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1975 Super Cycle Stinger VW Trike
(by Stires)
Sometime in the summer of 1975 Elvis bought his second trike. Some accounts say that he initially saw one around town driven by Marvin “Shack” Shackleford, a former partner at Super Cycle in Memphis first,1 but Ron Elliott there remembers him first coming in on his Rupp Centaur with his girlfriend (Linda Thompson) asking if there was anything they could do to give it more power. He said the motor was less than adequate for a two-seater and though they could improve it he recommended one of the Volkswagen powered trikes they built there from kits. The first of two that Elvis would buy there was a Stinger, built from a kit obtained from Trikes By Stires in Garden Grove, CA.
Super Cycle in Memphis was started in 1971 by the Elliott brothers, Lew and Ron, and Shack as a motorcycle parts and custom service shop.2 At one time they had ten people working in the shop in the early seventies when bikes and trikes were becoming the rage. There were several manufacturers offering kits and completed VW based trikes but “Trikes By Stires” was one of the largest and, according to their literature, the only licensed as an Original Equipment Manufacturer in the State of California.
Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, the hot rod builder and artist responsible for “Rat Fink” however is credited as the originator of the VW Trike kits and most that were offered since were inspired by, if not copied from his designs. He built his first trike, the Candy Wagon from a Harley-Davidson Servi-car around 1967 and got the idea for his next after seeing the rear half of a VW bug with Harley-Davidson forks welded on to it. He made his first, the American Beetle, in 1968 from a 1957 bug with a 36 hp engine, Honda fork and a fiberglass body.3
Several more like it with various themes followed and in 1971 Roth applied for a patent for a three wheeled motorcycle. He had planned to license kits but was pretty much out of the VW Trike phase when he received the patent in 1973.
Tony Thacker, who with Ed wrote his biography “Hot Rods by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth” wasn’t sure “if Roth ever licensed anybody to build versions of them—maybe, but mostly people just stole the idea and modified the design somewhat. He added that trikes “are inherently unstable: three wheelers work much better when the two wheels are in front rather than in back. That said, Roth defied convention and put a lot of miles on his trikes. They come up for sale occasionally and don't fetch much money.”
“Trikes By Stires” (Clyde Stires) began manufacturing their own version of a mail order kit in 1970 in a garage and grew to an International organization with distributors throughout the United States and Europe. They advertised that their kits were capable of being put together by most anyone in a few weekends. At the very least they acknowledged Roth as the concept originator in their literature. The Stinger model that the Elliotts built and first sold to Elvis was based on Roth’s "American Beetle." It has a rear-mounted, air-cooled VW engine, four-speed manual transmission in rear-mounted transaxle, springer-type front forks, VW independent rear suspension, and rear-mounted VW drum brakes.
According to Shackleford, Elvis wrecked it the day it was delivered. “He got the front end just fine through Graceland's gates, but the back fender got hung on the stone.”1 If true, that may have been the motivation for buying the second one, while the Stinger was in for repairs. Ron said Elvis had been pulled over and written up for driving it without a helmet. The police called him to find out if there was a way around having Elvis go to court. Ron told them he could re-title it as a VW which would eliminate the need for a helmet. The legality of it was questionable but none the less Ron wound up with the original plate from when Elvis was cited.
Stires continued to offer both models of trikes and kits through the seventies which had increased to five models before selling their operation in the eighties. The trikes weren’t the only things the Elliotts sold Elvis. He continued to do business there until he died, having his motorcycles serviced there and getting specialty items like golf carts for Lisa Marie and a snow mobile with wheels instead of skis in the front so he could drive it around Graceland.2 They’ve nothing but good things to say about him and also his cousin Billy Smith who they dealt with on many occasions. The business at 624 S. Bellevue Blvd. continued to grow and out lived many of the motorcycle businesses in the city.
With a large inventory of hard to find parts for vintage Harley-Davidsons and a full machine shop and paint booth Super Cycle can rebuild components or custom build machines to your specifications. They employ licensed Harley-Davidson mechanics.4 A long time employee, Earl Smith had worked for several shops in the city since the ‘50s and at the Memphis Harley-Davidson in 1956 serviced Elvis’ first bikes. He was at Super Cycle into his 90s.5
After 44 years the business is still in operation. Earl Smith passed away in 2012 at 91, and Lew, now 84, has had several strokes which as can be expected has slowed his contributions leaving Ron, 81, at the helm. They are only open now Wednesday thru Sunday but its still a regular stop for many of the area serious riders. They have a replica of Elvis’ Stinger on display in the shop, along with Elvis’ original plate which is a popular photo op for the fans that visit. Elvis’ trikes are still part of the collection at Graceland and regularly on display across the street at the Auto museum along with the other vehicles sold and serviced by the Elliotts over the years at Super Cycle.
Special thanks to Ron Elliott at Super Cycle and Tony Thacker for their input and assistance with this page. Much of the history of Trikes By Stires presented here was obtained directly from advertising and promotional materials of the day. page added October 5, 2015 1 according to or excerpted from Rolling with the King
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Memories of Elvis from his motorcycle-building pal by Marilyn
Sadler, Memphis Magazine
July 2009 |
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All photos on this site (that we didn't borrow) unless otherwise indicated are the property of either Scotty Moore or James V. Roy and unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. |
