Podcast Ep#3 - Bob Laidlaw "How I Started and Built Laidlaw's Harley-Davidson" 

I have a Matt Laidlaw story. I stopped by on my way back home to Utah from San Diego. Matt showed me around the dealership and gave me a Laidlaw license plate bracket for a friend of mine that collects them. We even went outside so he could look at my Streetglide. I have a photo of him sitting on my bike. I guess the point is that just like his Grandpa, he treats people with respect and kindness and it actually means something to people. Thanks Matt and good luck!!!

Bob is a stand-up man. I remember in 1992, I had a Shovelhead serviced there. They would give it a nice wash before giving it back to you. Whoever washed it, did a poor job at drying the chrome. Bob caught wind of it and personally wash it and dried it again, personally!! I mean, laying down next to it and making sure that the underside of the fishtails were spotless. I will never forget that!!

Straight out the gate you can tell the respect and love Matt has for his grandfather. He had to keep his self together on that introduction. Im sure he's forever indebted to his grandfather for the passion and opportunity that was shared. Harley is very lucky to have Matt and his family on board. This is arguably the best channel on RU-vid when it comes to motorcycles. Keep up the great work Matt.

I'm a life long rider but I just purchased my first used Harley. Since I don't know anything about HD motorcycles my first step was calling several HD dealerships for advice. I'm not knocking the others but one told me they wouldn't even touch it because they referred to it as a legacy bike because it was older than 10 years old. Laidlaw was the only one willing to give me sound honest advice. Laidlaw has ALL my future business for sure. Especially when I purchase my second NEW bike. They have my business for life. Thank you

"Los Angeles' oldest, largest and finest Harley Davidson dealership." Now we know why. God bless you Bob.

I really enjoyed listening to your grandfathers story's of the early days of opening a Harley dealership. Matt you did a great interviewing job. You asked all the right questions. When I moved to FL. in 1977 the local H.D. dealer was in a small strip shopping center. The owner was the mechanic and the salesman. They had one Sportster in stock. In about 1985 the dealership moved to a ''larger'' building where they could fit about 5 new bikes. In the 90's a big car dealership franchise purchased the dealership and moved it to a typical fairly large building where it sits today. I located the original owner and asked him if I could interview him for youtube to talk about the early days. Unfortunately he refused and made it clear he had no interest in talking to me on, or off camera about his history with Harley. More's the pity.

What a humble gentleman! Sounds like he was deserving of that blessed life he's had. Another great podcast guys 👍

Great video.... Great Legacy... I was 13 years old when I stepped into Laidlaw’s on Garvey (1988 )and met your dad Jerry for the first time. After several times of entering the shop, he asked me “Can I help you son”? I asked what was needed to have one of these (pointing to a Dayna Wide Glide). He said, “A good job and $5,000 down”. I told him I’ll be back sir. Many years later I stepped into your shop. Off the 10 freeway and met your brother Scott and met Rick... got my first HD, 2015 Breakout... a year later, traded it for a 2017 RG Ultra. Love your legacy and will never shop any where else. You’re doing great for your families legacy!

Its really heartwarming to watch and listen to the stories of your families past. In this day and age, we just don't see the kind of respect given to out elders that we, ( I was born in 1980). Still seem to appreciate. I've only been riding for a few years now, but I'm all in. I'm quite obsessed with Motorcycles and especially Harley Davidson. I can't wait for my chance to ride down to California to your families dealership and shake your hand. Thank you for taking the time to inspire me, not only to ride and love different bikes, but it's made me a better man. Thanks again Matt!

thanks for this piece of USA history. Bob and his wife are American heroes. What a rich life they live

