If you’ve been following anything performance related in the custom Harley scene for the past decade or so, then you’ve definitely heard of San Diego Customs. In fact, they’re kind of responsible for the overall FXR and Dyna craze that took the world by storm. Buying up old FXRs and turning them into street-eating rippers with fuel-injected Twin Cams, and all the top-shelf suspension and braking components was definitely not a thing that was happening around. But it definitely was a thing happening at San Diego Customs pre-FXR craze.

We’ve had a long relationship with the crew at San Diego Customs and wanted to stop by to catch up with co-owners, Chip Kastelnik and Mikey Van, since it had been quite a few years since we’d seen what they’ve been up to. As it turns out, quite a lot has changed while quite a bit remains the same. Enjoy.

Hot Bike Magazine: Heya Chip, it’s been a while…what you been up to, old pal?

Chip Kastelnik, San Diego Customs: Hey guys! Long time for sure. I’ve just been doing the same shit I do everyday. Fighting the powers that be, trying to maintain the goal of getting into the future.

HB: Are you excited that Hot Bike is back? Why?

CK: Super stoked, glad to be a part of the new team. It’s refreshing to see the resurgence of print. It’s always nice to look at something other than a phone. Hot Bike has been a staple of the motorcycle industry for over 50 years, and its history holds the truths as to how the industry got to where it is today, and who got us all here.

HB: In the past four years since we last featured one of your bikes, what’s changed in the industry since then?

CK: It seems the industry has taken on a new identity. In this era of inclusion and wokeness, in which the idea of actually doing your own thing and being original has been replaced with doing near nothing, making nothing, and having no originality. Coupled by the acceptance of stealing other people’s ideas and intellectual property for monetary gain, it really puts a new light on the V-twin side of the motorcycle industry. New companies that are made up of people who see this industry as a quick way to get cash and an identity through social media while offering half-ass, copied parts that are made in China, or sourced thru Alibaba. It’s really bizarre to watch and moderately funny at times but overall very annoying. I mean c’mon…axle caps and captive washers are now a required performance component? Next it will be bedazzled leather vests and Oakley blades required for all racers and wheelie bros. What happened to less is always more? Most of these new companies don’t even understand the back end of how to do actual business or this industry, let alone have product liability insurance or any sort of business model other than how they can get a part on an influencer’s bike for a pic of a wheelie for social media. They all seem like goofballs that won’t last when the trends change.

HB: What is SDC focusing on at the moment? Parts? Bikes? Parts and bikes? All of the above and then some?

CK: We have been busy since our last interaction, knocking out high output bikes, developing and releasing new parts and accessories, hooked up with Saddlemen and did a seat collaboration that far exceeded our projections and took on a life of its own. We look forward to our next release with them. We still are a part of the Born-Free Show which is going great and is now in its 14th year. Each year it grows and our performance area gets larger, and is filled with some of the best bikes on earth. We have been working with Harley-Davidson for the past few years doing custom bikes for the show and for their anniversary activations. That has been a wild ride as we all know how we love to deal with corporate bullshit. In 2023, we will be launching a new collaboration with Kraus Moto. We have a great product line set up and are really looking forward to the launch. We got arrested during the pandemic due to the shitty neighborhood we work in and the antics that occur in it. That was a fun day. I’m not sure if you ever had to deal with a SWAT team raid but it’s not like TV. Shit gets out of control quickly. We got flooded recently, yet somehow we manage to keep on keeping on, doing what we do. We moved into the CNC world as part of our plan to become a vertically integrated company. Having the ability to take an idea and turn it into a concept, then a prototype, and finally a finished part, all in-house, is a huge step for us as it’s really hard being a smaller company and relying on other people to get things done. If you want it done right, do it yourself.

HB: The bikes in these pages are all rad representations of what you guys have done since we went away. What are you guys cooking up in the future? Similar styling? Anything totally different than what we might expect from SDC?

CK: We are consistently trying to step up everything we do to push the limits and advance into the future. Our customers really know what they think they want until we get going and come up with new ideas that have yet to be copied by others. Being original is original .

HB: You and Mikey have always had a really cool relationship with your audience. How do you keep guys stoked on what you’re doing?

CK: Dogs. We love our dogs. Everywhere we go, we like to hang out with dogs. Mike and I have very similar outlooks on a lot of things which makes our friendship and work relationship pretty fucking solid. We both enjoy motorcycles, we both can’t stand what the world is becoming, we both love the manufacturing process and nuances surrounding it. Most of the time we aren’t stoked on this industry as it’s sometimes, fake as fuck. It’s the times when we get stuff accomplished that hasn’t been done yet that revitalizes the desire to continue doing what we do. We are super grateful for all the support we get from people who like what we do, run our parts or just enjoy our day-to-day antics. Not many motorcycle shops have to deal with what we do on the daily, so each day is a new beginning or a possible end, and we appreciate all the support.

HB: Chip, one of the things we love most about you is your brutal honesty. What are your thoughts on how the industry has changed from where it was to where it is now?

CK: The motorcycle industry was, is, and always will be going through different phases and trends and changes like the seasons. What is cool and required today to be up to whatever standard has been imaginarily set, may not be so cool in a day, week, or year by the current standard at that time. At the present point of the V-twin motorcycle matrix, we are in a weird wormhole of those who do and those who do not. There are a lot of fakes and culture vultures doing battle against a handful of original, trustworthy companies who helped shape the current state of the motorcycle industry. It will be interesting to see what the future holds on the battlefield of bike life.

HB: What’s your take on social media “influencers”?

CK: Well, they are stupid. Ego driven, want to be internet celebrities that can’t seem to grasp that in our world, there is a huge difference between being influential and being an influencer. Unfortunately, this is a glitch in the matrix that came into being with the super lazy Gen Z and their Millennial counterpart crew, with their horrible work ethics, silly pronouns, woke ways, vocoded mumble rap music, goofy political views, and ludicrous social ideologies. These people will be the reason gas powered things go away and the dumbing down of society is being accepted.

HB: You’re seeing more and more options out there with events and now magazines that are starting to come back. Are you excited to see things shift away from just social media?

CK: I think the power of social media has yet to be defined. It’s still in its formative years and look how it’s going. It’s already part of politics and there are rules in place to make sure your content is what they want you to see. Having a print resource is a great option due to the fact that outside forces can’t influence what gets printed as they can with social media platforms. They are all full of shit and have a plan. That plan is not our plan. Social media is a great tool if used properly, but as we all know it is being abused and contorted to fit the new world agenda. Go woke, go broke, that seems to be the newly accepted business model these days.

HB: Got anything else you’d like to add?

CK: Thanks for allowing us to be a part of the new Hot Bike era, we are super stoked! Buy American. Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see. Live fast, die last. Stay armed. Be happy. Nothing really matters in the end. Check out www.sandiegocustoms.com for all your custom parts needs. And FTW.

Photos: Mikey Van, Alex Chapman and Jordan Mastagni