With manufacturing and race roots that go back to the 1960s, the men (and women!) behind Joker Machine have lived and loved the high-performance motorcycle scene their entire lives. Since its founding in '69, the company everyone knows today has ebbed and flowed through the bike business under different banners, but high technology and performance have been core to its beliefs since day one.

Trophies, trinkets and memorabilia spanning 40 years of involvement in the custom motorcycle scene decorate Joker Machine's tidy foyer

Today Joker Machine manufactures highly stylized, high-performance parts for nearly every kind of machine on two wheels: speedway, dirt track, motocross, retro Japanese, modern Brit bikes and of course H-D's.

Joker Geoff is justifiably proud of his company's involvement and contributions to the motorcycle scene

Joker Machine resides in a tidy industrial park in the shadows of LA county's Pomona Drag Strip. Under one roof seven CNC machines of varying sizes and capacities churn out everything from hand controls to ignition covers with speed and precision. A simple fitment and R&D station next to the warehouse houses a tool set, work table and bench grinders similar to the stuff many of us have in our own garages. the vibe at Joker Machine is more dirt track than space shuttle, and that's a good thing. One need only look at the trinkets Joker displays with pride in their office entry to realize these guys like to have fun just like the rest of us.

If idle hands are the devil's playthings, someone at Joker Machine is a holy terror. Like the products that bear their name, the detail in the models on display in Joker's front room are incredible

Bryan Warren is the salesman and marketing muscle at Joker Machine

A shop geek's wet dream, with no less than seven CNC mills on tap for carving billet alloy

Two operators assist one another during this manufacturing process. Depending on what part is being made at the time, one man can oversee operations on two or three CNC machines

The belly of the beast

This is Joker's Land Speed Record bike. Most of the components on this machine were custom-fabricated in Joker HQ

When they're not working on new products for choppers, sportbikes, café racers or late-model metric iron, the guys at Joker Machine field two factory-backed race efforts: an LSR machine and a speedway bike. Neither machine was fitted with its motor when we visited Geoff and Brian, but plenty of other trick stuff abounded on these highly specialized motorcycles.

The Joker Machine speedway racer, sans 500cc one-lung mill

You can tell a lot about a man by the way he stores his tools. This man is OCD

Even the most precisely engineered parts and accessories need a little massaging during R&D. These grinders and sanders see plenty of action during the development phase of new Joker Machine parts

Final assembly, packaging and inventory gets handled in this part of the JM shop

The resurgence in popularity of the MoCo's Sportster isn't lost on Joker Machine, so Geoff and his designers have been busy busting out billet parts to enhance the looks and performance of H-D's quad-cam cruiser. One Joker Machine Sportster upgrade we think is especially smart and good looking is their new air cleaner with integrated crankcase ventilation. Its tight and tidy design is a far cry from H-D's own toaster oven-sized breather, and the fit and finish appears excellent.

Like many other companies in today's chopper aftermarket, the guys at Joker Machine see a growing market for style and performance bolt-ons for late-model Sportsters 

Thanks to Bryan and Geoff for showing us how Joker Machine ticks. To see other JM products, click here or visit your local aftermarket dealer.