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Pull on Superman’s cape? Go ahead.
Spit into the wind? Fire away.
Bad-mouth Victory Motorcycles in front of Bondo?
Whoa! You’re on your own now, pal.
It’s hard to imagine a more loyal Victory Rider than Bondo, whose real name is Roland Parrish. He lives just outside Pensacola, Florida, and currently owns his third Victory. He is a regular fixture at Stokes Victory Polaris in Pensacola, where owners Gail and Keith Stokes and their staff consider Bondo part of the dealership family.
Bondo was featured in a recent issue of Victory Rider magazine, but there was a lot more about him that wouldn’t fit in the magazine. We present some of that additional information here in this Victory Rider EXTRA.
“I got the nickname ‘Bondo’ years ago. In my spare time I used to customize motorcycle gas tanks and frames. I would do all the grinding, putty work and prep it for someone else to paint. I used to do that in my kitchen on my kitchen table. That may be why I’m single.”
He was a Vietnam-era veteran, serving 12 years in the U.S. Navy, spending 10 years overseas in the Far East. He was an aviation power support systems technician. Following his Navy hitch, he worked for 10 years in federal civil service, and he retired in 1994 as a journeyman aircraft technician.
“I knew aircraft from head to tail. I used to completely rework the Air Force specialty helicopters from head to tail.”
He has been riding motorcycles for about 40 years – “I was 14 years old when I started, even back before Woodstock” – and he has owned three Victorys.
Making the Switch
“I’ve ridden Harleys most of my life, and most of them were not new. I tell people I built ‘em, broke ‘em, rode ‘em and wrecked ‘em, But that’s me – I gotta have my hands in my toys.
“I had just gotten fed up with the Harley market, the cost of everything. I heard there was another new American motorcycle and I wanted to check it out. So I got on the website and found the dealer nearest to me at that time.”
He purchased his 2003 Classic Cruiser Deluxe from Distinctive Cycles in Freeport, Florida.
“I rode out there and the first one I saw was an ‘03 Classic Cruiser Deluxe, Sonic Blue and Silver. I’ll never forget it, with the leather studded bags and all that. That was my first Victory. I’ve not had a problem with any of the Victorys I’ve owned.
“One day I headed out to Freeport to get some preventive maintenance done on the bike, to see what new things I could add, and when I got there, there was a 2004 Victory Vegas. It was the Thunder Purple with silver tribal flames. I saw that and I went ‘Whoa, wait a minute, Jerry. Is there any way I can take that one home and leave my Classic Cruiser here?’ So I did, I bought it on the spot.
“Once again I couldn’t help myself, I had to start changing things. I lowered it, changed the factory mirrors to something more custom, I put Accutronic tribal forward controls on it. I put on a K&N cold air induction intake. I put a Morton performance exhaust on it, then a Power Commander. I took it to the dyno and I got 92 hp and 93 ft.-lb. of torque.
“It was a monster. I won a lot of trophies with that one while I had it.”
New Shop Opens
Soon thereafter, in 2005, he found a new Victory dealership closer to home.
“I heard that a new dealer was coming to Pensacola. I rode down there and at the time, it was not open, they were in the middle of getting everything done. I met Keith and Gail [Stokes] and then it was almost like you couldn’t get rid of me. I was down there every day. They were such great people you couldn’t get rid of me.
“At first I was ‘that crazy tattooed long-haired old biker,’ but I feel really like family to them now.”
He is now like an unpaid sales rep for the dealership, and a roving ambassador for the Victory brand.
“If I’m in the dealership and someone is interested in a Victory, I’ll talk to them about the bikes. Of course, after I visit with them, they began to notice how you don’t want to ask me anything about a Victory because you’re going to get anywhere from a 30-minute to an hour presentation out of me.
“I’m just the word of mouth. I spew about these things all the time. In my opinion, they’re such better motorcycles than the Harleys ever were or ever will be. I’ll always love Harleys, and I have a Harley tattoo across my heart, but I now have a Victory tattoo down the back of my forearm.”
Great Pride in His Rides
His bikes have always been stunning in their custom touches and the way he presents them at shows and rallies.
