Made in Plano: Busy’s Speed Shop

Sometimes extraordinary things come out of the most unassuming places. Busy’s Speed Shop off of 18th Place in Plano is one of those cases. Nestled away back behind a small house, through an unassuming gate lies a custom motorcycle shop housing some of the sickest rides and nicest dudes Plano has to offer.

Brian “Busy B” Kendall is the head of the entire operations at his custom bike shop. After coming back to the States from traveling and living abroad in 2011, he went to work for Harley. Soon after he made the decision to go into merchandising. It was this merchandising platform that gave him the leg up on starting his own business. “I had people telling me, hey, you’re only a merchandiser, you can’t build bikes,” Busy B stated. “I went and asked my agent to find me a piece of property. On Friday night she sent me an email about this place. On Saturday I was here and put a payment on it.”

Busy B does in fact keep himself busy. Just watching him buzz around his shop almost seems like a practiced dance of sorts. His garage is his stage, and his motorcycles his set pieces. Built like a true man cave, the garage boasts an impressive array of posters and signs with skulls, rock band album covers and bare-chested women. Amid all of the nudie posters and rock and roll decorum sit the bikes. Custom in every sense of the word, Busy B and his crew build them, repair them and maintain them right here in Plano. Fat rubber tires sit atop chrome frames, an iron cross tail light still has wires spewing from it and a carburetor cap sits open and oily.

The guys of Busy’s Speed Shop (from left to right): Nick, Kris, Busy B and Mike // photos Kathy Tran

Busy B has been equally as active outside of his shop as well, putting himself on the forefront of motorcycle shows in Dallas and Denton, keeping up with the community around him and trying to support all of those who supported him. In this regard, we meet Mike Sloggett.

Mike is much more reserved than Busy B, quietly smiling, taking in Busy’s extensive series of one liners and jokes, and tidying up behind the tsunami tornado that is Busy B. But Mike isn’t here just to listen to old stories and talk shop – Mike’s wife, Leilani Sloggett, has cancer. Stage 3C Melanoma to be exact. “It went from a bump, to four days later, hey, you’re in surgery, and four weeks later, hey, its cancer,“ Mike stated, with his brow furrowing. But he still sees the bright side of things. “This kind of stuff brings you closer sometimes too, you realize the stuff that’s a little bit more important in life.”

Using his knowledge, his experience and his fundraiser expertise, Busy B organized “Leilani’s Big F Cancer Bike Rally & Fundraiser.” Set to start at 10:00 a.m. March 4, everyone is invited to come out and participate. For those looking to join on two wheels, the ride starts at Busy’s Speed Shop at 1004 18th Place and is a $20 per bike donation. Guests will be treated to breakfast burritos, paint pinstriping, a Hot Babe Bike Wash and a huge sale on parts and merchandise.

From there, riders will drive out to Lake Lavon and then Bar Louie in Allen. At Bar Louie 20% of all sales will be going to the cause, and guests will be able to purchase a $50 raffle ticket in hopes of winning Mike’s fully restored and custom built 1976 Honda CB550K motorcycle, which they aptly named “Whiskey Tooth” after a experience Mike went through during an extensive dental procedure wherein whiskey was the only remedy for his toothache.

The motorcycle is the iconic version of an old school ride. Stripped down, cleaned, polished and built from the ground up, the bike has muted accents of brass and leather with wrapped pipes and a classic striped tank that, when turned on, sounds as mean as it looks.

The custom restored 1976 Honda CB550K motorcycle that will be raffled off at Leilani’s cancer benefit ride

“I really want to just raise awareness,” Mike stated. “Money is nice, but awareness is just as important to us.” He looked over at Busy B, who came rushing over to launch into his ideals on the ride.

“Dallas is a very pretentious city. I love it and I hate it at the same time. But if I can bring a bunch of brothers together to ride for something I believe in, then I’m all good,” Busy B explained. “We have a goal, yes we do, but if I can get all these people to follow me, if just 20% of them can come out and support, then I’ll turn my cap around about Dallas.”

Let’s try to turn Busy B’s cap around.

Busy's Speed Shop > Leilani's Cancer Fundraiser Ride > [codepeople-post-map]
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