Dan’s 18th Hour Build
As everyone knows, RidingFish and I spend a ton of time together. One late summer day, Fish comes over to the RydeCulture Compound like he normally does. He said Justin from Toce Performance gave him a call and Justin was trying to rally the troops to surprise Dan Toce for his birthday. The plan was to rebuild one of Dan’s bikes into an epic one of a kind machine built just for Dan. Both Fish and I thought this was a worthy cause and we needed to do whatever it took to make this happen and do our part for the build.
What goons are going to embark on this epic mission?! Per usual, it was usual suspects: TNA Customs, BC Customs, Lawless Garage, Davidson Audio, the folks at Toce, AFU, Sweeney Photography and parts from other culprits like Kraus Moto, Hart Luck, Dean Speed,and Cicada. Now knowing that all these awesome people are coming together for Dan, this was going to be an amazing experience and a chance to build something for a motorcycle legend.
Justin from Toce and Angelo from TNA quarterbacked most of the things so that all me and Fish had to do was show up and lend a helping hand and bring some lighting products. Everyone had their to do:
Justin (Toce) – Coordinate parts, provide adult beverages, and snacks
Joe (Toce) – Work magic on the CNC and get exhaust ready
Natalia (Mrs. Toce) – Keep Dan distracted and away from the shop. Bring him in when its time
Sweeney – professionally document the shenanigans
Angelo – Coordinate parts, late night pizza, and carbon fiber, and extra mechanical hands on the bike
AFU Team – Provide humor and extra mechanical hands on the bike
RidingFish – Do Fish things and create social media assets
Myke – Provide wiener jokes, install audio, electrical, and lighting
Manuel (Lawless Garage) – install Lawless parts, general mechanical work.
Day Zero, Fish and I flew in the day before completely undetected. We all congregated that evening to set up the bike, cameras, and build a general game plan. We then met early in the morning of Day 1 and there was a weirdly exciting energy in the air. We all know that something special was going to happen and it was going to be a long day of work.
I could pour into the work that was done, but you can catch that from Fish’s video on YouTube :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg7SjSrmH4w&t=1101s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeG73nms0VE
Here is what I learned about working on Dan’s bike.
The people that showed up to help with the build will forever be bonded and inspired by the dedication, skill, and selflessness that was poured over this bike to give back to special person.
Each person has unique gifts and skills that they were willing to give for a common goal.
There were no egos on this build, but there was admiration and respect for each person’s skills.
I thought this build was a gift to Dan, but it was actually a gift on its own. The action for giving to Dan gave me the gift of an experience to work with and be around these awesome professions working on their specific craft.
I’ll continue the rest of the story on the next blog post… The reveal of Dan’s Bike