Members 1st Federal Credit Union is proud to host legendary custom bike builder Eddie Trotta at the inaugural Sturgis Roadshow.
Eddie Trotta is renowned for creating custom choppers as featured on the Discovery Channel Biker Build-Off series or in person at major bike shows worldwide. His designs can only be described as totally original and extremely distinctive with the clean and classy lines of an elite sports car.
Despite everything Trotta has taken on over the years – playing classical piano or checking the bloodlines of horses in France – his life has always been rooted in choppers. He built his first shovelhead engine at age 16 while working part-time at East Coast Choppers in New Haven, Connecticut. “When it comes right down to it, it’s all I really know,” he points out.
Trotta exhibits all the traits of an artist. He often wakes up in the middle of the night to sketch out a new form. He stares into the deep metal flake of a gas tank as if it were an abyss.
Trotta has built hundreds of bikes and his name has been plastered all over TV and in bike magazines; he never forgets the fact that his name is on every piece of machinery that rolls out of his shop. With the exception of chroming, nearly everything that goes into designing and building these bikes is done on-site, including making all the parts.
One-of-a-kind Eddie Trotta bikes range in price from $50,000 to $90,000 and beyond. Many Trotta customers end up being collectors and his celebrity clients range from New York Mets slugger Bobby Bonilla to award-winning actors James Caan and Joe Pesci.
Corporate clients are an important part of the business as well and include enthusiasts such as Sara Lee executive C. Steven McMillan who collects Trotta designs. Eddie has also received commissioned builds for prominent companies like the Hard Rock Cafe and RJ Reynolds.
Today, the legend is shuffling among the cardboard displays in the showroom of Thunder Cycle Design’s multi-million dollar, 30,000-square-foot location at 550 W. Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. There are always a half-dozen bikes sunbathing out front, so the dealership is impossible to miss.
Eddie Trotta is one of the very few custom builders to weather the recent financial storm in the motorcycle industry and he still shows up at events with a beautiful display that includes nearly a million dollars in motorcycles.
The motto of the sales staff is “you don’t come to Eddie Trotta unless you want an Eddie Trotta bike. End of story.”
Much like Eddie Trotta is recognized in the custom bike world, Members 1st is known and respected for providing only innovative high-quality products to an ever growing financial services client base.
