What Is A Biker: Randy Kashdan

“Tall, dark, and handsome” pretty much describes “Ace”. At 6’4” I could have said a “Long, Tall, Texan” except he isn’t from Texas and I just couldn’t quite decide what a “Tall Drink of Water” actually means. He towers over most of the people around him but takes some of that daunting presence away when you see the sparkle in his eyes and one of his huge easy smiles explode at you. And his laugh, well it’s contagious.

Born in Queens and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he didn’t get to Texas until his Military stint was up and then it was by way of California. That wasn’t until 1983, and at the promise of a job, (which didn’t actually come about once he landed) he paid the airfare and arrived in Houston to begin a whole new life. Within a week he had a job and in another week, an apartment. There was no looking back and no stopping him.

When I first met Randy Kashdan, he had long, black hair down almost to his waist and at his height that is some amount of hair. Years later he walked into a party with not one hair on his head – he had shaved it all off – and still carried the look off! That’s Randy – he doesn’t do things half way. He’s an all or nothing kind of guy.

Riding for him started later in life but his very first ride of any kind was at the age of 10 or 11 when he rode his father’s boss’ 3-wheeler and busted his kneecap by running into a tree stump hidden by tall grass. His first experience may have held him off for a time and taught him a valuable lesson about observation, but it didn’t stop him from riding again.

While in the Military in “Ft. Puke, Lousy-Anna” he learned to ride on a fellow Army buddy’s Kawasaki 1980 KZ650. From there began his love for riding, although he will tell you he is no “biker” he is a “motorcycle enthusiast”!

He rode Yamaha’s and Suzuki’s “a million miles” before trading a 1970 Norton 650 and a 1972 Norton basket case for a 1987 Harley-Davidson Sportster. Up until then you wouldn’t have caught him on an H-D as he didn’t really care for them, mostly because he feels they are top heavy. But after getting the Sportster he became “the mechanic” for Sportsters riders. Years later he traded for a larger Harley but it was stolen from his front yard! He bought the H-D Dresser he has now in 1998.

Randy does admit that he has pulled some dim-witted stunts in the past like riding with jumper cables between two bikes to get through Louisiana or one bike towing another with a rope when he wanted to make his first EasyRiders Rally. But he says he has been “riding motorcycles since riding wasn’t cool. Since the days you would stop to get something to eat and they would hang a “closed” sign in the window”. But the biggest bonus to riding he says is the “camaraderie” with other riders. Riders don’t really care what you do in life for a job, they...

We hope that you enjoyed reading this excerpt from "Randy Kashdan". If you would like to read the entire article and more, you can order a back issue of May / Jun 2006 where this article was originally published.

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