An Interview With The Caribbean Connection

It’s all about love and American Romance with the creative side. We’re lucky bastards to be able to build whatever we feel and drive it off a cliff, if we so desire. Just 50 years ago a blue collar guy would think about working in a steel mill all his life. Now that same guy can build Choppers and chase women every night.

Fifty years ago that would be a man’s dream only. Here’s the story of one lucky bastard who was born with sand under his feet and a sea breeze cutting through his dark hair. Even as a youngster he was surrounded by women in graceful bikinis. In addition, his parents didn’t badger him with rules and goals but let him find his own way. This is his story and the story of Caribbean Custom Cycles:

Tell me about where you grew up. What was it like, from the geography to the people to your folks?

I grew up here, in Puerto Rico, on a large neighborhood with plenty of land and lots of fun stuff to do. We had all kinds of animals around the house, since my grandpa was a scientist and explorer. I always had “toys” to have fun with: bikes, guns, horses and stuff.

My mom was, and is, cool about all the crazy shit I do. I was no saint. My grandma had the heavy hand though! God bless her soul. I was not a gearhead or even close. Sure we all messed with bicycles and customized them, but nothing like tearing apart motors and such. I remember spending several weeks trying to put a carb back in my 100cc Kawasaki dirt bike, until a real mechanic fixed it. If I knew then what I know now…

Fast forward a decade or two, I have lived in lots of places for short stints, doing what I wanted to do at the time be it surfing, sailing, racing or even nothing. But I always came back to my home. I was having so much fun doing all this stuff that I never sat down and thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up. But always managed to do what I loved.

I had the privilege to go to very good schools and college, but noticed that a good education is balanced by hands-on experience. It was easier to take a history class after spending a month all over Europe, if you know what I mean. And always, even not wanting to, my parents were OK with the “different” ways I did things. I guess that’s how I learned the meaning of respect, and was able to manage my freedoms.

One lesson learned by all those trips was how to make it work. We managed and never tried to bite more than we could chew. Like on my time in Hawaii, we were seven in an apartment. I slept on the balcony for two weeks before I could upgrade to the living room. We all shared the pizzas and we paid for one buffet at Sizzler and all seven ate. Sometimes one of the guys would call in sick and I’d take his place, make some money and live the rest of the week, but we were having so much fun and surfing all day, every day. I mention Hawaii because it’s very similar to Puerto Rico, the lifestyle and the people.

As I said before, I always end up back home. This land is were I was born and probably were I will die. It’s a rare combination of a Caribbean island with the U.S. mainland. We are like any big city in the world with all the advantages, although it’s a bit sad that we have lost that island thing, you know, that slow pace, kinda lazy, fun, let’s got to the beach, tropical, thing. Like, I love New York City; it’s the greatest place in the world. But when you think of the Caribbean, you think of pristine beaches and cool drinks under the palm trees. Sure, we have that, but we also have a bit of New York style in here. It’s also a great place to ride, with lots of mountain or beach roads to travel, all in a day or a year. I have been around the island on bikes, sailing and surfing, and it’s an amazing place any way you look at it. The people are very friendly and for the tourists, there’s convinience, most people here speak English also. We have the oldest city in the Americas and rain forests. It’s a very complete package for a tropical island. One of the main reasons I stay here, or come back, is because I love it and have been able to make it here one way or another. I believe only weak people leave their homeland to look for fortune in other places while not making their home a better place by their presence and work, but hey, that’s my opinion. I know it could be more profitable to open shop some place else, but this is home, my Puerto Rico!

Tell me about your first bike, how you got it, what did you do to it and a funny story?

My first bike was a minibike chopper, white with purple accents and apes. I remember it was a birthday gift from my mom. I did nothing to it but ride the crap out of the poor bike and get a pretty strong right arm from yanking that damn yo-yo. A few of my street buddies had bikes too, like z-50s and trail 70s. Since my grandparents had a couple acres of land, we built a dirt track. The downside was that the last jump (maybe a foot or two) was right over my grandma’s roses and into the driveway. Needless to say, she was not too happy about the huge gap in her rose rows, but the cement driveway was a must. It was the only place that we could pull back on the bars, twist the throttle and pop a wheelie before hitting the dirt again. One time, I don’t exactly remember when, but I know it was a holiday and lots of people showed up at the house, we were riding around and when I came flying through the roses there was a car parked there, soo… The dent on the door was not a pretty sight and the driver was not a happy camper. The little chopper and I were bruised but survived, and no one, ever, parked there again. I can’t remember what happened to that bike, although the next one was a 100cc and I remember from then on, that was some twenty-something years ago.

