All Up in the Shop: Cycle Parts in Los Angeles

By John Almiron - March 6, 2013

When we’re looking for parts, accessories, apparel and any other ATV related products, we typically know who the big “box stores” are nearby. And through countless hours spent looking through magazine or online searches, we also know who the web based suppliers are as well. But there’s nothing like walking into a place for the first time and being greeted within the first five steps of the door or better yet, being greeted by your first or “nickname” after stepping foot into any establishment.

That’s the kind of place that Cycle Parts LA is. Located in Los Angeles CA., on the borders of East LA and Montebello, just off the 60 Fwy and Atlantic Blvd, is the family owned and operated corner shop that countless customers have been coming to for over 35 years. Here, not only do they come for all their parts, accessories, repairs and apparel, they also just come to pass time with the crew and talk shop on any given day. It’s just that kind of a place. Small by big box store conglomerates standards yes, but I like to say that Cycle Parts LA is bursting at the seams. The place is bigger on the inside than one would imagine once setting foot inside.

Co-Owner and day to day Operations Manager, Johnny Quesada, is a young businessman with a passion for bikes. Or is it a passionate biker, with a degree in business..? Either way, he is both, here at Cycle Parts LA. On top of this, he is also a son, to original owner Armando Quesada. Armando is still actively present and involved on any given day and will trade stories with you if you have the time. The elder Armando emigrated from Costa Rica in the early part of 1960, via a motorcycle of all things. He tells me that he traveled with only a few dollars in his pocket and worked on motorcycles through his travels to pay for his daily expenses and survival at times. Once he saved up a few more bucks, he found himself in Mexico, where he ended up being a mechanic for a few years until somewhere in 1963. The decision wasn’t easy as the locals liked him very much and did not want to see him leave. But coming here to the U.S. and planting roots in Southern California was a chance at something bigger. Armando found work at a Santa Monica based Honda Motorcycle dealership, which in these days, Honda was making a big waves here in the United States. Those times were quite the struggle as Armando found himself working many hours and traveling long distances to and from work. But soon after, Armando approached the owners of a small but active Ducati and Triumph motorcycle shop where the Cycle Parts location sits today and convinced them to let him open up a little place in the back, where he could do some repairs and tinker on customers bikes after his full time job.

Eventually, after a few ownership changes of the business and it concentrating on Cycle parts instead of bike sales, Armando made the then owners an offer to buy out the business outright and make it his own. As the business grew steadily over the next couple of years with the motorcycle industry hitting a boom of sorts, so did the space and eventually the opportunity for Armando to buy the building and the land it sits on.

Johnny (son) then tells me that over the years, the shop gave him an opportunity to hang out, be around bikes and learn everything he could. But Armando will tell you, it gave Johnny the tools to work from the ground up. Whether it was taking out the trash, cleaning tools, cleaning floors or organizing things in the shop, it was really about getting your hands dirty whenever possible and having responsibilities. I can attest to this myself with an all too familiar upbringing as well. You spend weekends, summers and even your school holidays off at the shop, “helping out”, as our dads would say. As the years passed, Johnny’s responsibilities increased. After High School, he went on to college and majored in business. This proved to be a pivotal move in his young life as he was already working more and more at Cycle Parts LA with dad.

With time, technology was becoming more and more prevalent in the Japanese motorcycle industry and Johnny kept up with the times and incorporated as much of this into the business model as possible, as he now found himself at the shop full time more than ever, while still attending school. Computers, diagnostic machines and even the parts themselves were becoming more and more advanced. The thing that Johnny already knew was, in order for them to stick around; they had to keep up with the times. So even before graduating College with his degree, Johnny took over day to day operations at only 21 yrs. old.

As a business owner for over 20 years now, Johnny tells me there is a lot more than just opening the doors and working on bikes every day. This becomes quite the juggling act in any man’s life, but Johnny has managed to keep it going all these years. He not only oversees daily operations, but can also be found on the counter, on the phone or even in the back trying to diagnose problems on customers’ bikes. On top of all this, you still have to order parts with vendors, check on shipments of special orders, work with suppliers on new products, deal with apparel companies trying to earn your business and that’s just a typical Tuesday.

