Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1542196
34 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Vintage Feature Vintage Feature Cooper /Ammex Cooper /Ammex By Ted Guthrie By Ted Guthrie Once upon a me, many years ago, the motorcy- cle industry was not completely overwhelmingly dominated by gigan c interna onal manufactur- ing corpora ons like it is today. Big companies were, of course, producing motorcycles for the global market way back when. However, there s ll existed opportuni es, gaps in the market, where a modestly-sized company might success- fully engineer and produce, market, and sell mo- torcycles on a small scale for specific segments of the industry. Take Hodaka, for example. Ever see pictures of their "manufacturing opera on" when they first started out? There's one showing about six guys standing outside a li le n building, in a dirt park- ing lot. Sure, Hodaka eventually got steamrolled by the big guns, but there were a number of great years for the li le company, and these days the toaster tank bikes hold cult-like status. John Penton is another example. JP basically made KTM what it is today, star ng from a base of 10 motorcycles. Just ten! And from that modest beginning, who can argue that Penton Imports became a dynasty? Beyond these two examples were numerous other enterprising individuals and companies who, aware of the great boom in motorcycle sales that began in the 1960s, saw opportuni es to make their own mark on the industry and to generate poten ally serious cash in the bargain. Enter Frank Cooper, who was working hard out in Southern California post-WWII to promote mo- torcycling in just about every way possible. Frank promoted various well-known motorcycle races in California's burgeoning District 37 and, over me, handled the distribu on of mul ple motor- cycle brands – from AJS to Yamaha. Along comes the 1970's and the sport of Motocross is coming on strong. By this me, Frank was selling Maicos. However, as has been the case with many aggres- sive entrepreneurs, Cooper thought, 'Why buy bikes from manufacturers and sell them to dealers with only an 'x' amount of profit?' Why not instead manufacture a motorcycle of my own and thus increase profits exponen ally? Ah, but as with any good businessman, Frank knew that a successful plan needs to pursue one of those aforemen oned "gaps in the market".