BEHIND
THE LENS
K
way that Knuckles’ nickname referred not just
to the motorcycle he rode.
nuckles’ story started about 35 years ago
when he first built the 1940 Knucklehead
he still rides today. In those days he built
and worked on Harleys in his living room, at
least when he was fortunate enough to have a
Jiving room. From those humble roots sprang his
dream of owning his own Harley shop. His lifelong goal found fruition in 2011 when Knuckles
opened Thunder and Lightning Cycles on South
Broadway in Englewood.
At first, a national economic recession seemed
to stack the odds against him, but perseverance
and his mechanical expertise proved more than
a match for any world-wide financial problems.
Within a few months, his business was going well and getting
better every day.
Knuckles’ rough-and-tumble early years
brought him little financial gain, but they did
help provide the foundation, along with his
Apache ancestry, for his employment as a
stunt man in Buffalo Bills’ Wild West Show. The
part Knuckles played in a typical performance
was being shot off his horse at a full gallop and
drug on his back around the arena. He dubbed
this stunt the “Drag of Death.” His experiences
with Buffalo Bills’ Show also brought him into
friendships with famous personalities such as
James Michener, Michael Ansara, Jack Elam,
Robert Conrad, Jock Mahoney, Monty Montana and Harry
Carey, Jr. and paved the way into films such as “Centennial.”
Much of Knuckles’ early mechanical experience came from
working on his Knucklehead while “tramping” around the
county. His nickname was associated with the fact he was
always seen riding his Knucklehead. Tramping the highways
of America on his Knuckle provided him his burgeoning
mechanical experience, his keen sense of resourcefulness,
as well as the nickname that follows him to this day. However,
tramping is not an easy life and physical conflict is inevitable.
Some attempted to alter his life style but learned the hard
Knuckles always wanted his own Harley shop. He got his
foot in the door to his dream at a Harley machine shop in
Arizona. While Tramping, Knuckles stumbled into Phoenix
during the early 1980s and met The Pharaoh, who put
Knuckles to work at his Harley speed shop. Pharaoh is
an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.
Pharaoh is renowned for building very large displacement
Harleys. In 1984, Pharaoh entered and won the first lronbutt
Rally.
12 Thunder Roads Magazine® Colorado
November 2015
www.thunderroadscolorado.com