classic BMWs on display in the showroom.

When I left Brown’s, I took a putt over to the CSC plant, and classic things were hopping there, too. Let’s just say it was one of the coolest encounters I’ve ever had.  How cool?  Well, let me take you back to a blog we did a while ago on the The Mustang Story, and in particular, this excerpt from that story…

Just after the Mustang Motor Products Corporation started making motorcycles, a young 14-year-old Eddie Seidner wanted a Mustang so bad he could taste it. Eddie’s friend Billy Buster had a Mustang, and Ed wanted one, too. From its chrome headlight to its black peanut tank, everything about it was cool. Ed Seidner grew up and literally created a motorcycle business empire, but he never got his Mustang. He still wanted one.

Steve Seidner (Ed’s son) started as a mechanic’s helper in his dad’s service department in 1969 and worked his way through every position in his father’s dealership. Steve learned well. The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree, and like Ed, Steve is an entrepreneur. Steve opened Pro-One Performance Manufacturing in 1989. Pro-One builds some of the most exotic performance V-twins on the planet. Steve’s a builder and creative genius, and his new business was a runaway success.

Steve grew up hearing stories from his father about the Mustang, what a great machine it was, and how he always wanted one. Steve listened to stories about Billy Buster’s Mustang for decades, and in 2008, he did something about it…

Billy Buster.  The guy who inspired Ed, who inspired Steve, who started it all.  I’d heard the name, and just the sound of it seemed mythical, like something out of a novel Melissa might write.  Billy Buster.  I never imagined the guy was real.  Billy Buster.  The name sounded like a character in a movie from the 1940s.

Ed’s a pretty cool guy, and I always enjoy chatting with him.  He’s a true success story, a self-made man, and being around folks like Ed is inspiring.  Somehow, though, this day felt a little different, like it was going to be even better than usual.  There just seemed to be a charge in the air.  I didn’t know what was going on until one of the attractive young ladies who works in our plant came over to me and said, “Billy Buster’s here!”

Billy Buster.  For a second or two I drew a blank.  Where had I heard that name before?

Then I realized. “You mean the Billy Buster?” I asked.  “The one who had the Mustang that Ed always wanted as a kid?  That guy is real?  And he’s here?”

She just smiled.

Billy Buster.  I couldn’t believe it, but there he was.  Billy Buster.  Checking out a dark blue CSC motorcycle.  Billy Buster.  I walked over to Ed, who was taking it all in with a huge smile.

“You know, when we were 14,” Ed said, “Billy bought that Mustang and he was Marlon Brando…I was still just me.”  Ed and I had a good laugh.  I had a good conversation with Mr. Buster.  I shot a few photos.  Wow.  Billy Buster!  Folks, things like this just don’t happen in other motorcycle factories!

Hey, one last note for today, folks:  Keep an eye on the blog!   We’ve got a great story coming up…and it involves your favorite motorcycle making inroads in a new sales territory:  The Middle East.  Yep, you read it right.  Stay tuned!