“On the show circuit, I’m one of the bigger winners, either best in class and/or best in show. I’ve got so many trophies, I’ve got no place in my little house, so they’ve got a ‘shrine’ in the dealership.”
His bikes become more than mere machines.
“I name all my bikes: The Classic was a winner, and that was when people were saying ‘where in Japan are these made?’ That bike was ‘Heartbreaker,’ named after my daughter, who I raised by myself when I was in the service. The Vegas was ‘Purple Haze,’ from my Jimi Hendrix days – most of that decade I don’t remember. My Jackpot is ‘Sweet Dream.’”
While he still owned the Vegas, he got an urgent call from the dealership.
“Keith called one day and said ‘Don’t come to my shop.’ I said ‘What do you mean?’ ‘No, I’m just telling you, don’t come down here because you ain’t gonna like what I just pulled out of the crate.’ Well, I don’t even think I said good-bye. I got there just as they were rolling an ‘06 Cory Ness Signature Series model onto the showroom floor.
“The Vegas was in demand, so I immediately put the word out and within 10 days, it was gone.”
He couldn’t keep his hands off that bike either, as the customizing list at the bottom of this article will attest.
No Trailer Queens
Bondo lives outside Pensacola in Milton, Florida, about 20 minutes from the Stokes’ dealership. He rides a lot, including trips to several distant destinations up and down the East Coast and all over Florida.
“My bikes are not trailer queens. I ride them and at times ride them pretty hard. But I also get a kick out of profiling by people and store windows and – damn it, I LOOK GOOD on her! One can ride almost 365 days out of the year [in Florida] with two exceptions. One, I wouldn't try riding during one of our famous hurricanes and the other is those couple of weeks – usually around the end of December and early January – where the temps drop to, and below freezing. I'm getting too old for that much fun.”
Bondo is a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, a life member of DAV, an American Legion member and a life member of ABATE of Florida.
And, it’s probably safe to say, he’s also a Victory Rider for life.
Ness Goes Custom
Most people find the Ness Signature Series models to be highly customized. But Bondo regards every bike as a starting point, and he customized his Cory Ness model extensively, as he tells us in this listing:
• The factory signal lights front and rear were replaced with Ness Tech chrome eagle eye marker lights
• It has a Pure Victory Gear shorty windshield
• It has a Pure Victory Gear blacked-out digital speedo/tach
• The throttle cable is braided, and the black clips that hold the cables together have been replaced by chrome wire ties
• The original teardrop mirrors have been replaced by Ness Tech Rad 2 teardrops that are smaller and come to more of a point
• On the left side, I added chrome spark plug boot covers
• There’s a chrome blade shifter from Santa Rosa Vee Twin
• The front pegs are from Kuryakin
• It has an EZ Clutch for my arthritic hands
• It has a Ness Tech oil pressure gauge
• The rear footpegs are chrome flamed pegs that match the handgrips
• The airbox is gone and it has a K&N cold air induction system
• There’s an oil temp dip stick
• It has a chrome vented belt guard
• It has an Evil 7 rear pulley to match the wheels
• The swing arm is chrome
• The exhaust is a Black Aces exhaust from Santa Rose Vee Twin. I sent them off so they were blasted and ceramic-coated and painted semi-gloss black. I had way too much chrome on one side and not enough on the other and you couldn’t add enough on the left to match the right, so I went with black pipes. After getting them back from Jet Hot Coatings in Pascagoula, Mississippi, the rear mounting for the pipes is a long hollow tube that goes down over the swing arm bolt. It leaves a hollow tube that collects water and rusts, and one night it came to me: It’s the perfect-size hole for a silver dollar, a JFK dollar faced inward so it shows the eagle. I JB Welded it into the hole, and now there’s no water, no rust.
• Inside the inside right side cover is a Big Shot electronic fuel management system. It works beautifully; plug and play, no need to dyno it.
• The license plate holder, I left it on the rear but took off the reflectors. This makes the fender look like it’s longer and lower.
Whew! That seems like plenty of customizing, right?
“I’m not done yet. I’m never done,” Bondo laughed. “Oh, and I also have the luggage rack for longer trips.”
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