The Company was born on the dirt tracks of Chicago after World War II. When Army Air Corp pilot George Smith returned home he pursued his passion for speed. He included his ideas on his own motorcycle, a 1939 Knucklehead he affectionately called “Tramp”. Together they dominated area drag racing. When riders who choked on his dust asked him how he did it and would he do it for them, the idea for the Company was realized.
George Smith and Stanley Stankos, a neighborhood friend who already had a growing auto upholstery business, officially started the Company in May 1958, in Blue Island, Illinois, a southwestern suburb of Chicago. They named it S&S Cycle. A year later George and his wife, Marge, purchased Stanley’s interests in the Company and began to run it out of the basement of their Blue Island home. Ironically, her maiden name was also Smith so it was destiny the Company name would stay as it was.
Together, they nurtured and built a business that would become the world’s most well known company in the Harley aftermarket.
Despite a full-time job and the demands of the young business, George and Marge felt drawn to the countryside and the tug of another dream - farming and ranching.
Family vacations took them through the Kickapoo River Valley in southwestern Wisconsin on their way to fishing holes in Minnesota. They were so taken with the beauty of the land the glaciers had left untouched they vowed to settle here when they found the right spot.
The Smith family home, nestled in a wooded valley just outside Viola, became the site of the S&S Ranch as well as the new Company headquarters for S&S.
The first product the Company offered was lightweight aluminum pushrods. But George Smith’s mind was restless. Soon, he pioneered the stroker motor with flywheels and special pistons. The Company introduced performance carburetors followed by big-bore cylinders called Sidewinders with pistons to match. But as the motorcycle company grew, the ranch activities began to take a back seat to the bikers demanding S&S parts.
Today, S&S is known to Harley riders around the world for our broad line of high-performance engines made exclusively from S&S products. In addition, the product line offers thousands of individual parts and hundreds of high-performance kit combinations for Harley-Davidson and Buell motorcycles from 1936 to the present.
Over the years “Proven Performance” has been more than the Company’s motto. It is our conscience. When new parts are developed, they are traditionally tested on the Salt Flats of Utah where S&S has established numerous land speed records ever since the 1950’s. In fact, George and a few buddies -- now legends in motorcycle history -- took their ideas along with a motorcycle to Bonneville in 1954, four years before the Company was founded, and ran 152 mph.
Today, S&S continues the legacy started by Marge and George Smith more than 40 years ago - the development, production, marketing and sales of performance parts for Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
S&S has more than 6,000 domestic and international customers, primarily dealers, distributors and, most recently, independent motorcycle manufacturers. Each year, tens of thousands of Harley riders install S&S parts on their bikes. The Super E with the distinctive chrome teardrop air cleaner cover has been the industry’s most popular carburetor since it was introduced in 1990.
Benefits: S&S CYCLE, INC. OFFERS A COMPREHENSIVE BENEFIT PACKAGE THAT YOU MAY CUSTOMIZE TO BEST FIT YOUR NEEDS.
· Comprehensive Medical
· Dental
· Vision
· S&S Cycle Term Life Insurance
· Additional Life Insurance
· Short and Long-term Disability Insurance
· Cancer Insurance
· Medical Flexible Spending Accounts
· Child Care Flexible Spending Accounts
· Aggressive Pension and Profit Sharing
· Employee Assistance Program
· Tuition Assistance
· Computer Purchase Program
· Merchandise Discounts
· Paid Holidays and Vacation
· Experienced Rider’s Course Certification Reimbursement Cash Bonus Program
Directions: S&S Cycle, Inc. now has two locations: Viola, WI and La Crosse WI. Viola is located roughly an hour east of La Crosse.
Contact Information: S&S Cycle, Inc., Box 215, Viola, WI 54664/Fax#: 608-627-0764 or email lbodenbender@sscycle.com. Applicants may also apply on-line by visiting our website at http://www.sscycle.com/.