Tell me about your first H-D

My first H-D is the one that started it all, we–me and my friends–did not have much money then. We were surfing all the time and all the money we had was spent on surfing trips. We were in between skipping school and working a bit, you know, being rebels. This is during the mid ’80s. We were spending some time in Miami and a friend from Puerto Rico had a Harley shop. We thought that was the coolest fuckin’ thing to do and when we got back we started looking for bikes. Only cops and old-timers rode Harleys here. A couple months later my friend found two bikes on the east side, a 65 and 67 FL. I did not have the money so someone else got the 65. I waited and saved a bit. Later on I found a 77 FXE for $1,500 and ended up paying less since the battery and some other stuff did not work. I had no idea whatsoever of how things worked; a spark plug change was my mechanical skill. I remember riding for months with a bungee strapped battery and dripping a quart of oil every place we parked. Even had the bike parked for a month ’cause I would not dare taking a front flat tire off the bike. But man, when we rode those suckers we were the baddest dudes in the world, and we went everywere. People saw us and started buying bikes too. Soon we were six then ten, then fifteen, and it has not stopped since then. I remember reading those Easyriders end to end, over and over, while drooling at the choppers. My first try at customizing was a cheap drag bar and risers from Superior. I thought that FX was hot shit! Like always, money would go into a surfboard rather than the bike, so it stayed as it was for a long time. I ended up in California–another long story–and saw the bikes there. This was before the helmet law. I got to ride a Sporty around. By then I was starting my new career–racing cars– and was making some money, so when I got back I started searching for another bike so I could customize the FX. That was 13 or so years ago and I still have not completed the bike. I have a funny feeling that when I do the world will be over. I found a ’64 Pan and that was my everyday ride till 1995, besides the ’63, ’65 and ’70, when I got my first Evo. I beat the crap outta that Pan and every day I would ride to Old San Juan to my friend’s shop. The bike would always stall in the same place; we thought that it was possesed. Many sweaty kicks later, it would come back to life. A couple weeks later I noticed, at the same corner, that the choke was on. I guess the vibration would loosen it until it stalled the bike, yep, at the same spot. I still have that old choke lever around. Man how it made me sweat!

How did you get into building bikes, who taught you, and when did you start?

It’s like everything I’ve done in my life. If I like it, I work hard at it. First we did a few things to bikes until a friend decided to do his whole bike. We had the race car shop, so we had a bunch of tools, and my dad, who’s very handy with mechanical stuff, helped us out. Other than that, was instinct and stupidity. I was very limited in my skills, but we managed. The bike ended up being really cool and we ended up doing some more friends’ bikes, mostly stuff with a good set of instructions or we’d hang out at old mechanic shops and watch how it was done. From then on I was busy with the racing schedule, so the fun part was restoring the bikes we had, like a hobby, and buying more old bikes when we had some extra money. Even my dad got into it, which was great. Though I don’t like his style, he can build a pretty mean bike. I can say that my ’64 Pan taught me how to work on bikes. I learned to listen and take care of her, to keep her riding no matter what and wrenching roadside if I had to. Sometimes I wish everyone had one of those old bikes before getting one of those TC craps. Mostly it was hands-on. One day I dared to do this, later something else–always on my bikes first though. All the old mechanics helped out too; Charlie, Papitin and Batalla were always willing to answer questions and happy to see me hang out at their shops. Manuals helped a lot, as well as my dad. What I consider my first build is a bike I called Mala Fe. It has a Bourget’s rigid frame, and an STD/S&S Panhead motor. I had been working for a couple of years and had met a few people. The guys from American Iron Magazine decided they were going to feature my bike. The catch was that it had to be done for Bike Week. It was December and I was trying to beat the deadline. We had to ship everything and money was not rockin’. Being a bit hard-headed, I had to build the engine and everything else. It was a mix of parts and even Nitrous. Well I spent three weeks of working from noon to six a.m. The day it was done I rode to the local strip bar and early in the morning to the dock. when I got the bike to Daytona, it left me stranded on the road–and it was fucking freezing too. I was so tired and so pissed that I took it to a friend’s shop and they fixed it for me. It had a loose pushrod and had blown the head gasket. I made it to the shoot and ended up on the mag–the bike was all black and polished, with a pan. It was quite different, so I pushed that bike all over Daytona since the battery was crap. Never, ever bought another from that company. I ended up riding that bike all over the States, Still have it.

