Ryan McQuiston was raised by a single mom who worked nights. He grew up on the streets of Long Beach trying to survive. You know the drill. As he skated home from school, she packed her shit and peeled into the neon night. He had the streets of Long Beach to himself until 3:00 a.m.
During his high school years, he attended Wilson High (my alma mater), then Pollytechnic on the wrong side of town (my dad went there) and ultimately Reed Continuation School to grab his GED and hit the door. At 17, he scored his first bike, a 175 cc Yamaha and started to tinker.
He lived in garages for four years, but ultimately his first job was forced, when the court sent him to the conservation corps by the Colorado Lagoon where he busted his ass. “It was my first real job and I learned a lot,” Ryan said. He escaped to Seal Beach to dodge the Long Beach ghetto, then at 19 ducked out of the state to Colorado to snowboard and ultimately taught snowboarding. But motorcycles were already under his skin.
He became a general contractor, building out at malls until the economy crashed, along with his job. His truck was stolen and he was on the streets once more. He sold his 10-foot Iron Cross long (surf) board and started tinkering with motorcycles full time.
Here’s where that business platform fits in, maybe. He ran into Manual Muller, the promoter behind Ink and Iron events at the Queen Mary. Manual wanted to build a bobber and rolled over to his garage with a ’69 BSA Thunderbolt and started to cut, chop, and weld.
Ryan watched him struggle with the build and helped all he could. He started to teach himself the best practices when it came to welding, machining, and assembly.
When he sold his long board, he bought a basket ’69 Sportster on Craig’s List. He went through his engine and built a running motorcycle by asking questions, but without a manual.
He started to build Triumphs just the way he wanted to build them, and then sold them on Craig’s List. With each build, he learned something more, and developed more resources and contacts. He started to add hardtails to frames, then bobbed sheet metal, and ultimately started painting.
He moved into an abandoned 21,000 square foot WSS shoe store and could do burnouts on the polished concrete floor. He thought he had the bike biz by the tail, selling used bikes and building bobbers. His confidence level began to peak.
He moved into a smaller slick facility near downtown on a corner with picture windows, bike displays and three times the rent. The city ran him out and the economy tanked. He was forced to get a grip. “It’s not so much where you are, but how you feel when you’re here,” Ryan said of his shop on a narrow street on the west side of Long Beach.
He lives in his current shop and works constantly. “I get depressed when I’m not building something,” Ryan said. He’s been raided three times by Hazmat, Long Beach code enforcement, and the cops.
He doesn’t sell parts. He doesn’t like to build bikes for paying customers, but I’m sure he can be coerced. His mantra is to build bikes for himself, and then sell them. He’s like a painter who only paints the paintings he loves, and then he sells them and moves on to his next creative adventure.
Regarding service, if you show up on your bike and need something, Ryan will help you accomplish anything, from an oil change to stretching your frame. We recently featured a XS650 built by a customer/helper, Ralph Garcia, who didn’t know the first thing about building custom motorcycles, and didn’t have any small bags of gold. He just showed up and Ryan helped him make his motorcycle dream come true.
He does this on a regular basis, and the McQuiston team continues to expand. He shares the shop and all the work with the lovely Oginee, who is a mechanic. Ralph sticks around to learn and help with any project, and is now a full-time team member. Then he hooked up with Pat Leahy, a long time Harley wrench who brings tremendous knowledge and work ethics into the constantly growing shop.
“I have no special talent. I’m just passionately curious”—Albert Einstein, one of Ryan’s favorite quotes.
Just recently, a tall, good-looking drink of water stumbled into the shop and showed her artistic portfolio. Jessica has a masters in art from Cal State Fullerton. She immediately became part of the McQuiston team, learning sheet-metal paint preparation and incorporating fine art illustration with traditional metal flake paint schemes. She is hoping to build her first motorcycle under the McQuiston tutelage.
Ryan enjoys making custom parts, like bars, pipes, and modifying frames. He’s a sponge for motorcycle knowledge and loves to build choppers. “But bobbers are the craze right now, and all I see are Sportsters,” Ryan said. “I suppose I’ll build myself a Knuck chopper.”
Ryan lives to build and help others build their dream bikes. It’s not about money. It’s way more about creative expression, the joy of accomplishment, and ducking the man.
–Bandit