Holy cow you look just like your Grandpa when he was younger 👍

WOW! Great Intro! Great video! AND great year 1958! (I was born that year!) LOL I have a cool story too. My ex-wife's grandfather of Italian decent after he came to this country settled in Ohio and raised his family. He always wanted a Harley Davidson motorcycle. He was a stone mason by trade and did residences, churches and commercial buildings and even made really cool coffee tables for the family topped in carved granite mosaic cut, fit and polished by hand. Sorry, I had to give you a little bio of his artistry. This was back before America had paved roads or even an interstate. Most roads were dirt, gravel, bumpy and dusty and narrow. So, he bought an H . He was the first man to ever ride "cross-country" both ways on a Harley Davidson. His manifesto was written in Italian and was eventually translated into english (my ex has pics, a hand written diary and verification letter) It's a great read especially the part where he met a woman along the way and well (I'll skip that part but sounds naughty in Italian. You know how bikers are! lol) we'll move on. So, when he finally gets back to Youngstown Ohio (a stones throw from Pittsburg PA.) there is much fanfare and publicity and in fact, the Harley factory even presented him with a new bike. Nobody knows what ever happened to either bike but must have wound up in the hands of a loving collector. I'll have to check. There was also a cool signed congratulatory letter from the factory awarding him the bike and acknowledging him for the cross-country trip (except for the woman he met along the way...lol).

Very cool story. Matt, your are doing an incredible job keeping the legacy going strong!

Who wouldn’t want to sit down with this man and listen to all the amazing stories he has to tell? Damn shame this video only has one Like button. An amazing man and you are so blessed to have him in your life. Thanks for sharing Matt!!!

This was such a lovely, sweet experience for me. Well done! I’m a huge enthusiast of interviews and podcasts (eg., Terry Gross, Radio Lab). I will never forget this particular one since it’s the first video I’ve seen of family questioning family in a video. As such, what appears here as in no other I’ve seen are the beautiful, authentic smiles and facial expressions that come with love and the respect of family members (Keith included in that statement). I think I constantly had a grin or smile popping just about every moment. At 6 years of age my grandfathers were gone. I never had an opportunity to speak to a grandfather with an adult consciousness. . . with that understanding and concern of knowing how special it is for an individual to carve out his or her own individual expression of life through work and play. My father has been gone now well over a decade. When he was alive, I was so focused with the process of creating a family in different, distant places . . . and truthfully so self-absorbed that I never deeply interviewed him about his years and thoughts. You’ve done so well with this effort. I’m just recently a grandfather as of last month and given my age, not sure I’ll ever have a back-and-forth, deep conversation with my grandson. Maybe that’s another reason why this interview was so poignant for me. Lastly, l’ll share a childhood experience which lets Matt know he is not alone in those feelings of disappointment when wanting to be some part of the adult world: My dad was a carpenter and at one point had his own company. I remember one day he took me to a job with his business/carpenter partner. They were doing some work above the ceiling in a light commercial building. I was up there in that dark and, for grown men, somewhat cramped space. At the upper part of the access, fold-down ladder, I was asked to go pull a tool out of the toolbox below and bring it over to the men. I was so flattered, feeling respected that Dad knew I knew which tool to pull. I grabbed it, went back up the ladder and proceeded to walk directly over to them. I was a kid so I could comfortably stand up in that space and quickly move to them. Suddenly they cried out in horror, “Walk on the wood tops - the ceiling joists! Don’t walk on the insulation!” Dad had neglected to tell me about the structural considerations of walking directly on a plaster or drywall ceiling. I was humiliated. I didn’t fall through thanks to my tender age and of course, the men didn’t blame me. Still, it would be quite some time before I was asked again to be a helper, experiencing those feelings of fitting properly into my Dad's profession.

Fantastic episode Matt! Really enjoyed getting to know the history of Laidlaw's HD and your grandfather...a good man. God has blessed him.

Just when you thought Matt Laidlaw couldn’t possibly put out a more inspiring and nostalgic video as his ride to Zion, he drops THIS! Incredible!

Matt, Bob and Keith, thanks for the great Podcast, it was a pleasure to listen to Bob’s stories. A successful (62 years) family business starts with strong personal values that are passed on down through the generations. Bob obviously started this business with those values in place and certainly seem to have been passed onto his grandson.

Back in the day 1989 ,went in for a sportster so I could split lane and left with an FXRP. Mr. Laidlaw convinced me to get an used FXRP instead of a sportster , best Harley I ever had. I'm still riding that scooter to this day. Thank you Mr. Laidlaw.

I’ve known your Grandpa & your dad & your Uncle Brent since the late 80’s. They are the kindest and the most honest family you’d ever want to meet! That’s why I’ve bought 3 new Harleys from Laidlaws and my next bike, which will be a Trike, will also come from Laidlaws!