When did you consider opening a shop and why?

Like I said before, when I do something I give it my best shot. Racing cars is great but unless you are in the very big leagues, or your parents have very deep pockets, it’s very hard to become rich. I noticed that in Puerto Rico there was a heavy-duty movement towards Harleys. The two local shops sold hard parts and chrome add-ons and the mechanics dealt with older bikes but no custom stuff. What started as a hobby ended up as a real job. We were doing more and more bikes, very simple stuff, bars, forwards, pipes, paint, nothing fancy. I was buying from a local shop, but I ended up buying so much that I decided to get my own lines, sold the race car and converted the garage into a bike shop. We had the tools and the space so it was pretty simple. Plus I managed my own time, went sailing when I had to and came back to more jobs. I made some money and took off once more. I have never believed in being the richest guy in the cemetary. I travel, learn and do as much as I can. One thing lead to another and more bikes rolled into our shop. We expanded the work, always doing the stuff on our bikes first before venturing onto a customer’s. By 1996 we were doing some cool custom jobs and had the first real custom bike from Bourget’s in the island. We have managed to stay a step or ten ahead of everyone else; homework and traveling do the trick. Tell you the truth, all that has happened in my life has been by chance and by paying attention to what’s around–besides heavy doses of hard work and a will that has no limits. I don’t quit unless I think that I am as good as I can be at that certain thing. I’m not tooting my own horn, but I’ve had an amazing 36 years. Why I do it? Well it’s simple and complicated at the same time. I love choppers and my whole family rides. We have managed to locate our tiny island in the Caribbean in the V-twin industry. People know who we are and call us to congratulate every time we are featured on a magazine, they follow our reports here on Bikernet. I have friends and family making the shop run as it should, and we have hundreds of customers that trust us and would not buy from anyone else. It’s a compromise; I created this and have to stick with it, like it or not. There’s no rest for the wicked. Anyway, I enjoy every bike I design or build. I enjoy the time we spend with our friends in the industry. I enjoy riding with friends and family. I love it when Yoly rides her chopper and when a customer enjoys his new bike; plus we make money to make new bikes.

Tell me the trials and tribulations of having a shop on an island in the caribbean?

I might bitch about this sometimes, but this is my home and it will always be. We don’t have a special construction law, so it’s almost impossible to register a “homemade” bike. That hurts our shop a lot. We have to go through unbelievable red tape to be able to register the bikes that we build here, sometimes taking as long as a year. We distribute a couple brands from the U.S. which makes it very easy for us to register since they are manufacturers. But we have to ship everything in, and shipping a ten- foot-long chopper is not cheap! Plus, we pay taxes when we bring the goods in, not when we sell them, which is great for the customers but sucks for us. Also, the logistics of getting a bike from Phoenix to Puerto Rico would give anyone a headache. Population is another issue; we only have 3.9 million people and around 5,000 Harleys. Our bikes are not on the inexpensive side. We have worked really hard to let people know what a custom is and why it’s not even close to their factory ride. In other words, why should they spend their money. I’m not big in promotion, or advertising, or talking shit. I let our customers show others how much they enjoy their stuff. And since it’s such a small place, people know each other. On the other hand, when we get a Kamikaze customer who trashes the bike, we also get the bad rep. The worst part is having people opening new shops and riding on your coattails. We try to be exclusive dealers for our stuff, but we are limited on the amounts we can buy so sometimes it’s hard. You bust your ass introducing something new to the market and the “other” shops just copy what you are doing. By the time the dust settles, we are already working with some new stuff, or we just quit selling that brand. I sell to all the Caribbean and sometimes wish their laws were easier. It’s like selling stuff state to state and all are a different ball game. Also, some have more buying power than others. And let’s not even talk about all our trips to the rides in the U.S. It’s a complete full-time job getting those sorted out. I know I could open a shop in Miami and make my life easier, but this is my home and I’m sticking to it. A couple years ago, customs started showing up around the island and then comes HOG. Everyone goes into Harleys so they can become members; it’s time to suck it up and rethink your plan. Also, the U.S. companies that can offer cheaper prices make a big hole, but we can give person-to-person service; they can’t.

