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John Parham has been a motorcycle enthusiast for most of his life. He partnered with a friend in a parts and repair shop in the mid 70’s. J&P Cycles® history begins with John, together with his wife Jill, establishing the business in 1979.
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Working together with a mechanic in a rented garage on the outskirts of Anamosa, they serviced and repaired bikes as well as selling parts. John & Jill spent their weekends attending swap meets, making purchases of the parts needed for the shop, then selling the parts they didn’t. With both still employed at full time jobs, life was a little hectic, but their efforts paid off as the business began to grow.
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In 1982, they moved J&P Cycles® near downtown Anamosa. Soon after the move, John was laid off from his factory job and decided to put all of his energy into the motorcycle business. They were off to a good start until May of 1984, when the garage caught on fire. After nearly losing everything an underinsured, John & Jill persevered, renting another building, salvaging what they could and starting again.
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Finally, in July of 1984, a permanent location was found. J&P Cycles® relocated to the front half of a warehouse North of Anamosa just off Highway 151. The service and repair business was slowing, so John & Jill started passing out flyers at swap meets to sell more parts. The parts business was growing, and in 1987, they published the first J&P® Catalog – 24 pages!
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By 1990, J&P® continued to grow, taking over the entire building, with over 30 employees and a catalog of almost 100 pages! This was an explosive growth period for us. J&P Cycles became part of J. Parham Enterprises, which also included J&P Promotions, Zacharia Advertising, and Nostalgic Toy Creations.
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In the late 90’s with over 70 employees and steady growth, John and Jill began to sell the promotions events, retreating from the toy business and publishing fewer publications through Zacharia. The catalog and retail parts business took center stage. In 1998, we built a permanent store in Sturgis, SD for the Rally and Races. By the end of the 1990’s, with focus of the business narrowed to the parts and accessories, the building had doubled in size, the catalog was up to 692 pages and we now employed almost 100 people.
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Today our headquarters in Iowa spans over 150,000 sq. ft. We also have a permanent call center in Ormond Beach, FL and plans for a permanent, year-round Daytona Beach showroom. Our Sturgis store has expanded to include a separate Metric Showroom on the property. With over 290 employees, the 2006 J&P Cycles® Catalog is 1,192 pages, featuring over 30,000 parts and accessories. Our Metric Cruiser and Touring catalog has grown to 664 pages with over 15,000 parts and accessories.
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Over the years, and through all of the trials and tribulations, J&P Cycles® hasn’t lost sight of the original plan to offer quality parts and accessories to motorcyclists around the world, and provide the industry’s finest customer service.
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