From the Land of the Rising Sun, a man from the East arrived in the United States in 1995 looking to the old ways for inspiration and guidance. Meet Chica, a master bike builder and a man with a mission to make old school seem new again. Colleague, Brandon Jones, best describes Chica as "a cross between an old-school greaser and a Zen master." When speaking to the man, one quickly gets the impression that there is something spiritual in the nature of his approach. Chica says that his inspiration comes from the things he likes such as the ocean, the wind, and the smells. Regarding his affinity for old school American bikes, he told us, "I used to ride Japanese motorcycles--everything comfortable, everything perfect. Easy cornering, easy to stop, easy to start the motor. I just felt there was something missing." From this "missing" element Chica Custom Cycles was born, specializing in the old style of today.

August Bruns, the fabricator for the business, told us a bit about the process of getting a custom bike from Chica. He said that Chica meets with prospective customers with interviews often lasting one-half day. Chica asks potential customers several questions such as, "What kind of music do you listen to?" or "What kind of dreams do you have?" Chica and his staff also ask about the purpose of the bike. In other words, they want to know what type of riding will be done and how much riding a person plans on doing. During and after the questioning, Chica makes a sketch of the bike based on the answers to his questions. From there, the works are set into motion.

Chica went on to tell us about his start in California . At first he wanted to build custom bikes, but there were no customers. So he started buying used bikes and parts and exported them to Japan . For the first three or four years, there were no customers as all. Now people understand his style, and that makes him happy. Brandon added that Chica is totally old school in his approach in the shop as well. Basic tools are used, and there isn't a lot of high-tech stuff going on. However, that doesn't mean some pretty nifty stuff isn't being built. Chica showed us one bike that he is building that features an 88 cubic-inch Panhead engine, a kick-starter, and a six-speed transmission. He commented that everything about this bike is good, such as great gear ratios. It will have good fuel economy as well. He also continued to talk about bikes from the 1950s and 1960s. There were a lot of good ideas then, and there were some great designs. Concerning the bikes of today, Chica said, "Everybody looks like [they] try too hard. I think a good design is forever." Chica also implied that there is a spiritual connection to building a bike for someone. "I don't want to make for everybody. I like making for, you know, if the customer has a nice memory, a nice idea, a nice dream. Then, Oh Yeah, I want to make it."

Brandon sums up Chica by talking about the many roles that he plays: Chica the father, Chica the boss, and Chica the co-worker. All the aforementioned receive outstanding marks. Brandon also remarked that it is truly an experience just to watch Chica work. "You can see his concentration at work, troubleshooting in his head. It's mystical." Nothing could be truer.

If you would like to learn more about Chica Custom Cycles, visit them on the web at www.chicacustomcycles.com . That's it from Huntington Beach , California . So until our next ride, "Keep the shiny side up and Ride On!"

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