Ever wonder where the paw in our logo comes from? Our Founder was given the nickname “The Bear” while he was in the military. Other companies may use paws in their logo, but here at OBB, there’s a man that stands behind this one!
The Old Bike Barn Story
Hi, this is Bear founder of www.oldbikebarn.com, OBB
I have been asked many times to tell the story of how this crazy parts machine got started, and I guess it’s over due, so here it goes.
When I was young, I was really into hotrods and muscle cars but I couldn’t afford one, then I found motorcycles. These machines were cheap, plentiful and with a great power-to-weight ratio, I could easily pull up to a light on my CB750 and blow the doors off any car. Needless to say, I was hooked!
I spent my teens building and restoring all kinds of bikes, 38 have passed through my stable to date.
At 18, I joined the Military working under American, British, NATO and UN command. Every time I would do a tour of duty, I would come home and buy a few more bikes to tinker with.
My military career ended when I sustained 2 fractures in my spine while on a mission over seas. The doctors made it clear, I might not walk again; I made it clear I would because… I had to ride my bikes!
It took a couple of years to rehabilitate my body and career, thankfully the military paid for my reeducation and I studied web design and business. Because I couldn’t ride at the time, the Internet became my outlet to stay active in the sport. I built a hobby web site called www.oldbikebarn.com. The site had, pictures my of bike builds, and my rant’s about bikes and the industry. I was selling off my personal collection of vintage parts on the site to pay the bills… soon I began to receive hundreds of emails weekly asking me for parts for the older bikes I loved. Remember, this is back in the late Nineties, early 2000’s and the Internet was not what it is today.
I seized this opportunity and started to source reproduction and new parts for my site. I moved into my first commercial location; where things really took off, the web site was getting lots of traffic, and I could barley keep up.
That’s when the one-man-show became a company made up of motorcycle lovers/enthusiasts. My younger brother Billy came aboard at that time and has since grown through every level of the company to become the Director of Operations and my right hand man. Today, the company has grown to have a vast line of products covering hundreds of models; 1969 to present day.
Old Bike Barn is dedicated to anything motorsports but with a paticuler focus on supporting 10-year and older motorcycles and the people that ride them.
We continue to add new products and new tools to help serve you
1. We have Live Chat on the web site 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday
2. You can easily find parts for your specific application by using the search by bike feature at www.oldbikebarn.com
3. You can submit a support ticket through the contact us page 24/7
4. Sign up for our Newsletter to get great deals, tech tips, jokes
5.The Old Bike Barn Blog is another great resource for Motorcycle news that adds to our by Biker’s for Biker’s commitment.
Keep it between the ditches and the Shiny side up.
Bear, founder Old Bike Barn
bear@oldbikebarn.com
