It was a cool week in April, providing the perfect riding weather. Eddie Campos (from Eddie Campos Photography) and I left Southern California on Sunday afternoon and planned to be there before dark. Six to seven hours ride and one hour time difference put us at our Air B & B a little after 9pm. The owner and host, in his eighties, was an ex-motorcycle rider and was waiting for us. He opened the garage door for us to pull in the bikes and greeted us like long lost friends. Tired from the ride, we hit the sack before we could say good night.
The next morning, we woke up early to get on the road and we could not believe the weather! We were in Phoenix, Arizona but felt like we were riding in Oceanside, California with sunny skies and mid 70’s on the screen. We met Ari Levenbaum COO of Law Tigers and rode to Paul Yaffe’s Bagger Nation headquarters.
The Golden Rule was built in 2020-2021 and Paul built it for the same reason he builds all the Bagger Nation bikes: ingenuity, challenge, innovation, and perfection. From front to back and top to bottom, you can see the detail and the long hours that was put into this build. Before we had much time to admire the latest piece of art by Paul, we were on the road. Paul leading on The Golden Rule, Ari second on the Tiger Glide (also a Paul Yaffe built that was featured in a previous issue of WOG magazine), Eddie and I riding behind them through the streets of Phoenix. A privilege and an honor indeed but, let me say that I am glad I believe in God. Because these guys can ride!
We rode to a mountainous location in North Phoenix and spent some time taking photos and then we headed to lunch.
Paul Yaffe was born in 1963, is a reality television star and motorcycle builder, who rose to fame as a main star of the reality television series “Biker Battleground Phoenix” (2014) and “Biker Build Off” (2003) broadcast on the History channel. Yaffe has been known for working with motorcycles since the 1980s. He has been known as a motorcycle builder in Arizona for the last 30 years; he is nicknamed The Governor. Thirty plus years later Yaffe is one of the most, if not the most respected, builder in the business. Without a doubt, he is the only one that has lasted over thirty years and is still at the top of his game. What is not known is that Yaffe had an interest in motorcycles since he was a kid. And although Yaffe does not reveal much about his private life, we definitely had favor as he opened up to Wheels Of Grace.
Paul had humble beginnings that took him from Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona. Adopted by a family, he lived in Los Angeles from the age of four until he was 27 years old when he moved to Phoenix. Prior to attending motorcycle mechanic school, he had several jobs from bouncing in L.A. clubs to designing women’s Italian designer shoes to. Maybe that is where the quality and the perfection in his builds came from. Yaffe’s teenage years were wild, fueled by drugs and alcohol. Following that lifestyle, Yaffe got sober and stayed sober for twenty years. Today he enjoys an occasional beer or glass of wine.
While he was attending motorcycle mechanic’s school with his longtime friend Jack Gould that still works with Yaffe, they would buy Harley-Davidson FXRP motorcycles from California Highway Patrol auctions, ride them back to Phoenix in the middle of the night and head to class for the day. They would strip down those Police FXRP bikes and go to motorcycle swap meets to find the parts they wanted to replace for the custom look. Doing that, they became popular in class. They were always working on Harleys and the teachers wanted to see what it was like compared to working on Hondas and similar makes. They would sell those Custom FXRP and pay for school. Yaffe’s first personal build was a Harley-Davidson Shovelhead. The first built that Yaffe actually sold was a Chopper that he sold to a man in Oregon. That proud owner rode the Yaffe Chopper from Oregon to Arizona every year for a few years after he bought it for Yaffe to service it and make sure everything was running well. That Chopper was also what gave Yaffe the seed money to open his first shop in 1991 called American Legend Motorcycle Company.
Does Yaffe have a favorite build? In his words: “I have several as they represent different times in my life.” Talking about The Golden Rule Yaffe continued: “With this bike, I do things I have never done before in my life like, 140mph! I push it in the Canyons. Different bike, different thrill in different ways.” How can you not? With 156 horses to the real wheel, it is like riding a Ferrari on two wheels! Yaffe commented: “I got to tell you, the more saddle time I get on The Golden Rule the more I’m amazed by it! We tweaked the 131 a bit with cams, tuner and some dyno time and I blasted off to Mexico. Between the SRT Wide Performance Tire kit, ODC Suspension, 2” Fairing Drop Block, SE 131 Motor, added wheelbase and added body aero dynamics this beast is a frickin’ freight train at 140 +! Absolutely stable and begging for more! This is the most thrilling bike I’ve ever ridden on the streets!” The paint on the Golden Rule was done by none other than JC Rolling Art. The Golden Rule has more unique and custom parts than most bikes out there. Many are one-of-a-kind fabrications by Yaffe himself and are now production parts available at www.BaggerNation.com. Yaffe assured us that he does not keep the bikes he builds. When, or sometimes even before he is done with one build, he is on to the next one. The next challenge and the next masterpiece. Just like all the others The Golden Rule went to a new happy owner. The price you may wonder? Right under $80,000!
Getting to know Paul a little from hanging out in his shop, we noticed how well he treats his staff and how respectful and appreciative he is towards them, and the staff towards him. Spending the day with him, we quickly found out that behind the Master Motorcycle Builder we all know from the television series, there is a humble and loving family man. A husband and a father that speaks very highly of his wife, his daughter and his two sons. One of the things he emphasized was, during Covid when the world was unsure about everything, he took advantage of spending more time with his family and would not change it for the world! Before Covid, Yaffe the bike builder and businessman was travelling almost every weekend. We asked Yaffe if he had an inspiring quote that he lives by. In the first page of every Paul Yaffe catalog, you will find the following: “IF YOU DON’T CHANGE DIRECTIONS YOU’LL END UP WHERE YOU’RE GOING.”
A big THANK YOU on behalf of Wheels Of Grace to: Paul Yaffe, the Bagger Nation crew, Ari Levenbaum and Eddie Campos photography.