Perry Sands has long outgrown the days when he cruised the neighborhood on a Schwinn bicycle, souped up with his dad’s lawn-mower engine. He’s the country’s largest manufacturer of after-market disc brakes and wheels, used mostly to customize Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
For many Harley owners, aftermarket parts and accessories are as important as the bike. They are a true reflection of an owner’s individuality.
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“Perry is the magic, the sparkle. He’s got a lot of sizzle. He’s got the steak to back it up, too,” said Dave Hetland of Walnut, Calif., who’s been riding for 45 years. “The buying public really just sees that magic.”
The 54-year-old president of Performance Machine has been on a quest to build a better bike since he learned how to ride. Performance Machine is a household name among Harley riders, said Ron Whitney, a sales representative at Fullerton (Calif.) Harley-Davidson. People seek it out.
“People into motorcycles recognize Performance Machine,” said Joe Hice, director of corporate communications for Harley-Davidson.
The company has sales of more than $15 million a year, Sands said. “They are the biggest wheel and brake supplier to the custom Harley market,” said Howard Kelly, editor of Hot Bike Magazine in Anaheim.
Performance Machine parts are a backstage pass to the world of bragging rights. “A lot of it is one-upmanship on your buddy,” Sands said. “If you can show up to the Monday night hamburger joint with something your buddy doesn’t have that’s a real sense of pride.”
There’s also an element of pride in the Sands story.
Forever building parts in shop in high school, Sands’ first job was as a machinist while he was a student at Long Beach City College. After his shifts, he’d use the machines to build motorcycle parts for himself and his friends.
His first product was a springer front fork he sold to a buddy in 1969, when everyone was emulating Peter Fonda in “Easy Rider.” The part extends from a bike’s frame to its front wheel.
Sands opened his first business in 1970 in Long Beach. It was a one-man shop in 500 square feet of what used to be the Snow White Dairy. Newly married to his wife, Nancy, the couple lived in a mobile home behind the barn. One year later, Sands moved the growing business to Paramount, Calif.
Three years ago, Performance Machine leased a 60,000-square-foot building in La Palma’s business park. In 1992, Performance Machine began making a brake system exclusively for Buell Motorcycle Co., now owned by Harley-Davidson.
Performance Machine wheels still are put on selected Buell bikes in production.
Sands sells to 500 dealerships and four major distributors worldwide. His business has 155 employees, including Nancy, 52, an equal partner; their son, Roland, 26, head of research and development; and their daughter, Summer, 23, chief financial officer in training.
For all the eye appeal Sands supplies, safety is always the top priority.
He said his computer-directed machines drill holes that are accurate to within one-tenth-thousandth of an inch. Motorcycles are dangerous enough, Sands said. There’s no room for inferior parts.
Many say Performance Machine products are of higher quality and better looking than what Harley puts on its bikes.
Dave Hetland’s son, Eric, a Long Beach contractor who’s been riding for 24 years, said Harley-Davidson motorcycles tend to have wheels that don’t provide the best handling and brakes that don’t stop as fast as many riders would like. He said Performance Machine is top of the line in quality and appearance.
That satisfies old-school Harley riders as well as the 40-somethings with corporate jobs and hefty disposable incomes. The latter make up the majority of Harley buyers, Hice said.
“You want to try and do something no one else has done,” Sands said. “You want to build a better bike.”