MIC MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: S&S CYCLE
Major V-Twin and Aftermarket Manufacturer Offers Emissions Expertise
Many motorcyclists know S&S Cycle as the builder of a wide variety of powerful V-twin engines found in countless cruiser and custom bikes – and would instantly recognize the iconic teardrop air cleaner cover. But the nearly 70-year-old company has special relevance right now for enthusiasts, builders, and the entire industry as they confront ever-tightening emissions standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board.
“We’re in a time where no matter how much we want to bury our heads in the sand, emissions compliance is a factor,” said Howard Kelly, Vice President of Marketing for S&S Cycle. “If the aftermarket industry shows CARB and the EPA that we’re going along with the program, we have our compliant products for the road and we have our race-only products, that we’re going along with it, then they’re going to see we’re taking it seriously.”
The 578-page 2025 catalog from S&S Cycle states that the company is “aggressively pursuing new and innovative emission compliant components and engines.” Emissions and performance expertise at S&S Cycle was a key message for the company at AIMExpo 2025, the largest gathering of aftermarket and original equipment manufacturers in North America. Kelly said that having regular dialogue with other powersports people and knowledge-share is most important, the majority of which is handled by Jan Smith and Hunter Klee, who manage the emissions lab.
“That’s absolutely huge and S&S fully understands where the industry is going with compliance,” he said. “We opened our own emissions lab in 2007, thanks to a push from Sam and Margie Scaletta. Margie is founder George Smith Sr.’s daughter, and Sam has served with S&S in multiple strategic roles and now is on the board of directors. We’ve been working on emissions compliancy ever since – not only for our products. The fact that we do that for other people in the industry, including competitors, says everything about the commitment of S&S Cycle to the industry. We’ve been around a while and we know that if the industry doesn’t prosper, neither does S&S.”
“I want other powersports manufacturers to know they can contract with us for their emissions compliance work. There are labs that you can go to, but they may not be motorcycle people and that’s key. When our guys are doing the testing, if they find something, they’re going to be able to talk to your engineers, tell them what needs to be done, how to meet the standards.” — Howard Kelly, S&S Cycle
Kelly is being modest in saying that S&S Cycle has been “around a while.” It’s a company with a rich history loaded with engineering milestones, industry awards, and competition success. It has long been a major force in a key segment of the motorcycle market and it boasts a global fan base.
The Wikipedia lead reads, “S&S Cycle is an American motorcycle engine and parts engineer and manufacturer…founded in 1958 by George J. Smith and Stanley Stankos in Blue Island, Illinois.” The full story of the company’s competition legacy at Bonneville, at drag strips, flat tracks, and road racing circuits, and its far-ranging product success with complete engines and thousands of aftermarket parts and components – some of which is covered on the S&S website and in the huge catalog – would demand a lengthy, detailed book or a multi-part TV series.
Along with all this, there’s also something highly improbable about S&S Cycle: The company is still family owned and privately held.
“That says a lot in today’s world,” Kelly said. “How many businesses make it to third and fourth generation, maintaining company values? Third-generation family members that are still involved in the business here would be Brett Smith, Tom Smith, and Michael Scaletta, all involved in different facets of S&S, whether it’s direct, day-to-day business or on the board. And recently, with young family members like Tytus joining the R&D department, Ryan joining the Shareholder Advisory Council, and Brooke joining the logistics team, a fourth generation is now engaged.”
In addition to the continuation of the family line, S&S has been “getting the band back together,” Kelly said, including his return to lead marketing. Thirty-year industry veteran Charlie Hadayia has come back to serve as Executive Vice President of Business Development. Jeremy Gilbert, with a decade of past S&S experience, rejoined as senior manager of special projects and was soon promoted to director of logistics.
“We all once worked together and now we’re back to support the board in setting the new direction for S&S,” Kelly said. “However, our core is always going to be doing what we can to make the V-twin industry more fun. We are focused on helping American V-twin and whether it’s Indian, Harley, custom, we’re focused on keeping those bikes on the road. Knucklehead, Panhead, Shovelhead, Evolution, Twin Cam, and Harley’s M-series engine – S&S builds components for every one of those product lines. We make our versions of the Knucklehead, Panhead, and Shovelhead. You can buy a bolt-in engine from us in California, replace the original factory engine and never have a compliance issue.”
“I don’t see the V-twin industry going away, because people still want that simplicity,” Kelly said. “And they want a little bit of performance to go with it and our versions fix that. I lived in Wisconsin for a couple years so I can say it. When you grow out of that sport bike, where do you go? You get a Harley and you go ride with your father, your uncle, your family, friends and you grow right into that. Motorcycling is cool and if you look at MIC data on registrations in Ohio, Wisconsin, and in and around Pennsylvania, it’s amazing how dense the motorcycle population is in states that don’t have year-round riding.”
From the beginning and on through today, engineering and manufacturing are at the core of S&S’s support for the V-twin market and its customers. In the 1960s, the company settled in Viola, Wisconsin – a village with a population still under 1,000 – and began producing everything from crank assemblies to full engines to fuel-injection rails and hundreds of thousands of carburetors. In the 2000s, S&S opened a secondary facility 45 miles away in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to build exhaust systems and house the emissions lab.
“There’s a lot of diversity in what we do, and it takes a lot of people and a lot of space to do all of that,” Kelly said. “We have a serious engineering team. During development, our components spend thousands of hours on engine-run stands before they’re released to the public. Some dynos run thousands of hours with engines on them, just cycling up and down the RPMs, heat cycling, and starting them up and shutting them down. We have the data to back up what we’re talking about.”
Longtime S&S employee Jeff Bailey was promoted to Vice President of Engineering not long ago. He celebrated his 25th anniversary with the company and leads both V-twin product development and S&S racing efforts in partnership with Indian.
“Jeff has quite a few records at Bonneville,” Kelly said. “I think his first job out of school was at S&S and 25 years later he’s the engineering VP. And young engineers still come out of school who want to make an impact when they hear about S&S. They know they’re going to live in a small town, but they will be part of one of the biggest names in the motorcycle industry, that their designs are going to be seen and used by tens of thousands of people. Down the road, we’re still going to be making great motorcycle parts and engines, we’re still going to figure out whatever the emissions compliance rules are, and we’re still going to be there with our customers.”
“We are kind of in the middle of nowhere, here in Viola,” Kelly said. “But people stop by and ask if they can tour the factory, tour the museum. Weekly. There’s a special appeal to S&S Cycle.”