Matt love your grandpa, fantastic interview.👍

I've bought two motorcycles from Laidlaws over the years and took my CHP bikes there often. Live in San Diego now but still like to stop in. I really enjoyed this.

A sincere thank you especially to your grandparents for sharing these experiences! An hour well spent!

It’s so cool you still have your grandad !!! I don’t have any grandparents or my father left ! Give that man a big hug for me and yourself

I really enjoyed listening to your grandfather. I already thought highly of Laidlaws Harley Davidson, now I have even more respect and appreciation for what the dealership represents. Thank you for sharing

Bob Laidlaw...OG!!!

Great video! History is to be remembered. Honor to here the stories from Bob. Hooah to a fellow Veteran.

I haven't purchased a Harley-Davidson but my first will be from you guys. You guys have such history!

you are blessed to have had such a great grandpa. and did not drink or smoke. I like that. super guy. enjoyed this immensely. we need this type of man more in families. God bless him and your family.

Thank You Matt for sharing the interview with your gransfather. God Bless him! he is an amazing man.

Matt, you are very blessed to have your Grandfather with you and share all those precious stories first hand with him. He is truly a great gentleman. I really enjoyed listening to him and greatly value your grandfather’s no nonsense wisdom and kind nature. You sure look like your grandfather a lot. Matt, What a beautiful treasure you have coming from such a blessed family. I hope people realize they are not only buying a motorcycle at Laidlaw, they are also buying great American tradition and motorcycle history from a great American family. Thank you for producing this very special video, it’s one to always cherish.

What a wonderful hour I was just honored with. Thank you so much Bob Laidlaw. It’s sounds like your legacy lives on through Matt, Keith, and the entire Laidlaw H-D crew. This video really makes me want to buy my parts and my next Harley at Laidlaw’s Harley-Davidson. Keep up the honesty, humility and yes, frugality. :) Thank you guys!

I really enjoyed this podcast. It's amazing the wealth of knowledge and H.D. history from Bob. We visited from N.Y. last June and met Matt. We recognized the same courtesy and warmth we saw in Bob in Matt. I appreciate your videos. Take care!

Great video Matt! Love hearing the old stories I could listen to your grandpa for hours.

Love hearing the stories about Grandpa Bob. My dad is 96vand I try to ask him questions about how things were in his day. From the depression to wwii etc. Bless your heart Bob

Matt, I know this is a couple years old, but I just wanted to say, your grandpa is a gem!!! Spend as much time as you can with him. He is full of history, knowledge, love, hard work, and blessings!!! Hope to see you on the highways and byways. Ride safe and be blessed 🐾🐾

From 1958 to 2020 and still selling Harley Davidson and may you guys sell more what a cool Grandpa Matt ur so lucky to have him God bless you all

Great story Mr. Laidlaw. Matt thank you for sharing a piece of your families history & stregthing the H-D legacy.

Back in the late 70's I was in my 20's and bought a Sportster from Laidlaws on Garvey in Rosemead. From what I remember and the photo it was still the first Dealership and just before they moved to the new location still on Garvey. Years later I bought 3 Harleys from Laidlaws at the new Dealership in Baldwin Park. I remember one bike I bought was a new 2004 Roadking. When I was taking delivery at the Dealership, Bob came over to shake my hand and a thank you and said, don't forget to put a Power Commander on it, I did......

BRAVO!!!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 congrats! Great man! Great family! I am from El Salvador, promise that the day I buy my first harley Davidson brand new, will be in your dealership! I have a Street Glide 2015 that bought it used! Love it! Its my first bike and my first Harley!

Thank you Matt for sharing your Grandpa with us. I grew up in a motorcycle shop in Southern California during the 70’s. Hearing you guys reminiscing with Bob was pure pleasure. What an amazing life of service ❤️. Thank you again and best wishes to whole Laidlaw family!

Loved this, Family is everything. Keep up the good work.

Thank you matt laidlaw. I never really was around my grandfathers to learn anything. It was good to learn from yours. Cherish the time with yours. And keep your grandfather coming on. He is definitely interesting.

