Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. 30 YEARS OF J&P CYCLES® John Parham was bitten by the motorcycle bug very early in his life. At the age of 16 he ran away from home for 2 days to get his parents to let him buy a 650 BSA. After buying the BSA he quickly turned it into a chopper. He fell in love with motorcycles of all kinds at an early age but he soon developed a passion especially for Harleys®. For several years he dreamed of owning his own motorcycle shop. This dream continued after John graduated from high school in 1973. John also found a lifelong partner in Jill at a very early age. Jill grew up just a few miles away from John and from the moment they met, in January 1971, they were rarely apart. They married in September of 1973 and literally started with nothing. They lived in a small apartment and for their honeymoon borrowed J o h n ’ s parents car to go to St. Louis for a couple days. But the P a r h a m ’ s John “in the beginning” selling out of his van at the Anamosa, IA Hillclimb 1976 didn’t mind. Jill loved motorcycles as well and wanted to see John follow his dream. Two years later the dream became a reality when John opened his first shop with his high school science teacher. They pooled their meager resources and started D&J Cycles in Anamosa, IA. As a shop stocking motorcycle parts for Harleys® and Japanese bikes they concentrated strictly on service and repair for local customers. John and his mechanic would work at the shop during the day and his partner Don would come in late afternoon so John could head off to his full-time job at the local factory. During this time John went to Des Moines, IA to his first swap meet. He made $300.00 for the day selling parts and thought that was fabulous! After four years in business John and his partner decided to pursue different markets. So in 1979 John created J&P Cycles® to focus on Harley-Davidson® parts and his partner moved on to specialize in parts for Japanese dirt bikes. After a year of operating out of a g a r a g e close to their home, John moved J&P® to a location outside of ® The very first home of J&P Cycles in 1979 town. The shop had no running water and was heated by a wood stove, but it was worth it! It was all his! Here he and his mechanic Ron Payne began to service bikes and John started attending weekend swap meets and buying and selling new and used parts. John stored them at the ® shop and spent each week J&P Cycles 1987 inventorying what they had, what Catalog 24 pages they needed for service projects and what they wanted to sell. John continued working full-time at the factory until 1982 when he was laid off for economic reasons. Jill knew that John could make J&P® grow if he could work at it full time. So in full support of his dream, she took on the burden of being their sole source of steady income, working full-time Monday - Friday to bring in the money to support them and traveling with John to events every weekend to help with the parts business. Things were going well until May of 1984. An electrical fire broke out in the shop and the John Jill and Zach with John’s first business and antique motorcycle - a 1955 building were a Harley-Davidson® Panhead - 1990 total loss. John did not have near enough insurance and ended up losing over $30,000 of parts that weren’t covered as well as another $25,000 on the building. But John and Jill would not give up. John rented a building temporarily in downtown Anamosa and with the little insurance money he had, and lots of help from friends and family, they started to rebuild. In July of 1984 J&P Cycles® found its permanent location when John purchased a warehouse right outside Anamosa on Highway 151. With the new location they had more room to store parts. Service and repair was hitting a low period so John decided to try passing out flyers at swap meets with various parts he had for sale. The flyers worked great and the An overhead view of J&P Cycles® current location in 1992 business really started to grow. In 1987 John published the first J&P Cycles® “Catalog”. it was 24 pages. During this time John continued promoting more motorcycle shows and swap meets. It worked pretty well, and was great for getting the word out to bikers about J&P Cycles®, so he soon expanded his event promotions to many cities across the country. In 1989 John officially started J&P® Promotions. In just a few years J&P® Promotions grew into a nationwide promoter with over 50 events a year from California to New Sturgis 1992 - J&P ® Promotions helped promote and run the AHDRA Races Jersey. J&P® Promotions promoted motorcycle swap meets, bike shows, hill climbs, motorcycle rodeos, dirt track races and the All Harley® Drag Races. John promoted the AHDRA Western Drag Race division to bring All Harley® Drag Racing back to the west coast with a western championship for the AHDRA. John also created the J&P® Promotions “Bike Show Super Series” which included bike shows across the country for all makes and models of motorcycles. Finally, John was instrumental in starting and promoting the annual Davenport Antique 1/2 Flat Track® race that still takes place each year during the Blackhawk Chapter Annual meet in Davenport, IA. Riders still come from around the nation to join in this one-of-a-kind race that is now under direction of a different promoter. John’s largest decision in the Promotions business was to rent McCormick Place in Chicago, IL and build up the largest Indoor Motorcycle Show and Swap meet J&P® Promotions Super Series Bike Show & Swap meets took place across the county. The largest one of all took place at McCormick Place in Chicago. (1995) 48 J&P Cycles♣ GIFT Express 2008 ★ Order Toll-Free 24-7 ★ 1-800-397-4844 PRICES & MISPRINTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE