Heroes Motorcycles: Serge Bueno's Homage to History

Serge Bueno made the trans-Atlantic move from France to California to open an upscale motorcycle restoration business that is making a big splash in the SoCal scene.

Bueno, 47, began his life’s work with motorcycles aboard a 50cc Yamaha TY at age 14, zipping through the historic boulevards of Paris, France. He raced motocross for 15 years, including the 2001 Rally of Tunisia – a 2,000-mile, 11-day desert run where he was one of the 60 who finished out of 300 who started. Serge tends not to quit anything he starts, especially when he comes down to the last correct nut and bolt to finish off one of his restorations.

By 1985 he had opened a motorcycle shop in Paris specializing in unique racing machines circa 1910-1950 and also operated a fully equipped workshop on the Normandy coast, an hour from Paris. His passion for motorcycles saw him scouring the planet for machines of interest, including the hunt for the many semi-unobtainable parts he needed to complete their restorations, now over 100 rare bikes meticulously resurrected.

His bike-building technical skills stemmed from his early training as an engineer working with a variety of metals … steel, aluminum, magnesium, etc., and he also mastered the old school painting methods, painting with rare pigments and finishing without applying the standard clear coat. Everything is instead polished by hand, thus creating correct original appearance, including striping and tank graphics. Serge keeps his work area in “NASA clean room” condition, even his carefully stored vintage tools appear as works of art.

Bueno’s dream of living his motorcycle life in Los Angeles stretches back some 25 years to when he first visited a friend in the city. His three-month visa was extended another three months because he found the SoCal weather kept old motorcycles and cars in such great condition, a veritable time capsule for rare iron. Says Serge, “Paris is a beautiful place, but Los Angeles is the place for my motorcycle work. So, I sold my company in Paris and brought my wife with our four children and 40 motorcycles, then began building my garage here on La Brea Avenue. We opened on December 24, just one day before Christmas 2014.” Word of mouth and social media immediately brought customers wanting either restorations or to purchase one of his bikes already restored. Within six months he had sold 14 rare beauties, the fifteenth on the day we visited the shop.

Latest news is that an additional ten historically important bikes are arriving shortly from Europe for their new home at Heroes Motorcycles. A Grand Opening for the new Los Angeles center for truly “heroic” bikes is in the works.