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Both facilities were located in the Taichung district of Taiwan. The brothers owned and operated – Anlun Enterprises - specializing in the manufacturing of cast and machined components - and Anlen - a frame building and assembly factory. TEEL Industries, a trading company in New Jersey owned by industry veteran Taka Nieda, that specialized in connecting US-based brands with Asian factories, made the introduction. A period of due diligence led Jim Ford and Bob Haro to Taiwanese brothers Sam and Alan Wong (pronounced Wang). The decision to manufacture outside of the United States wasn't taken lightly. The Torker relationship remained strong, although with the market potential becoming more obvious, Haro and Ford were keen to find a back-up source to support the company's growth. What is certain is that Torker continued producing frame and fork sets for Haro right up until they finally closed the business in November of 1984. Many indicate that Torker's failure to develop a freestyle bike in their own model line contributed to the difficulties they faced in the winter of 1984. Exploratory discussions with other local frame builders - rumors of sample frames produced by Voris Dixon at VDC, and an unknown machine shop in southern Los Angeles, remain just that – but the fact is that Haro and Ford were keen to find a back-up source to support the company's growth. Demand for the Freestyler escalated in 1983 putting pressure on Torker's Fullerton based workshop. Torker's unique, in-house manufacturing resources enabled Haro Designs to diversify from marketing number plates and apparel and take a step into the global bicycle industry.īut the price of success presented challenges to both Haro and Torker.
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Bob Haro was sponsored by the brand, and he rode their LPX twin-top-tube race frame in his early freestyle shows. The relationship between Haro and Torker was productive.
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Prior to 1984, all Haro frame and fork models were produced in partnership with Torker – an established BMX race brand founded in Anaheim, California, in 1976 by an aircraft test pilot named John Johnson. Both models were produced exclusively by Torker BMX in Fullerton, Orange County, California. Paint and decals remained identical to the first generation Master. The coaster anchor, although strangely fragile looking and thin, was relocated to the top of the right chain stay, and swept into dropouts with flared undersides to increase rigidity. The seat stays and chain stays were tapered and brought a sleeker aesthetic to the rear triangle. This evolved version remained unchanged in its geometry but bore a much closer resemblance to the original 1983 drawing. The second-generation USA Made Haro Master entered the market in July of 1984, and the frame was altogether more sophisticated than the model produced between March and June. Aside from its new graphics, when compared side by side, the first generation Haro Master and the Haro Freestyler were hard to separate at first glance.Įvolution – The Second Generation Haro Master. A machined bottom bracket shell brought a marginal weight advantage to the Master, and a fully welded gusset at the head tube, and down tube junction, laid to rest any further issues with cracking at the front end. The technical differences between the 1983 Haro Freestyler and the first generation Haro Master were negligible. Where the Haro Freestyler beat a deliberate path away from BMX racing, it was the Master that legitimized freestyle and fueled an era of prolific growth at Haro Designs.
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The first generation Haro Master went into development in the fall of 1983, and its release the following summer set the standard for innovation.