On CMT: Characters  

Alan Lee
Already famous in Europe and in Japan, Alan Lee, the Belgian Master Builder, has become well known in the United States. His appearances on many of the reality TV bikes shows and major bike rallies such as Daytona and ROT Rally have helped him gain exposure of the public. Ask around the who's who of bike builders and his name will come up as the builder with the trademark blood red glasses who builds truly unique bikes. Lee's passion for design and art nouveau are what make his bikes pieces of art rather than just custom motorcycles. His style requires that many of the pieces he uses for his projects be completely handmade. In many cases, this means his projects are some of the most difficult. This is only part of what makes Lee the designer that he is.

Cole Foster
From hot rod royalty comes classic customizing. Cole Foster, owner of Salinas Boys Customs, has been constructing rolling works of metal art for 20 years. Son of drag racing hall of fame member Pat Foster, he creates cars that are so clean they don't have lines. They simply flow, as evident from the numerous magazine features written on these customs that roll from the bays of the Salinas Boys shop in the quiet California town. At the 2001 Grand National Roadster show, Foster left with the Chip Foose Design of Excellence Sweepstakes award from his 1956 Ford F100 truck.

Johnny Goodson
For those of you who have cable television, you've had the chance to see Johnny Goodson on the tube through shows like Build or Bust on the Speed Channel and Biker's Build-Off on the Discovery Channel. Formerly the head mechanic for Exile Cycles in Los Angeles, he is now the proud owner of Insane Custom Cycles in Glendale, Ariz. A Southern boy, born and bred in Little Rock, Ark., Goodson comes from a pretty traditional family. Between his grandparents and their respective six and 11 children, you could say that family gatherings were a really big deal. His dad was an auto mechanic, but Goodson went the other way and pursued his interest in music. With an array of odd jobs to support himself and his dreams, he decided to make motorcycles his career. He put down his instruments and never looked back.

Kirk Taylor
Kirk Taylor was born to be in the custom bike world, growing up in the '60s and '70s in the Frisco scene and hanging out at his father's machine shop where his dad made Springer and Girder front ends. From an early age, he was involved with anything that had wheels. After straying down the wrong path with drugs and the law, Taylor turned a corner with what he calls "a divine intervention through the legal system." He explains. "I went back to art school to learn to paint airbrushed calendar girls." Painting primarily bikes and guitars, the clients kept asking if he could put the parts together on the bike as well. With his background in mechanics and machine work, it was a natural move toward a custom bike shop.

Ralph Randolph
Ralph Randolph was born to fly. For a kid from the mean streets of New Mexico, failure was never an option. The rough side of town taught him the value of hard work and persistence. By 13, Randolph poured his own concrete and operated his own roofing company. He spent any spare time he had pushing dirt bikes to their limits. In college, Randolph earned cash by cage fighting on weekends and put his prize money toward flying lessons and a career playing strong safety for the University of New Mexico football team. He committed to achieving his lifelong dream of becoming a commercial airline pilot. At the height of Operation Desert Storm, Randolph put his own career goals on hold and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Today, he is a captain with US Airways, a husband, a father and the hands-on master craftsman behind Knockout Motorcycle Co. Randolph currently appears as a centerfold builder on the Easy Rider Centerfold tour and as a featured celebrity builder on the 2007 Hard Rock Roadhouse tour.

Scott Long
Scott got his first bike, a Taco mini, at age 5. Growing up in Southern California, he was immersed in the stereotypical California lifestyle -- surfing, motocross, drag racing, off-road racing, sand rails, boats at the river, etc. In 1980, his quest for waves brought him to Santa Cruz, Calif., the big wave Mecca. He started a successful landscape construction business company. In between swells, he picked up the motocross again and fulfilled his goal by turning pro in six months. After some nasty knee injuries, he switched to drag racing because he still needed that adrenaline rush. He soon went pro and toured the country, setting a world record in the process. In between races and everything else, he found himself tinkering with his Harleys and one thing lead to the other. After working with some local shops on some projects and not being happy with the outcome, he decided to do it himself and opened his own shop, Central Coast Cycles Inc.

Mitch Bergeron
Mitch Bergeron has been building bikes for over a decade. He started with metalwork, as in frames and sheet metal. Referred to as the Maestro of Metal by Easyriders magazine, he knows that good design and metalwork is not everything. "Paint will either make or break your project." Knowing this pushes him to use the best painters/artists on the planet. His shop, Mitch Bergeron Customs, has always been a small shop dedicated to the one-off custom builds. Every bike that rolls out of the shop is designed and built by him personally. "This is not a fast food, every-bike-looks-the-same kind of shop. This way I control the quality and craftsmanship." Whether you are looking for a bike that you roll with only on weekends or something extreme that you can ride cross country, Mitch Bergeron Customs can make it happen.

John Shope
Since the 1980s, John Shope has had a passion for modifying, building and fabricating. He started out customizing various models of Harley Davidson motorcycles. But with his strong background in sculptures which have circulated through various art museums across the U.S., a strong fabrication background and a love for motorcycles in general, he began his journey into the custom motorcycle building arena. His works of art have graced the covers of many magazines, and he has won many build-off competitions. Whether you've seen Shope's work in a magazine, a build-off competition or just hauling down the road, they are sure to leave a lasting impression.