The best way to keep your brothers out of trouble is by keeping them busy with some hobbies they love to do. This is what Michael Pea explained to us when we asked him why he built his latest creation, "Pink Panther." Michael built this bike for his little brother Ryan when he was just 10 years old to keep him busy and out of trouble after school and on the weekends. The bike project started when Michael inquired about a '79 Schwinn bike that was owned by his late friend Raul Giron a few years back. Michael had served as a member of the Oldies Bike Club along with his close friend Raul for over nine years. As a tribute to Raul's honor a few years back, he decided to put the bike to good use as a project to commemorate his friend's legacy and to give his younger brother some positive life inspiration. Pea is no stranger to the Lowrider Bike world, having been the builder and creator of the award winning Lowrider Bike "Lady in Red."
Since the frame was just laying around in the garage, Michael sanded it down to the bare metal and quick-primered it to prevent rust from occurring. The frame was then given to Mike's custom painting where a few coats of Pearl Pink were sprayed to cover the theme name of the bike. Mike sought out to clear coat the bike, but first it was taken to Scott Gregory, who hooked up the pinstripping and lettering. After the frame was done, Michael hit up Joe at Jagster Laser Cutting to inquire about some custom made parts that would fit his vision for the "Pink Panther." After laying down some computer work and deciding on the final design, Joe cut out the custom fork, handlebars, and sissy bars. The parts were then delivered to Silvano Mesa were they were gold plated and polished to a mirror finish. His friend Ruben upholstered the seat and the third wheel cover, giving the bike a nice touch of class. Ruben then also built a custom show display for the bike, so it could stand out from the rest of the competition at the car shows. After a few months of getting the pieces ready, it was time to put it all together, so the brothers tag-teamed it with a little bit of TLC as well as the Pea family touch. Now that the bike is completed, Ryan looks forward to spending quality time with his older brother and mentoring him by taking Ryan to the local car shows and assisting him in setting up the display and cleaning up the bike before and during a show. Older brother Michael is proud to say that his brother Ryan has been staying out of trouble, and that his grades have improved ever since they started the "Pink Panther" bike project.
The "Pink Panther" has taken numerous awards all over the state of California as well as third place in the street category in the '08 Las Vegas Super Show. Now Michael continues to fill the role of big brother, as he and Ryan are spending time together again and working on a new project. Projects and inspiration come in all shapes and sizes, and this bike has helped the Pea brothers form a positive bond and remain focused on creativity and unity, just like a family team should be.