Disabled veteran's motorcycle to ride again

Among veteran Gary Taylor’s favorite possessions was a 2007 Honda Gold Wing trike conversion motorcycle. Just days before he died on March 1, his spirit brightened at the thought of the trike serving another veteran.

“His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree knowing it would go to a disabled veteran,” says Susie McGregor of Yosemite, Calif.

McGregor and her husband, Dusty Hanson, also a veteran, purchased the motorcycle from the Taylor family so they could donate it to nonprofit organizations that give disabled veterans custom motorcycles. The cycles are customized to the heroes’ whims as well as modified to cater to their needs. 

“They will take a bike that has been donated by somebody, and they will customize it so a disabled veteran can ride it,” McGregor says.

Taylor’s trike will soon begin its new journey as part of the Combat Heroes Bike Build, sponsored by nonprofit organizations Run for the Wall and Eagles Up! But first it was used in a military escort and funeral honoring the 20-year Navy veteran Friday at the Eagle Point National Cemetery.

“My husband rode the trike with the trailer, and I had the ashes in my lap,” McGregor says. “It was extremely special.”

McGregor and Hanson have been involved with Run for the Wall for several years. It holds an annual cross-country motorcycle run honoring veterans that travels from Ontario, Calif., to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

The couple and the Taylor family were strangers until they learned about the trike through a caregiver for McGregor’s family, Tish Taylor, Gary Taylor’s daughter-in-law. Since then, the families have forged a strong bond.

“They will be friends forever,” McGregor says. Gary’s wife, Yvonne, and his daughter Joleen Hinrichs plan to go on the organization’s run in 2016, when the trike will be presented.

Following Friday’s ceremony, McGregor and Hanson delivered the trike to John Barker, of Grants Pass, a member of both organizations who serves as chairman of the bike build.

Barker says the trike will go to a Vietnam War veteran.

“He was shot seven times (in combat), and he’s missing his left arm,” Barker says, declining to identify the recipient further because it’s still a surprise.

Barker has worked with Mark Daly of Thunderstruck Custom Bikes of Medford to create three bikes for veterans across the country who were disabled in combat. The trike will be Barker and Daly’s fourth project together. Combat Heroes Bike Build usually organizes one bike a year, but Barker says there are efforts underway to secure funding for a second motorcycle build to be presented to an Oregon veteran in 2016.

Months before the trike will be presented, the builders will fly the Vietnam War veteran to Medford to firm up plans for the trike and take measurements. 

“When he lands here in Medford, he’s greeted by about 50 Young Marines and 60 to 70 veterans on motorcycles,” Barker says. “After he is fitted, he won’t see the bike until May.”

Barker and Daly will develop a paint theme that includes the veteran’s military emblem and unit number and discuss modifications to make the trike easier to ride.

“On the left side you’d usually pull in on your clutch,” Barker says, discussing a push-button shifter as a modification. “We’ll put that on the right side so he’ll just have to use his thumb and he won’t have to use his left arm at all.”

Individuals interested in contributing to the project can reach out at www.eaglesup.us, or email Barker directly at hardchargerrftw@gmail.com.

“Everything has kind of fallen into place,” McGregor says. “This whole thing just feels meant to be.”

Reach newsroom assistant Nick Morgan at 541-776-4477 or nmorgan@mailtribune.com.

Disabled veteran"s motorcycle to ride again