Motorcycle enthusiast swaps bike tales with Leno

Opportunity knocked last September, and Porterville resident Dan Bienfang answered.

In September 2007, Bienfang was featured in Gray Matters, a periodical published by The Porterville Recorder. The story was called “A love affair linked to history.”

The ongoing love affair is between Bienfang and the precious Vincent.

“The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, after hearing about Bienfang’s love for vintage Vincent motorcycles, invited him to his place to see his stable of famous Vincents and classic cars.

Leno heard about it after Bienfang sent him a copy of the story and the two men talked by telephone about the historic motorcycle.

Bienfang’s opportunity included being a guest in the audience of the April 8 show.

Both are members of the California Vincent Vintage Motorcycle Club.

Leno’s love for classic cars and motorcycles is legendary.

“It was an education,” Bienfang said of the experience. “He’s got over 200 cars, he’s got 11 Vincents. One thing about Jay Leno is he doesn’t have a museum. It took three and a half hours to go through there and look at them. He drives the cars.

“That night when we got home, I watched the show and I saw myself when they turned the cameras on the audience.”

Guest and friend Leora Akagi at the time said she enjoyed the show and meeting the famous host as well.

In the September story, Akagi said Bienfang “took parts from three motorcycles, put them together and built a bike for me.”

She used to enjoy riding with her children, she said at that time.

For Bienfang, the “biggest kick,” he said, was going through and checking Leno’s Vincents.

“It was a cool situation,” he said. “It was a fun deal and everybody thought it was great. The show was fantastic.”

That’s the kind of thing that can happen when you create an opportunity, it comes knocking and you answer.

“I’d love to do it again,” Bienfang said.

-- Contact Anita Stackhouse-Hite at 784-5000, Ext. 1043, or astackhouse-hite@portervillerecorder.com.