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REVOLUTIONARY START DEVICES?<br />
WHY BUY A HANDLEBAR? AND<br />
WHAT GOES INTO A GRIP ANYWAY?<br />
HOW PROTAPER ARE MAKING<br />
AFTERMARKET WAVES<br />
By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Husqvarna/Cudby<br />
THE BAR<br />
Paul Perebijnos sits<br />
in his office in Irvine,<br />
California flanked<br />
floor to ceiling by ProTaper<br />
parts and merchandise.<br />
It’s from this ordered but<br />
cluttered space that the<br />
former Pro Circuit mechanic<br />
and his small<br />
team have helped<br />
the forward-thinking<br />
handlebar company<br />
(now much broader<br />
in terms of parts and<br />
product catalogue)<br />
prosper over the half<br />
decade that he has<br />
steered the brand.<br />
We’re here to ask why<br />
and how a dirtbike rider<br />
would want to buy a<br />
‘bar, and diverge from the<br />
usually reliable offering from<br />
their production motorcycle,<br />
to enquire about their secret<br />
SELA start device that made<br />
an appearance for the first<br />
time in the initial rounds of<br />
2019 Supercross (and is due<br />
for launch very soon) and for<br />
an explanation of how ProTaper<br />
are moving places.<br />
Paul, ProTaper has had four<br />
years of continual growth. In<br />
your opinion what’s the reason<br />
for that?<br />
I think it’s a bunch of different<br />
things happening in unison. I<br />
would say the racing side is<br />
important. We have tried to<br />
make ProTaper a global brand<br />
and that means having premium,<br />
championship winning<br />
athletes all over the globe<br />
and in all different disciplines<br />
like off-road, hard enduro and<br />
not just motocross and supercross.<br />
A big part has been<br />
the aggression and dedication<br />
to product development. We<br />
have continued to innovate<br />
and bring new products to<br />
the market and that has really<br />
made the brand exciting and<br />
to capture the customer’s attention.<br />
That helps the rest of<br />
the product line because you<br />
have to evolve and have new<br />
stuff. We are always rationalising<br />
our skew-offering and<br />
getting rid of things that have<br />
become stale. Even if something<br />
is not innovative it might<br />
just be fresh like a new bar<br />
pad colour – and those colours<br />
have actually been crazily<br />
popular for us.
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