Daniel and Katy are the driving force behind mono motorcycles 2017 Ltd. Here is their story so far.

“We are both petrol heads through and through. We have both been brought up on a diet of Castrol R, motorbike and car racing, F1, MotoGP, BSB, classic bikes and cars, fast cars, superbikes…the list is endless.

But who are we, what is our background and how did come to be running mono motorcycles together.

Here is a little more about us.”

Daniel

“Motorbikes have played a massive part in my life. From the tender age of seven I was part of a display team called The Wasps Motorcycle Display Team and cut my biking teeth on a Yamaha TY80.

From this very young age I began fixing and repairing motorcycles. As I grew, I began fixing my friends bikes too and my skills and understanding just grew and grew.

After I completed a mechanic apprenticeship at age 16, I worked in several garages and dealerships, moving my way up to team management and supervisory roles.

Despite working on cars as a seasoned mechanic, I continued to own a wide variety of motorcycles and repaired them or modified them throughout the years.

With 20 years’ experience in the motor trade, in 2007 I joined the AA as a roadside patrol. After 2 years on the road, I joined the TSP team (Technical Support Team) and my knowledge & understanding of wring and electrical fault diagnosis really came into its own.

After 10 years working for the AA, I knew it was time to make a change. I had met Katy and as a fellow petrol head I wanted to be able to spend more time with her and experience our mutual passion for all things fast. It was with Katy’s support and the support of family and friends that I made the leap early in 2017 to move my passion for motorcycles into a full-time business and mono motorcycles was born.”

Katy

“I have grown up with the smell of Castrol R all around me. As a child my dad – the then Chief Marshall at Cheltenham Motor Club – would take my family to race meets regularly. I grew up with the snarl of two strokes, sidecar outfits, all manner of race cars and motorcycles all around me and I loved it!

It was never on my radar to be involved in the running of a motorcycle business as I was growing up and although my ultimate passion was and still is for all things fast and loud, my career paths have been quite varied.

After graduating from university in 1995 with a BA in English and Art, I couldn’t settle on one career but by default ended up spending many years in Purchasing and Logistics.

It wasn’t until 2009 that I finally took the plunge and started a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, something I had wanted to do since my University Graduation but had never had access to the funding.

Having Graduated as a Secondary School English Teacher, I then spent nearly 10 years in education. Sometimes it was amazing and I Ioved my job. Some of the children were incredible and some were unbelievably challenging.

Sadly, like so many of the other people I did my PGCE with, after nearly 10 years in Secondary Education I was worn down, stressed beyond belief and I knew it was time to move on.”

Daniel and Katy

So where and how did we meet? Well, we met online on a dating App!

Katy had moved to Worthing in January 2016 to take up a role as Second in Charge of an English Department at a boy’s school. We were both very busy people and took the plunge to go on the dating app having been encouraged by well-meaning friends.

Daniel: “I was scrolling through the potential matches on the 9^th February 2016 when all of sudden this flame haired woman appeared in my feed. I started to read her profile which included that she was a lifelong petrol head and hated shopping. I had to get to know this woman.”

Katy: “I have always thought how incredibly brave it was for Daniel to reach out to me. We started to chat online and wanted to meet as soon as we realized we had many mutual interests. However, as Valentines Day approached, we both realized we had tickets to the Carole Nash ExCel Motorcycle Show on opposing days. I was going with my dad and Daniel the day before me with his brother”

Daniel: “When we met, I still had my KTM 990 Superduke and I remember putting a post on Facebook saying I (heart) KT M, obviously not writing about my bike but this amazing woman I’d met – Katy Mason (KT M)”

Katy: “Our first date was a sedate one, in a public space for safety, LOL! We talked for hours, laying our lives out in all their technicolour glory and agreed to meet a few days later to go out on the bike. Well, the first day I got to be pillion on the Superduke was hilarious as I decided despite the advice of the weather report, to not wear my waterproofs. With no rear mudguard I got absolutely soaked! How romantic.

However, the start of our relationship and our future relationship was to be tested very soon after we met. Three weeks after we met we were meant to be going on a mini break and I remember turning on my phone at the end of a particularly busy Friday to find a message from Daniel’s brother telling me he’d had an “off”

My heart sank. I managed to get hold of Daniel through his work phone and it was not good news. Having hit a patch of black ice on the Superduke, Daniel had crashed, smashed his shoulder, snapped his arm just under the shoulder socket, taken all the skin off his knees, broken his thumb and was in a very bad way. This was 3 weeks into our relationship.”

Daniel: “After the accident, I was on a lot of pain killers and naturally I was worried that Katy having only just met me, might think I was a liability and end it then. However, she stayed.

I started the long road to recovery with Katy by my side and within a few short months we knew we wanted to be together full time and began making plans to move in together.”

Katy: “I knew Daniel was ‘the one’ despite him being a broken ‘one’! Once we had moved in together, he then left the AA to start mono motorcycles. I supported him while he built the business from our garage at home.

In January 2018 having been signed off from teaching again with stress, I decided enough was enough and I left the teaching profession. I started at mono motorcycles full time, developing the social media coverage, adding blogs each week to the website, attending trade events and completing all of the admin functions.”

Daniel and Katy: “Since we have been together we have experienced some highs and lows, but the most important thing is, is that we have been there for each other and waded our way through the tough times and rejoiced in the good times together.”

mono motorcycles in 2023

Over the years the mono motorcycles workload has been varied and diverse, with motorcycles of all ages and CC’s coming through our doors.

Over the past couple of years things have been challenging. The Covid19 pandemic and now cost of living ‘crisis’ has at times made us wonder if we would make it out the other side.

However, 2023 has seen our profile elevated. We have recently become a Ltd company and we have cultivated a reputation as the premier motorcycle service and repair provider in West Sussex and Hampshire.  Furthermore, we are sought out by customers from across the UK for our motogadget and wiring solutions for the custom bike scene and have an international clientele for our bespoke motogadget wiring diagram service.

Oaklie joined us in October 2022 as he started Level 1 Motorcycle at Chichester College. Over this past year he has proven that he has a natural talent to become a very accomplished motorcycle technician.

The social and charitable side of our business has seen our popular Breakfast Club expand and in December 2023 we are running another Charity Christmas Quiz in aid of SERV Wessex Blood Runners.

Our business

Running a business takes a lot of dedication and it is a challenge not to be consumed by it. As mono motorcycles has grown so has our ability to offer a bespoke customer experience, offering a cumulative 35 years of knowledge, skills and expertise to everything we do.

When it is your own business, it is like having another child. You want to see it grow happily and safely. If it is harmed, it hurts you personally and no matter how tough a thick skin you grow, it still smarts.

However, running your own business can be liberating and exhilarating and with the right skills, a can-do attitude and the right people around you it can flourish.

Here’s to many more years of mono motorcycles. Check out our social media feeds and website updates and join us on our journey.

All the very best, Daniel and Katy

For all your motorcycling needs, contact us on T: 01243 576212 / 07899 654446 , email us at info@monomotorcycles.co.uk or contact us through our contact page.