Words cannot express what a joy it was to see this and hear your Grandfather's story in his words. Joy, Family, Friends, a BLESSED LIFE! SO COOL! Keep Doing Right! Thank you for sharing this!

Way cool interview. Could listen to Bob tell stories all day long! Great podcast!

I Loved Listening To Your Grandfather He Has a Million Stories i Bet LOL.....Love Those Old Classic Harleys From The 30s and 40s....Matt Liked The Jimi Hendrix Music.

What a GRAND old man! PLEASE have him on again!!

Incredible stories. Thank you so much Matt for continuing the family legacy. I stopped in on my trip from AZ to WA after graduating MMI Phoenix, and was treated with utmost respect by everybody and felt the love. Incredible to stumble upon this podcast

I am glad I got to hear and learn of a legend named Bob. This world needs more Bob's!

Thanks guys for sharing this life story and thank you Bob for being such a gracious example. I love the way Bob relates to the success he had over the years and how he sees everything as being a blessing! God bless you!

Nice job Matt. This Is priceless. Grandpa Bob is an inspiration.

Thanks to Matt, Keith and Mr. Bob for the history archive. Appreciating the amazing history of others and their great stories plus bonus for pictures. I remember coming across one of the bikes he talked about owning. The shaft drive, flat twin like the BMW that was built during WW2 for the desert fighting. It's in the Wheels through Time museum in Maggie Valley, NC and still runs. Very, very few were made.

Matt your grandfather is a national treasure. Could you imagine getting 5 or 10 guys like him get together and tell their stories. Love to be a fly on the wall for that. Awesome video Matt thank you for preserving the history 👊🤘

That was an inspiring interview on so many levels. Bob's frugality seems to be a lost art in America today, but my wife and I work really hard at it. Like Bob, any advances or successes we experience we attribute to being blessed. Having a grateful, humble heart has made life incredible in spite of living paycheck to paycheck. On another note, I am definitely planning to interview my dad this year. We had always planned to interview my grandfather but never got around to it. Anyway, awesome job guys. Keep up the great work!

One of the best things in life is the “hero worship” that goes on between grandson and grandpa. It’s a precious relationship and your grandpa truly seems like one in a million. This hour flew by. Thanks for the great content.

Good memories to cherish. Thanks for sharing that with us Matt! They don't make 'em like that anymore. Grampa is a real icon in the motorcycle industry.

Fantastic interview... looking forward to another visit with Bob on your show.

I am like hundreds of other customers. In 94 I wondered into the Garvey shop looking to buy. My choice was a soft tail. Bob walked over..and long story short I ended up with the Dyna Wide Glide...U now proudly own a 01 Road King..but will always remember my first HD that Bob Laidlaw sold to me...love that man!

*I’m so glad this came around on RU-vid, most enjoyable and lots of memories that I share myself with my family and friends.*

Neat video, old school gentleman who is well worth listening to! Thanks for sharing, this let you know just how much the world has changed!!!

Grandpa Bob is the real deal, thanks for this Matt, I enjoyed this interview was great.

You’re a genuinely good guy, Matt. I love the respect you guys show your Grandad.

Thank you so much for sharing, I listend from the very first second till end with beautiful emotions recocnizing how passioned Bob developed the business, greetings and lots of health to Bob and Family from Germany

One of your best that I'll enjoy watching again. Thanks Bob, Keith and Matt :-)

that was the best hour of my week. Love talking/listening with folks from the greatest generation.

WOW!! What a great and humble man your Grandpa is. I can see how he's passed on so many traits to you. Fantastic hearing the history from someone who lived it. Thank you so much for sharing.

They don’t call it “the greatest generation” for nothing. Not to be overly dramatic but I sincerely think this was the greatest RU-vid interview I have ever seen….what an incredible family. Someday I will make it to California to simply stop by and say hello. You guys are wonderful.

A treasured moment. Nice one Matt.