Tell me about the shop, everything, size, equipment, services, bikes, stories about customers, the wildest Bourgets owner?

In reality, we have three shops, nope, four: a 1,200- square-foot showroom in downtown San Juan, where we have the bikes, parts and everything else. We also have a huge parking lot, which is a must. We just opened that a year and a half ago and it has boosted our sales incredibly. That’s were I spend my days, and Yoly too; that’s the hub of everything. We also have a small shop, let’s say 800 square feet, that I use for building bikes, and it’s equipped with the stuff that I need to build the bikes. I still do most of the choppers we build personally; it’s not easy but I maintain a certain control on what they receive. Once the bike is done, anyone at the shop can put it back together; we are all very capable. Then the third shop, which used to be the race car shop, is around 5,000 square feet and it’s on the same property. That’s where we do all the service, parts installations, and modifications. It’s also full of tools and what’s needed to work on the bikes. Between the two shops we have all the tools and machines we might need, but we still don’t have good lifts. It’s been a pain trying to ship them over. And a CNC machine would be really productive. We have in-house painting, a powdercoater close by, we do metal work, etc. We take a little longer on doing stuff, but we don’t do hurry-up work. When we put our little sun logo on a bike we are putting our name on it and it has to be top-notch work. Though choppers are not perfect and never will be, we don’t see customers stranded on the side of the road, even the Kamikaze ones. Sometimes I see what other shops do and wonder how they dare to send a bike down the road with such a shit job. In a sense, we are responsible for the well-being of riders. If they do something stupid, so be it, but not because of us. The fourth shop is a partnership in Orlando, Florida; it’s kind of a franchise. They sell Bourget’s for that area. Now going back to the showroom, we are dealers for anything that you might imagine, all the big ones and the up and coming too. I have a gut instinct on what will be the next rage or top guy and most of the time I hit the spot. We also have a bunch of people that we have been working since the start, ours and theirs. I could not mention all the lines we have, but for motorcycles we are exclusive distributors for Bourget’s Bike Works and Big Mike Choppers in the Caribbean, and a few other manufacturers that we don’t buy from. But I’m sure they will tell you to call us for a bike. We have based our business relationship on friendship and honesty, first and foremost. Money comes and goes, but friends are friends. We’ve been working with some people for over ten years now and in this industry the tide rolls and you are hot, the next day not. But the good stuff does not fade away. I would mention some of the names of the manufacturers we deal with but we don’t have that much space and our pseudo competitors will read this and copy us once more. We also believe in being fair. Why overcharge and try to screw the same people that are paying your rent? That’s why most of our customers become our friends and bring other friends. The same story as the H-D buying friends applies to our bikes. We have the craziest Bourget owners. I bet they put more miles on their bikes in this tiny island than any in the States. I do every bike like it was for me. If you see the photos, our bikes might be a bit different than those flashy dudes you see on Main Street. This guy puts a good 250 miles every Sunday on their choppers, rain or shine, sometimes even more. I just built a bike for a guy in Boston and he put over 4,000 miles on his bike in three months. That’s sick! Remember, we are an island, 100 by 35! We’ve had guys pick up their brand-new bike at 5 o’clock and do burnouts later that night. They have to change the tire a couple days later. Most of these guys enjoy their bikes and treat them well. We have test pilots too, drag racers, and bikes that have been to Sturgis at least 5 times……All in all we have fun.

Why did you choose Bourget over others like Titan, Big Dog, etc….?

Because the others suck!!! Kidding aside, I have this gut feeling about stuff. I met Roger and Brigitte in ’96 when they were starting. I saw a bike there and liked it. It was different and he was doing most of the stuff. We ended up bringing that bike back to Puerto Rico and became dealers. I believe we were the first dealers, not counting Bourget’s of New York. I rode that bike for a year before even attempting to sell one. I had to make sure that it would work for our island and our prospective owners. Anyway, Roger had a car tire bike and my bike was a 190 tire. That was 1996; I guess I saw the future. Without knowing it, I saw hard-working people willing to make their efforts pay off. I was right.

