I defy any motorcycling fan – active rider or not – to flick through Roland Sands’ website and not find something that makes the finger hover. Of all the custom bike builders that pervade the wide Californian scene (and we visited a few) there isn’t anyone who mixes the genres quite like RSD. The company also compliments their bike work with a wide and desirable line of apparel and memorabilia.

The 41 year old sits at the busy helm of RSD and from roots in the build business thanks to his father and a deep fascination with racing, initially on road racing asphalt (he was 250cc National champion) and up to the present day with flat track. We swiftly meet Roland after entering the door of a pristine shop, seemingly overstocked with parts, gear, photos, artwork and posters. It is a suitable immersion into the Sands experience and we are led past lined-up bikes of varying tyres and eras (cruisers to flat-trackers), through a pristine workspace and up to Roland’s office where DJ decks sit next to trophy, sketches, custom furniture, old lids and much more. It feels as much ‘man cave’ as hub of creativity and organisation.

It is not the biggest facility and curiosity is heightened over how RSD has made such an international impact from such modest roots. Through the glass walls of the office we see his former race bikes carrying a number 10 and it seems like a decent place to start, certainly an easy subject for breaking the ice. “Racing takes a certain type of focus but when I was racing I was also running the team and did a lot of the logistical stuff that was involved,” he explains. “I got used to working hard and working whatever hours it took to get things done. It was a mentality I brought into my business; I want to win, I want to do a good job, failing is not really an option – just keep working and if something doesn’t work-out then keep going until it does! Or move onto something better.”

“Being a racer you have that ‘never-say-die’ attitude and just keep charging,” the Californian from just down the road in Long Beach says. “If you crash you get back up and rebuild and go out again.”

Sands was quick on the track – and still earns merit on an oval – but has been more prolific when it comes to his slant on motorcycles. The recent work with a Ducati Panigale has not reinvented the Italian masterpiece but turned a tasty piece of engineering into something utterly mouth-watering. Almost too nice to ride.

From winning races to building a successful design business: it is unusual for someone to be good at more than one thing…

It has been cool that way and I have been blessed with the opportunity to do the things that I do. And I took the opportunity you know? It didn’t just appear. My Dad was a big mentor for me and showed what was possible with fabricating, manufacturing and design. I was designing so I could go racing back then, so design has always been there. When I quit racing I was able to focus on something different that I loved. Fortunately I can ride a motorcycle and in this industry respect is something hard earned. There is no quicker way to gain respect than through racing…unless you’re a MotoGP racer where half the people love you and half hate you! I’ve been fortunate man…but we don’t sit around and congratulate ourselves too much. Sometimes we’ll look around at the end of the year and look around at what we’ve done and say ‘good job’ but then it’s onto the next thing.

Back in ’98 when you won that 250 title could you have envisaged having your own clothing line?

Not to the level we’re doing! I’ll probably look back in five years and think ‘wow, it is crazy how it all happened’ but to me it is still an ongoing project. I cannot sit there and think ‘we’re successful’ if I did that then I’d end up going on vacation for a long time.

Has the whole operation turned into a monster?

Oh, for sure. We don’t have a huge team here and we don’t produce anything except custom bikes in this facility for consumers. We work with outside suppliers and manufacturers and our job is to make sure it is designed well and marketed well and maintains the brand.

Was there a bike that kicked everything off?

There have been different times where that has happened in my life. I kinda look back and think ‘have we reached the pinnacle of what we do?’ but we seem to make new moves and new partners every year. Last year was crazy because we built custom bikes with four-five OEMs. They were all big projects and all side-by-side. Nobody bitched or was angry about it, they all just wanted to be part of what we were creating. 2015 was a pinnacle moment [for the company] because we surpassed that need for an OEM to have creative limits and dictate what we do. When our brand is tied to a machine then it means something to people and something to the manufacturers. It means customisation and our stamp of approval on the machine, our flavour and our style and people seem to like it.

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