Matt this is so awesome ! Much respect. May God continue to Bless Mr. Bob Laidlaw, what an awesome Gentleman ! Love Laidlaw videos...if you are into Motorcycles, you understand. It is just in the heart of us, a brother and sisterhood. Watching "THEN CAME BRONSON" 1969 starring( Michael Parks ) as a kid, made me salivate motorcycles. I still watch episodes on DAILY MOTION. Bronson on that Red Sportster traveling the country. LOVE HARLEY-DAVIDSON'S.

So great for you to record this history and memories to be treasured by your family forever. Loved hearing his story. Your grandpa is a total badass!

This really was a great joy to watch.there is so many great stories the old timers have. I love to hear them. Enjoy these years with your grandparents, I sure miss mine. Your grandpa reminds me of my grandpa. Same kind of guy

This is by far the best post on your channel. Bob is terrific as well history! Peace

What a fantastic video. Thank you for sharing the history.

Matt, great to hear all about grandpa Bob & Laidlaw's history. God has certainly blessed him because of his humidity & grace.Thank you, I'm in Clovis, Cal & can't wait to visit your store for some t-shirts. Safe travels

What a great podcast....and what a true, sincere gentleman! We need more people like Bob these days! Thank you for sharing this with us all!

That was GREAT !!!! .....THANK YOU all for sharing !

Great to see three generations carrying the biking torch. I'm 3rd gen too, granddad taught my dad and him me, hopefully a 4th too. Respect to Bob. Keep it going strong guys!

Love these old stories

As Creators we sometimes do things that we will cherish for a lifetime. I'm sure for you, this is one of them. Awesome piece, well done Matt.

Outstanding on so many fronts. Thank you so much for sharing your Grandfather with us. I describe this as something one can't buy with money.

Thanks for sharing your grandfather and your familys history with Harley Davidson and your dealerships, love your Podcasts !

Matt, what a great candid and gracious interview with your sweet grandfather. I love hearing about his stories and insights in the early years with his HD business. Absolutely made me smile when u guys smiled and made me laugh when u guys laughed. Thank you for that, made my evening!

I thought an hour long. I am so glad I watched this. You are so blessed Matt to have a great dad and grand dad. I love people from's Bobs generation which are truly the greatest generation. What fun. I am a grand dad now and I too am blessed. I still ride and love Harley Davidson. Thanks so much.

matt a really love the show listening to bob speak about the old days brings me back to when i would sit an talk to my pa about the good old days man i mis him so .. what a treat thanks for sharing

What an amazing and interesting man! So glad you had your grandfather on the show to share his stories. I love the lessons learned about frugal living and the wisdom that was shared. Keep them coming guys - very good work. Thanks

Kudos to one of the ' greatest generation ' and thanks for sharing his story...a great role model.

So very interesting! I've been waiting so long for this! Pure magic! Keep em' coming guy's!

I love listening to the old timers, what a great guy, god bless him! Thanks Matt😎

Great interview there was a BSA shop when I was a kid. The owner Angie would let us kids sit on the bikes and watch the workings of the shop. Most of us bought our first bike from him. I'm 73 and still look back at how much I enjoyed his store.

This Is Awesome ... all my seniors have passed on... you will always have this to look back on. When I was young 60s and 70s all this vlogging didnt exist

I hear and see the emotion in your voice/face Matt. Such a great podcast of reminiscing.

I just bought a motorcycle from you guys you guys were awesome thank you dave

Very cool indeed. You could hear the emotion in Matts voice when he was first talking about his grand dad at the beginning

What a Great Family Heritage!!! Congratulations! Thanks for sharing the stories

Lovely man. Blessed to have him, my father's father, we never knew him, and my mother's father, I never got on with. Great to see the love. 👍❤

I've watched alot of your vids Matt. Being from Milwaukee and having a great love for Harleys. It so awesome to see Bob and hear some of his great story's. I'm sure you could spend days talking to him and have heard many story's growing up. Bob has instilled great morals and integrity into the Laidlaw family business. That you carry on. Your doing great work sir. Keep it going. 🍻

God bless Mr. Bob Liadlaw 🙏🏻 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 Love hearing these GREAT story!! Gracias Matt. Bring Mr.Bob back for more story & Pictures..

Amazing podcast hearing about the history of Laidlaw. Thanks for sharing

Huge respect from Finland!!

What an awesome episode. Thanks for sharing with us, Matt!