Flanders
Company is a full service wholesale
distributor and manufacturer of motorcycle
parts and accessories.
Our quality, hand crafted handlebars
are the best in the industry, and we carry
a full line of parts and accessories
including:
In
August of 1945 Lucile and Earl
Flanders decided to turn their
cherished hobby of motorcycling
into a full time career. Earl had
been an avid rider in California
desert events and felt the key to
his success was his custom made
handlebars. He began by
meticulously hand fabricating
each handlebar, designing them
for and naming them after racing
greats, such as Ed Kretz, Skip
Fordyce, Earl Farrand and Jack
Milne. The list became so great
that numbers needed to be
assigned to the handlebars, thus
becoming the Flanders Classic
handlebar line. The legacy of
quality construction and superior
service has since been carried on
by Earl's sons and
grandchildren.
Lucile
and Earl Flanders on their 1938
Indian Scout. Before they even
started their business, Earl had
developed a good reputation for
his skill in repairing and
improving the performance of
racing motorcycles. Throughout
the war years, Earl had made a
little extra income for his
growing family by moonlighting:
the family's garage was his shop,
and he could get away with
manufacturing motorcycle parts in
a residential area because he
could claim it to "be helping the
war effort." The decision was
then made to expand on what he
knew and liked, and Flanders
Manufacturing Company was
founded.
To
break the 200 m.p.h. barrier was
the desired, but seemingly
untouchable goal of many
Bonneville motorcycle riders in
the early 1950's. The barrier was
finally broken by Wihelm Herz on
a 500cc supercharged, double
overhead cam, V Twin cylinder NSU
streamliner on August 4, 1956,
with a top speed of 211m.p.h..
Left to right: NSU Chairman Dr.
G.S. von Heydekamph, Herman
Riedel (Field Representative with
Flanders Co. for over 17 years),
NSU record holder Wihelm Herz,
Earl Flanders (the Chief Referee
at Bonneville Speed Week for
nearly 20 years), Freddy Ludlow
(another Flanders Co. Field
Representative), 15 year old John
Flanders, and an un-named person.
Freddy Ludlow was no stranger to
speed records. In 1920 Freddy
helped set a motorcycle sidecar
speed record at Daytona and in
1938 he set a pair of speed
records on a pair of Hap Alzina's
Indians. Photo by Bill Bagnall,
from the October 1956 issue of
Motorcyclist magazine.
Bruce
was the first of Earl's sons to
follow in his footsteps and race
Speedway. Bruce was riding his
homebuilt bike (Velocette engine
in a Flanders employee, George
Williams, created frame) when the
chain wrapped itself around the
sprocket. Luckily for him, his
brother Paul did not mind giving
him a lift back to the Pits on
that 1970's Costa Mesa, CA night.
Bruce never lost his love for
racing and you can still hear him
as an track-side announcer at
race tracks all over the country,
you may even catch him on ESPN or
Prime Sports. Photo by Dennis
Greene.
Earl's
eldest son, John Flanders, was an
avid motorcyclist even before he
reached his teens. Currently John
races almost every weekend when
he is not busy with his duties at
Flanders Company. The Kevin Heath
photo of John is from the 1993
Over The Hill Gang Nationals in
Perris, California.
Paul
Flanders has riden in and helped
organize many various Dual Sport
rides. This Dave Tonkiss photo of
Paul was taken during a dual
sport Death Valley 400 ride. Paul
did not just limit himself to
just motorcycles over the years.
From 1968 to 1970, Paul held an
NHRA Drag racing record in the
D/Stock class, with a 1966
Chevrolet.