Having a staff that is reliable and knowledgeable was also very important to Johnny as the business grew. Take for instance, Wayne Izuo. A loyal customer first in the late 70’s and early 80’s with Armando, Wayne was heavily into dirt bikes at the time. His bikes ranged from the YZ80, to a YZ250. And through the years, he came to Cycle Parts LA for his every need. Living nearby didn’t hurt either. Wayne tells me, “it just made everything easier back then. You needed something; you came to Cycle Parts LA and got it there”. After a few more years had passed and Wayne switching his enthusiasm to street bikes, he was in between jobs at one point. He was about to take a job in the Telecom industry he was working in, but “wasn’t feeling it” he tells me when the time came. Then, Johnny called. He says that call was like “the opportunity” he couldn’t pass up. He’d formed a relationship with Johnny over the years (still being a customer) and Johnny needed some counter help as the business was growing. So the decision was not only timely, but simple for Wayne. He’s been part of the staff at Cycle Parts LA for over 15 years now and like a second family. Wayne tells me that Cycle Parts LA has even been a major sponsor in Wayne’s brief but eventful racing career. In 4 seasons with WERA (Western Easter Road racing Association), Wayne says that he was able to tune his bike, change out parts, mount and balance tires and pretty much set up the bike to run once he got to the track at Cycle Parts LA. The series west coast tracks included: Willow Springs, Fontana, Button Willow and Las Vegas. Once that career ended, Wayne focused on helping customers. He’s been a vital part of the business ever since.

The WERA series also landed another rider that was out of the Cycle Parts LA camp. Art Doyle. As a local customer since 1999, Art formed friendships with Johnny and Wayne. An avid speed enthusiast, Wayne talked Art into earning his novice racing license and went racing on the WERA circuit as well. Since then, Art has gone through a plethora of bikes. He says 8 or 9 at last count. Now a Fireman, Art’s time off from the Firehouse allows him to spend some of his down time at the shop and helping out where needed. When he’s not in the shop, he’s tinkering with one of his latest projects. Two Acura NSX’s fully tuned and track ready, as well as his latest toy, a three wheeled T-Rex. Art too has previously worked in the Telecommunications industry before becoming a Fireman and as his way of saying thanks to Johnny for all the service over the years, was upgrading the phone and computer systems in the shop, all the wiring and tied in everything into a smoothly running network.

Cycle shops like this are hard to find. Mainly, because who doesn’t like walking into a huge, brightly lit showroom floor, full of bikes, accessories and apparel? But the thing that I always take away is, service, the amount of knowledge someone has about the product you seek or the answers to your questions. Even the relationship a salesperson chooses to build with a potential customer is something that I take away every time and very seriously. Here, the staff will treat a first time walk in as if they’ve been coming here forever. It doesn’t matter if you have a Sport Bike, ATV or Dirt Bike. They are here to help and help you get what you need. You very rarely get that at the big box stores.

The showroom is small but the walls are jam packed and full of riding gear, helmets, oils, lubricants, and accessories such as sticker kits, flags (for those desert trips to Glamis) bike ramps and tons of other street bike lighting, turn signals and replacement LED brake lamps. But Johnny has put his experience and business sense to good use. At any given time, you can find a number of street bikes lined up on the floor, For Sale at a reasonable price that the Team at Cycle Parts LA has either repaired, painted, tuned or all of the above. These bikes are clean and ready to ride. On this day, he had a few R1’s, R6’s; GSXR’s and a ZX-10. And let me tell you, I was getting itchy to try one out.

As I toured the rest of the shop, the three service bays in the back were busy with a suspension upgrade, a Tune-Up and a Pipe and Headers install. With another part of the business being Insurance repairs, there is another area in the back of the shop that is lined up with bikes as well. So many customers bikes are here that on any given day, bikes have to be taken out into the alley to make room to work. I then turn my focus to a bike on the DYNO. All the final touches are being put on a 2013 GSXR 1000 that tunes out at just over 200hp with a few simple upgrades and a sense of tuning. The owner of the bike sits patiently in the waiting room, watching motorcycle racing. So I come over to introduce myself and ask him, if by any chance he’s an Astronaut..? No he says, why..? Because your ROCKET is almost ready…!

With a “hands on” approach ownership, Cycle Parts LA is a full service shop, with a good amount of ready to be installed inventory for street and dirt bikes. If they don’t have what you need, they’ll get it. If your ever looking for honest, good work and people that care about your ride call Johnny or Wayne and they’ll be happy to help.