I don’t want to throw dirt at any other company, but the other manufacturers were doing stuff that we could do at our shop and buy the same parts that they did without having to pay for a name. Time proved me right. I have an opinion on every manufacturer. I watch them and get the inside information, but I have never doubted Roger or his product. He has an edge. He fabricates 95% of his bikes and he builds what you want, ugly or cool. He dares to break the mold and it works. He sees the future trend and they bust their ass to keep everything going, plus they are not spending shitloads of money on Playboy bunnies and monster shops.

We also got BMC last year. I saw the same thing: young, hard-working guys with a plan, no nonsense and no bullshit. They’ve sold a lot of bikes, so I guess I was right once more. I have not been able to sell that many, but it’s a slow process for us. It took four years to start moving Bourget’s, and I’m not saying how many we sell, just in case the tax man is reading, but we get by. And as soon as we get the fear out of riding rigids, we will do the same for BMC. It’s really simple, if you do your homework. We are very good friends with Pure Steel, but the price is out of range for our consumer, same as American Iron Horse. We think it’s a solid company, but our market is limited. Why be a dealer when we can’t put in the effort. I don’t want to sell a bike a year. Big Dog is solid, owned by Coleman, so it will never run out of money. But we can build a Bourget’s as you wish for the same amount…no brainer. Just to make it short, what other company can build a good quality product, the bike you design, for under 40,000? No one. Then again, Roger and Brigitte are family to us and they build a good product. I have the riders to prove it.

What do you like doing the most at the shop?

Calling all the 900 sex lines… Designing and building the bikes, putting the puzzles together. I get bored when I do the same thing. I like a challenge now and then. That’s why I build a bike over a weekend; it’s a challenge. I like redoing stock bikes. I love it when the guys tell me to do what I want. And when they see the final build, their grin says it all. I also like having people come back after buying stuff that we recommend and loving it. This might sound stupid but I like making people save money, getting the right parts and avoiding the crappy ones. I hate working on a schedule. I hate impatient people and liars. I’m stuck at the showroom so after we close I go and work on bikes. The ones I’m building, I can’t wait to get a new shop with both things on the same place. Lots can be done in idle time. I also hate solving other peoples’ problems. If a shop sold you crap, call ’em up, not me ! I love old bikes, any Panhead over any other bike, hands down. I like having an idea and seeing it become something. I also like having stuff that no one has and that looks really cool.

Tell us about your relationship with WCC, about building the bikes and your customers?

Again, gut feeling and a bit of information goes a long way. I knew who Jesse was quite a while ago. We never talked and barely met each other at some places in Indy. I saw his green CFL and thought it was very cool. I talked to him, but nothing concrete. I found out he was chosen for a TV program on Discovery. I ordered a frame and shirts before the program aired, so by the time everyone was doing the West Coast mania, we had the stuff available. We are his dealers in Puerto Rico and bought seven frames in three months, plus a shitload of shirts and stuff. Put it this way, we had the market covered before the others knew what hit them. Jesse does not mind us doing his bikes at all. I send photos of the done stuff and he likes it. He can’t do all the bikes he would want to. We are even doing bikes for people in the U.S. And even though they are his frames, they are still our bikes. It works pretty well. I spent a good chunk of cash and people get what they want, even though they are still afraid of rigids. It’s all related though. We are on the same bandwagon, maybe not on the same scale, but it’s all young people trying to make a name for themselves and being good at it, having fun and making a buck. Sometimes it pisses me off when people bad-mouth Jesse. He was lucky enough to get his shit on TV, and jump from trying to make it to rolling in it. But it has helped everyone in this industry. People know what a chopper is, or how it’s made, more so what it takes…. Sure there’s some drama, but mostly it’s true. I see people that are pushed month after month by magazines and they don’t make it. At least Jesse is good and making it. Anyway, it’s pretty simple. Anyone can call us up and I’ll build a CFL in three months. You tell me what you want. Actually, the orange bike is for sale and we have a softail and rigid frame available, that’s it.

