You’re already reading this magazine so you know what’s coming. You know what being a Drag Specialties dealer can mean to both your business and to your customers. Having all those quality FatBook parts readily available, the kind of parts and accessories riders want, and knowing you can have all that delivered on time and in the quantities you need keeps a shop and a showroom singing. But you already know that. You’re a Drag Specialties dealer and you’re probably relying on the FatBook day-in and day-out. And you’re not alone. There are Drag Specialties dealers just like you coast-to-coast, and big shop or small, the story is always remarkably similar. Teaming up with Drag Specialties is smart business.
     Bill Rucker and Dave Davies are perfect examples of this. They’re Drag Specialties dealers and their stories are typical Drag Specialties success stories. Have a look.

Bill Rucker of Rucker Performance was one of the original founders of American Iron Horse, but decided to form his own company so he could focus his energy on building one-off creations instead of production bikes.

his is a name you’ve undoubtedly heard before. What you might not have heard is that Bill Rucker, one of the original founders of American Iron Horse, has been dealing with Drag Specialties since 1996 when he started AIH. “I’ve always been a good customer with Drag,” Bill says, and his old company, AIH, is still a Drag Specialties customer, a telling fact all by itself. Now with his newest company, Rucker Performance in Fort Worth, Texas, nothing’s changed. Bill Rucker is a Platinum Level Drag Specialties dealer, buying at least $10,000 worth of FatBook product a month. “And I get all sorts of stuff from Drag, too,” Bill says. “Just about everything I need.” Rucker Performance specializes in high-end customs, bikes starting at the $50,000 level, and the fact that Bill can find just about everything he needs for these masterpiece motorcycles right in the FatBook speaks volumes about the quality of hardware Bill is ordering.
     “I wanted to build one-off bikes,” Bill says, explaining his reasons for leaving AIH and starting Rucker Performance. “I wanted to build motorcycles I could put some real quality and imagination into, bikes that would challenge me and all the people with me. I wanted to build motorcycles that were out there on the edge.” Apparently, for Bill Rucker once a good-looking motorcycle design goes into mass production the fun part is over. He’s on to the next idea. “I like to leave the pack,” he says, “step out and take a little risk.”
     The least amount of risk, though, comes from his dealings with Drag Specialties. “I have absolutely no problem whatsoever finding the quality I need at Drag,” Bill says. “We buy our shock absorbers, we buy front end components, we buy brake components, we buy sheet metal, you name it. It’s probably easier,” he says, “to list what we don’t buy from Drag Specialties then trying to list what we do.” Bobby Pickard, Rucker’s Drag Specialties rep, keeps the new shop up-to-date and well stocked.
     And Bill Rucker is having a great time. “Once you’ve built up a successful company like American Iron Horse, a company with 400 employees,” he says, “you don’t have to do that for your ego anymore. Now I can do the kind of thing that pleases me. I’m the only person I’m trying to impress now. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone, except with my next bike.”

Rucker is proud to be able to create one-of-a-kind customs, like the Rucker Performance “Gauntlet” shown here.

The “Vandal” is another beautiful Rucker Performance creation.

Dave Davies of Dave Davies Custom Parts with his Drag Specialties rep, Warren Depace at the 2006 V-Twin Expo.

ave Davies Custom Parts, in Duanesburg, New York, certainly isn’t the size of AIH, or even the new Rucker Performance, but just like Bill Rucker, Dave is a Platinum dealer with Drag Specialties. “We’re growing by leaps and bounds,” he says. “Last year we built three custom motorcycles, this year we’ve already more than doubled that.” A fourth-generation custom painter, Dave picked up with motorcycles where his father left off with antique cars and street rods, and when Dave took over the painting business full-time in the 1980s he just moved everything laterally into the motorcycle field, just as the motorcycle field itself was really taking off. A specialized niche opened up when Dave began creating and custom painting bikes specifically for businesses and their promotional needs. Spectro Oils, Dunlop, Avon and Saddlemen are just some of the commissions Dave’s unique services have filled, and in the process that small family-run painting shop has evolved into a full-service motorcycle shop offering everything from the building of those full-custom motorcycles to a parts-and-service department with the added bonus of offering custom painting and pinstriping, to boot.
     Dave has been a Drag Specialties dealer for about a decade. “Other companies have come in looking for my business,” he says, “and I’ve tried dealing with a few of them. But I’ve basically eliminated everyone except for Drag Specialties. Unless it’s some specialty part I need, something that Drag might not handle, it’s just easier for me to go directly to the Drag Specialties catalog every time.”
Easier still because one of the big advantages Dave has is his location, just 15 miles away from one of the largest Drag Specialties warehouses. “I can get whatever I want almost immediately,” he says. Even so, Dave still keeps a good stock on hand. “All the stuff I know I’ll need day in and day out,” he says. Things like oils and filters, headlights, tires, spark plugs, fuel additives and a good selection of exhaust systems are always on the shelf. “And of course those Power Commanders,” Dave adds. “They’re a big seller for us, along with a K&N High Flow air filter. That combo, the pipes, Power Commander and K&N is easily installed and it sells fast.”
     Warren Depace is the Drag Specialties rep for this shop, and he keeps Dave updated on a regular basis as to what’s new, what’s right around the corner and what else might need to be on those shelves. “Warren always lets me know about any special dealer courses, too,” Dave says, “and he’ll clue me in on any new products he thinks I might have missed. I go to all the Drag Specialties new-product showcases I can, trying to keep as current as possible, but Warren’s a big help. Just like everyone I deal with at Drag Specialties.”