Jeff Spears opened Mustang Baggers motorcycle shop in June, and he said he's already six months ahead of his expectations in sales.
“It has done well,” he said.
Mustang Baggers carries a wide selection of custom parts and accessories, and Spears performs tune-up services and repairs to keep motorcycles of all kinds on the road.
Spears chose Mustang for his shop because state Highway 152 is becoming a major thoroughfare for motorcyclists. He said on any normal weekend he can count as many as 200 motorcycles cruising through town. Whether motorcyclists are heading out for poker runs or scenic drives to Mount Scott or the Saddlebacks, he said many of them pass through Mustang.
“This, for years, has been a hot-traveled route by motorcycle enthusiasts,” he said.
Lifelong love
Motorcycles have been a part of Spears' life for almost as long as he can remember. As a teen, he raced motorcycles, and as soon as he turned 16 years old he bought a Harley Davidson.
“I've had bikers in and around my family my whole life,” he said. “While you do have some bad apples out there, most of us are pretty good people.”
After Spears left the Army, he went back home to California and landed a job working security for several stars. His longest stint of 2 1/2 years was spent guarding Michael Jackson and the family home in Encino, but he also worked for silver screen icon Bette Davis, Redd Foxx, who starred in “Sanford and Son,” Willie Nelson and Valentino Liberace.
In 1981, Spears took time off to help his parents move to Oklahoma to retire, and he fell in love with the area. He moved to Oklahoma and started a law enforcement career. He worked in law enforcement for 20 years with stints at the Las Vegas, Nev., Luther and Tecumseh police departments. He worked as part of the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Task Force, with a security task force at Tinker Air Force Base and as a Blanchard detective, retiring in 2006.
He and his wife Donna raised seven children on rodeoing, ranch riding and working search and rescue.
Spears founded ESAR Search and Rescue Team, and volunteers received training in using search dogs, diving and medical response. The team disbanded in 2000.
His career and emergency work put Spears in stressful situations, and he said he found a peace working on motorcycles. He started a repair service and worked in his home garage for years.
“I was riding motorcycles back in my law enforcement days, when it wasn't cool to ride Harleys,” he said. “You didn't go back and tell your police chief or your fellow officers that you hung around with bikers, because bikers weren't very well thought of back then.”
'Motorized cowboy'
That stigma about motorcycle enthusiasts has lifted, Spears said, and riding is popular.
“It's not uncommon to go out and see doctors, lawyers, politicians, law enforcement on motorcycles at the motorcycle rallies and all of the motorcycle events,” he said. “Now it is the cool thing to do.”
Spears said he believes the rough economy has gone a long way to improving the motorcycle's image. When fuel prices skyrocketed, many people tried riding motorcycles as a way to curb fuel costs.
“Once they get on a motorcycle and get out there, they realize the passion for it,” he said. “It's a major source of stress relief, the free feeling it gives when you are traveling on a bike. It kind of reminds you of being a motorized cowboy in the 1800s, traveling the country on your motorcycle, just you and your motorcycle.”
Spears said the feeling of riding a Harley is indescribable.
“Harley Davidson, if I have to explain it you wouldn't understand,” he said. “That's true. Trying to explain to somebody the mystique behind owning a Harley Davidson and riding a Harley Davidson, if they have never ridden one they won't understand. But once they get on one, they are part of the family.
“Owning a Harley Davidson is not just owning a motorcycle to me,” Spears said. “A Harley has always been a very important part of my life. I look at it as a member of the family. That's the way most Harley Davidson owners are. It's not just a motorcycle — it's a way of life; it's a feeling. It's the people — it's not just about owning a motorcycle. That's what separates bikers from just the guy who owns a motorcycle.”
Spears said he is seeing more women who are driving motorcycles, not just riding as passengers. His wife Donna has recently taken hold of the handle bars, he said.
“I've noticed a major confidence level in my wife,” he said. “She enjoys riding. She is my built-in riding buddy; she's my best friend.”
Together, they ride thousands of miles across the country, traveling from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Rio Grande River and the Grand Canyon. Even if they are just riding through Union City, Spears said traveling on a motorcycle is different than being in a car.
“Simply driving a route you drive every single day, on a motorcycle it's a different experience every time,” he said. “You feel like you are part of the environment when you are riding.”