How do you compare your customers with H-D dealer ones ?

We share customers; I have a great relationship with the local dealer. I think that Harley as we knew it ceased to exist in the ’80s. I have customers that want something that the factory won’t produce, or that are sick of having to wait for a bike, spend a shitload of cash and having the same bike as his friend’s. We sell stuff that is different, new and exciting. I realized a long time ago that if you want a Harley, go ahead and buy it, but if you want something unique, that’s where we enter the picture. Right now we have some bikes that are competitive with H-D’s prices and people are buying them, and their friends are getting into them too. It’s like there’s a lot of people that buy a bike and become instant experts, or see a bike on the side of the road and assume that it broke and it’s crap. H-D is God to them and everything else is a lame clone, but those few that are smart and want their stuff have realized otherwise. When we finally introduced the “custom” bikes to Puerto Rico after a few years of work, HOG appeared and people started buying H-Ds ’cause HOG was cool. That set us back a bit, but instead of ranting and raving we kept doing what we did and more people noticed that custom bikes are not taboo. It all ends up working quite well. I believe the aftermarket industry is what has made H-D the powerful company that it is now. And H-D bikes have made the aftermarket industry what it is today. Then again this “hobby” is like anything else. We have a more complete availability of parts and accessories than the factory, and the more modern they go, the more basic we go. Plus, we have the advantage of creating what we want quicker than the corporate gears can and adapt or even create the new trend. There will always be pro factory consumers, which we don’t look for, and consumers that will vary their needs and look for the “other” things which is what we have. I work on an honesty basis, so I don’t run to the local dealer to make a profit on a part. I’d rather call the dealer up and refer the customer; it might make less money but I have customers that trust us, which is more important. On another thought, we tend to do our own thing, not follow someone else. We try not to laugh at the people that wear all the latest “company” fashions or die if they don’t have the new TC 88. We beleive in function and simplicity, not looking like a fucking peacock on a parade. If it was up to me, Puerto Rico would be full of rigid panhead choppers, but that’s another story. We have people riding choppers. The next step would be getting them to buy rigids… It’s all a matter of growing up in a lifestyle. The RUBs and wannabees will pass on to the next fad, and the ones that hang on will mold into newer stuff. Since we are not money hungry, we can choose who we want as customers and are able to respect other people’s customers.

What about the future? Does anything concern you? What do you look forward to?

That’s a tough one, but I will try to stay within the industry. I see Billy Lane and Choppers Inc. making it big time. I see a decline in H-D stuff and a move toward custom stuff without all the EFIs and V-Rod crap. I would love to see a Puerto Rico Bike Week, get rid of the helmet law, get a special construction law, ride Sturgis without fearing the cops. I wish not to see Sam Orwell really happen. I see more bikes like the old choppers and bobbers, less techno-lime shit. We will do our own style of bikes pretty soon, have a new shop with everything in one place. I’d be happy selling 50 bikes a year. I see Bandit owning Easyriders and making it like it was. I see the Horse being the #1 magazine. I see Mike Maldonado getting the place that he deserves in this industry. I see a lot of things in this world of ours, and good things happen to those who deserve it. I think a lot of what would happen, that’s how I stay on the edge of things. That’s why I move around and do stuff. That’s why I write, why I ride. We all think of the stuff that we would do tomorrow. I also think that I will have time to rest, that the shop will run itself. I guess that’s why most builders are insomniacs–they are always thinking what they would do next. Lots of things concern me, from very tiny, to very big….. This world, the status of our island, what tomorrow might bring, the health of my family and friends, love, kids, freedoms lost, lots of things…..many, many, things. I look forward to being the first Puerto Rican Hamster, the cover of Easyriders, being respected by my peers, financial stability, being able to enjoy the fruits of our hard work, the next issue of The Horse, getting my next bike done, not fighting with Yoly….you know stuff like that…… I also look forward for the success of all my friends and the demise of all my enemies….

We are working hard in our clothing lines, Chopper Freak ™ and for girls Chopper Freak Chick. We are starting with shirts and caps, but the sky is the limit. We are planning on doing a few of the main events as vendors and see how it goes. Also, I’m thinking about a parts line…..but that’s another story.