My Heart Has Always Belonged to Motorcycles -Jon Cook #WhyWeEngine

In his journey from young boy into cycle technician , Jon Cook grows his interested in everthing with the nitro just like the others in 1950s. Jon has an impressive story that we wanted to learn more about.

Here's his story:

I Disassembled my Dad's Briggs & Stratton Engine at Age 5

And from what my parents have told me, I disassembled my first engine at age 5.

It was my dad’s 3 hp “Magnetron” electronic-ignition Briggs & Stratton engine, on his Snapper mower he had recently bought.
But even before then, I had always love taking anything I could get my hands on apart.

The families in my neighborhood would always bring their broken appliances for me to take apart and see how they worked.
-I remember it was always a lot of blenders and stupid kitchen appliances… i was much more interested in gasoline powered equipment like chain saws & mowers

Somehow I managed to get my dad’s Briggs & Stratton engine pretty far taken apart. Of course I couldn’t get the flywheel off, and there were bolts and hardware that was too tight, but according to my Dad, I made some surprising progress with his endless supply of tools. Of course it took dad helping me, & a new head gasket, to get it running again.

It’s been all downhill since there. I had lots of dirt bikes and mini bikes through my childhood that I was always modifying.

I built my first nitro R/C car when I was 10 years old, I remember it so well. It was a Kyosho Sandmaster 10 buggy.I built & turbocharged my car from age 14 to 15, then had to wait until I was 16 to legally drive it.

My Heart Has Always Belonged to Motorcycles

My heart however, has always belonged to motorcycles.

I’ve been a cycle technician since I was 17. I have always loved engines & motorcycles. My parents have told me I was fascinated with motorcycles and loved them ever since I was a baby. I got my first motorcycle when I was 6 years old for Christmas, a Honda Z50R.
I was the proudest kid in the world. I also got a Haynes Z50R shop manual that same Christmas, and soon I knew everything there was to know about the engine, and how to work on it. My next bike was a CR80R, which was a huge step up from a Z50R. The CR80R is still one of my favorite motorcycles of all time