Editor's Note: Although Tom Fugle isn't a household name regarding choppers, his bikes and general way of life have been continually mimicked for well over four decades. From his first builds in the early '60s it is evident he was one of the true pioneers of custom Harley motorcycles. Jeff Wright had a chance to sit down with Tom at his home in Iowa and ask him a few questions about his well-traveled life on two wheels as well as what makes him tick.
What got you into motorcycles?
When I was 14, I had a friend who lived next door. His dad had an old Army surplus Indian motorcycle with a driveshaft, for use in the desert. I was at his house, and his dad asked if I wanted to take it for a ride. I said, "Yeah, what do I have to do?" "Get on it and go," he said. He showed me a few things, and told me not to ride in the street, but take it to the vacant lot. The bike was big and heavy. It was a pretty scary experience for me. I had never even been on the back of a motorcycle, let alone tried to ride one by myself. The only bike I had ever ridden was my bicycle and a doodle bug. What's your history with bikes?
I was 16 when I got my first motorcycle. I traded my bicycle for an Indian Chief, which did not run. I pushed it home. Got to coast it downhill about three blocks. That's the only time I got to ride it. Not knowing how to fix it, I took it to a shop. I waited a long time for them to fix it. Finally, I went to get it. It was still not fixed, and they wanted to charge me $35 for a storage fee. I left it there.
In the fall of 1961, a friend stopped over and told me he was buying a Sportster. We went to check it out. Sitting right next to it was a 1956 Harley-Davidson full dresser. It had 3,000 miles and looked brand new. They wanted $800 for it. I bought it on the payment plan at $25 a week. That is the most I've ever paid for a motorcycle. I paid it off in the spring and chopped it within the first year. This was my main bike for many years. In the '60s I bought many bikes for anywhere from $25 to $150. I used these for parts. In fact, I bought three different bikes at $25, $35, and $75, and built a '36 knucklehead chopper out of their parts. I later built a shovelhead motor and put it in my '56 frame. Built a rubber-mounted rigid-frame Evolution chopper, which I still ride today.
What motorcycles are you currently working on?
One-it's actually a show bike. A bike that I had back in the '60s. I'm rebuilding it. I'll be using a '56 Panhead motor. It's strictly for show. The tank holds about a quart of gas, which is enough to ride into and out of the show. I plan on having it done this coming year. I also have to rebuild the bike I'm currently riding. It's been together for over 15 years, with thousands of miles on it.
What do you do for fun?
I ride and build choppers, which is always fun. I also collect things. Consequently I have lots of interesting things, past and present. Kind of a keeper of history. I do have some interesting hobbies, and I'm usually doing something most of the time. It's hard to put my fun into words. Why do you hate Canada?
'Cuz it's not part of the United States.
Why did you stay in the Midwest?
I've always lived in Sioux City, Iowa. We're in the center of the country here. I travel a lot, so it's almost equal distance to either coast and down the middle. Also, I know so many people here, most of them for many years.
I know you were a friend of David Mann. Can you tell us a story about Dave?
Back after meeting Dave in Kansas City in the early '60s, he'd often send me some of his original paintings, the early stuff he did. He moved away and I hadn't seen him in some time. In the meantime, I had developed a technique for removing ink from paper and putting the image on different items. For example, I would put a picture onto a rock; it would look rough as if it were hand painted. So I took one of Dave's pictures, the El Forastero Cave Party from the Roth set, and transferred it on to a rock. Later in the '90s, I was in Kansas City and went to see Dave. I brought him the rock. He and his wife were standing there. I told him that since he always gave me paintings I wanted to give him a painting that I did. So I handed the rock to him, and his wife said, "God, he can paint almost as good as you can." I said to his wife, "I can paint just as good as he can!" Then Dave said to his wife, "I painted this!" She said, "I've never seen you paint on rocks before!" We just stood and looked at each other and laughed.