Sugar Bear and Friends

   Sugar Bear

Past and Present

Sugar Bear's Shop opened its doors as a commercial business in Los Angeles in 1971.  The intent at that time, as now, was to produce street rideable choppers and products, not show creations.  The belief that all bikes were meant to have scrapes, chips, burnt pipes, dents, style, and smiles-per-miles has always been the shop's aim.  In 1972, it was apparent that a quality springer was needed to reflect our customers' desires for the long look, and it would need to be strong and stylish.  At a time when most springers were tubing, the Sugar Bear Springer was constructed out of solid steel, the triple trees were offset for greater turning radius, and both sets of legs (front and back) were to be made from round material only, resulting in a clean and simple design.  Our first springers were made in lengths up to 18 inches over stock (mild by today's standards).  As the demand for longer springers grew, Sugar Bear knew he had to figure out a way to make the forks manageable and easy to ride.  Heavy flop, lack of front suspension, or excessive pogo were unacceptable and take all enjoyment out of riding a long fork.  The cure was different rockers for different lengths of forks to adjust for the rake and trail needed for long springers and by 1974, Sugar Bear Springers were available in lengths up to 40 inches over stock.  As a result, Sugar Bear has been able to set up bikes with long forks with zero flop, smooth ride (no pogo), and handling thought only to be available for much shorter forks (ask the rider who has one).  Also, at this time, Sugar Bear designed bearing cups for iron head Sportsters so the same forks for big twins could be bolted directly onto the Sportsters' smaller frame neck without any alterations to the forks or the neck.  The same cups are still in production today, allowing riders of the older models to take advantage of current forks and braking systems for their front suspensions.  Read More



History of the Chopper - Sugarbear Segment

Signature Front End Rocker

Orange Mike, 30 Over, SoCal

Pyro Jeff - Las Vegas, NV

Motley Crue with Count's Krew, Las Vegas, NV

Ozzy Osbourne Count's Kustoms, Las Vegas

Mike B -SoCal

Sugar Bear & The Count

Ron's Red Bike - SoCal

2009 Sturgis - Michael Lichter and Sugar Bear Ride

Sugar Bear and Michael Lichter

Join Sugar Bear and Michael Lichter at the Broken Spoke Campground Sturgis 2011 for a fantastic day of activities to celebrate the motorcycle and two innovators who have made such an impact on our passion.

Date: Sunday August 7th, 2011
Time: 11am

We'll hang out at the Spoke for some great pre-ride entertainment, then head out on the 25-mile ride (traveling away from the hustle of Sturgis) to a real working ranch. Once there, the ranch owners will treat us to a grilled-up lunch and ice cold beverages. You'll love this ranch - it's the real deal. We'll race bikes and horses around barrels and tons more. You never know - maybe you'll Sugar Bear lasso a cow!

Visit the official websites of  Michael Lichter and Sugar Bear

Visit the blog post by June Softly ~ Michael Lichter

Want more info on Sturgis Rally Events?

Sugar Bear on his personal ride