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.
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.
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 and underinsured, John & Jill
persevered, renting another building, salvaging what they could and starting over.
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!
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.
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.
With over 300 J&P® employees, our Harley Davidson catalog is over 1,000 pages, featuring
over 35,000 parts and accessories. Our Metric Cruiser catalog stands at over 400
pages and features over 14,000 parts and accessories.
Today our headquarters in Iowa spans over 165,000 sq. ft. and is home to well over
225 employees. We have also opened our second retail store and call center in Daytona
Beach, FL which features a 15,000 sq. ft. showroom and 11,000 sq. ft. of office
space. Over 70 Associates are currently employed at this state-of-the-art facility.
Our Sturgis store has expanded to include a separate Metric Showroom on the property
