The Prodigal Son Story
The love for two wheels started when I was a young bloke; My late grandfather, a passionate rider himself, put me on the saddle of a white Honda XR200 back in the 90s, as soon as the starter motor cranked the engine over, the pursuit of keeping it different stayed on throughout the years with skateboarding culture, customising, buying and selling bmx bikes and such, the joy of tinkering with wrenches slowly begun.
In 2014, on a life hiatus living in what used to be a quiet paradise: Siargao Island, on the eastern part of the Philippines,
I brought home my first ever motorcycle, a 160cc Yamaha. I bought the bike from mainland Mindanao, without any idea how to ride a clutch driven motorcycle, I still got myself out there to pick up the bike myself. Riding on sand and road with no helmets, not even a license, exploring the quiet coastal roads and small villages, enjoying the salty pacific air blowing through. I felt like I wanted more, the first thoughts of traveling and
exploring on a motorcycle emerged!
In 2016 I had an opportunity to live in Australia, so I did. I moved to Sydney on my 21st birthday, scoring a great gig working as a chef in one of Sydney’s iconic venues. Easter of 2017, I packed up my little car to travel up north for a two week solo road trip to visit a few friends over the Queensland border from New South Wales. The heavy traffic was insane, a 2 hour trip turned out to be a 5 hour one. While sitting on the M1 southbound to Byron Bay from Brisbane, I noticed all the motorcycles sweeping past my little Ford Fiesta, avoiding being caught up with the traffic jam. I told myself “I’m going to get a motorcycle. That’s it, that’s me!” A few weeks later, I sold my car, and bought a brand spanking new 2017 Kawasaki Versys 650 straight out of the dealership.
In 2019, I had my hands on a used 2008 KLR 650 which in over 5 years, I’ve turned into an exquisite machine. A Dakar rally bike inspired KLR, built and modded with my own hands, it has never seen a mechanic, all work done by myself in my garage, or mostly roadside tinkering. I’ve found the love and importance for motorcycle maintenance, quite a skill i’ve acquired over the years of experience.
I’ve gone on many trips, exploring as much as I can in Australia. From the beautiful landscapes in New South Wales, scooting through the entire eastern coastline of mainland Australia, to the remote red desert centre, mostly solo. This includes a 25 day, semi-supported motorcycle trip to the Northernmost point of the Australian Continent, the infamous Cape York, through the well known Old Telegraph Track. With over one hundred thousands of kilometers of riding experience under my belt, its time to come home. I’ve got a lot of stories of my adventures in Australia on a motorcycle, but that’s for another day.
In 2023, I flew home to visit Cebu again after half a decade of not seeing home. I fell in love once again and decided it was time for something new. I flew back to Australia to settle my life to move back to the Philippines, leaving my 14 year career as a chef running a few well known restaurants in Australia. I wanted to pursue my passion for motorcycles, for the life in the garage, the thrill and excitement of tinkering with spanners and wrenches, I wanted to open a motorcycle garage.
The Prodigal Son came back home.
2024 - Prodigal Son Motorcycles was born.
