The Wylde family have a long history in cars and motorbikes, with Clarence Wylde first starting the business all the way back in 1937 on Roundhay Road, Leeds – which must make us one of the longest established motorcycle parts suppliers in the city!
After serving in World War II, Clarence’s son Leonard joined his father in the business and a few years later, they opened a motorcycle shop and workshops on West Street, Kirkstall Road which they ran alongside a filling station and car sales business on Chapeltown Road, Leeds.
After Clarence retired in 1963, Leonard condensed the business down to Roundhay Road focusing on selling new BSA and Yamaha motorcycles, while also spending time competing in motorcross trials and selling motorcross bikes.
Following the sad passing of Leonard in 1968, his son Bob joined the company and ran the business with Leonard’s wife Trudie and his business partner, the late George Parker. Bob was very active in racing performance go-karts, which is where he saw an opening for selling the karts and developing tuned engines in the workshop, which he started selling to customers in the North of England. This side of the business continued to grow alongside the selling of competition trials bikes.
The Wyldes website and working for the stars!
In the early 1990s, Bob’s son Richard joined the company for a while after university and changed the world of Wyldes forever, by developing the first C Wylde website with his (now) wife Mel. This leap opened up our business to the world of online selling, allowing customers all over the UK to access our high quality motorcycle tyres and parts.
Around this time, Bob was approached by a company to build 6 wire-spoked motorcycle wheels for the Sylvester Stallone Judge Dread. This exciting work and the continuing demand for renovating these types of wheels led to Les Wylde also hopping onboard, helping in the workshop while Bob focused on serving our customers both online and over the sales counter.
As 2007 approached – and along with it, many of our staff’s retirement – Bob decided it was time to focus on selling our motorcycle parts and supplies online, so we sold the premises on Roundhay Road and moved back to our original roots in Kirkstall Road.
At this time, Bob’s daughter Carrie stepped in to start taking over the reins, concentrating on developing a network of Flowliner distributors, online sales of the Mitas tyres and a select few classic bike products.
We’ve loved serving you for 80 years, and will continue to act as your trusted motorcycle parts suppliers for many more years to come!