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his ears. An infusion of capital would
just about guarantee that the cars
would be completed. And there were
other projects out there on the hori-
zon. Shelby was 75 and at some point
he would probably like to cash out.
This was wonderful news.
Or so it seemed. But Rager was
about to learn a difficult lesson. When
someone shows up with a large infu-
sion of cash, they don’t drop the money
off and drive away. Their “investment”
allows them to dictate a lot of terms. If
you had been making decisions and
giving orders, you were suddenly re-
duced to watching others make deci-
sions and you taking orders.
By December of 1998, Shelby Se-
ries 1s were no closer to being pro-
duced than they had been at the
introduction and open house back in
July. Dealers were calling constantly;
they were besieged by buyers who had
put down $50,000 and were only re-
ceiving excuses second-hand. Soon the
demands for refunds began, and the
staff in the front office became adept
at dealing with these unhappy
campers. Very few refunds were actu-
ally provided but mostly buyers just
wanted information. The problem was
that their expectations were so high –
fueled by magazine road tests and the
usual Shelby snake oil – that they
were just anxious to get their car. The
threat of cancelling their order was
just a way to get someone at the fac-
tory to return their calls.
The automotive hobby just about
comes to a standstill every January
when everyone looks towards Scotts-
dale, Arizona where several high visi-
bility auctions take place in the same
week. The largest one is Barrett-Jack-
son, which is televised live over four or
five afternoons and evenings. Most of
the people who generally attend these
auctions fit the profile of the potential
Series 1 buyer. Don Rager’s idea of
maintaining a presence at Scottsdale
was through involvement with the
Titan Motorcycle Company.
Interest in motorcycles, and espe-
cially Harley Davidsons, skyrocketed
in the 1990s. There were several rea-
sons for this. First, the age of the av-
erage buyer – a male in his 50s – put
him in the bracket where he had a
large amount of disposable income.
Second, Harley Davidson had posi-
tioned itself in the marketplace to ap-
peal to these buyers with a product
that was technologically advanced
(and trouble free) while harkening
back to the days when Harley riders
were considered tough guys or bad
boys. Their bikes were big and loud,
and had lots of chrome. And they could
be infinitely customized so that no two
were alike. Large meets like Daytona
or Sturgis drew hundreds of thou-
sands of riders annually and became
communal events which gave owners
a purpose beyond just going for a ride.
All of this enthusiasm led to small
companies offering their own lines of
custom motorcycles. Previously, own-
ers would either build their own cus-
tom bikes or bring their stock bike to
a custom shop. However, in the late
1980s a cottage industry grew up
around custom choppers. These com-
panies specialized in custom bikes
based on Harley style, V-twin engines
and custom components. One of the
largest was Titan, whose models sold
for between $35,000 and $60,000. It
was there that Rager saw an opportu-
nity. He pitched the idea that Titan
create a special Shelby-Titan model
motorcycle. Rager suggested that
Titan make 500 of them and they
could be numbered the same as the
Series 1. It was a natural: buyers of
Series 1s could have the same serial
number on their Shelby-Titan motor-
cycle.
Rager must have had what little
common sense he possessed clouded
by looking at too many biker babes
decked out in leather halters, thongs
and chaps because he clearly wasn’t
thinking straight. Nevertheless, he
was able to push forward a joint pro-
motion between Shelby and Titan.
Carroll Shelby would get a bike of his
own (as tribute only; can you picture a
76-year old heart and kidney trans-
plant recipient riding a chopper?) and
a royalty on the sale of each $50,000
Shelby-Titan model. Both companies
would enjoy the publicity from the
cross promotion. When the smoke
cleared (and when Rager was in-
volved, there was always plenty of
smoke) Titan sold only six Series 1 mo-
torcycles.
Production of Series 1s cars was
still not around the corner due to prob-
lems coming from just about every di-
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Fall 2016 42
Titan production of the special Shelby Se-
ries 1 bike was intended to match Series 1
production (500 were envisioned) but only
six buyers of the custom motorcycles ever
materialized, demonstrating that cross-
over between Shelby and motorcycle en-
thusiasts was minimal.