Behind the scenes at Oberon
Making waterproof tax disc holders for a Bandit led to the birth of this top-notch engineering business
Oberon Performance, near Portsmouth, is Britain’s best-kept biking secret. Despite nearly two decades making quality aluminium accessories for all kinds of bikes, the name isn’t at the top of biking consciousness. It’s something boss Steve Street knows: “When we go to a show, we get people saying, ‘Oh, I didn’t know anything about you.’” That’s changing. Last year sales were up 12%; this year it’s over 20%. Why? Because it’s good stuff: “We don’t make parts because we think we can make some money,” added Steve. “We do it because we’ve spotted something we can replace with something better we’ve made ourselves.” Steve cites Oberon’s two-way adjustable Harley levers and their replacement clutch slave cylinders as perfect examples. All with a lifetime guarantee. Before Oberon, Steve and his business partner, another Steve (Evans), were keen bikers with an engineering and finishing business in a variety of areas, but not bikes. “One day in 1999 I’d had enough of the market we were in,” said Steve. “So we decided to start again. I said to Steve, ‘sod this, I’m going to buy a new bike’ and went out and bought a Suzuki Bandit 1200.”
The move into bike bits followed. “I wanted to add some accessories to the Bandit but the local bike shop had nothing. So I made my own ally tax disc holder. The guy at the shop asked if he could have a couple. I made 30. It was ally plate, stainless fittings, threads in the plate, O-ring, a PETG lens that wouldn’t go cloudy; basically, it was overkill.
“We gave some to the shop but for a laugh we went to a local bike show with the disc holders hanging in a fish tank to show they were waterproof. We sold them all in a few hours. Then I decided I wanted
some bar end mirrors for the bike, so I made them as well.” Business snowballed. Bar ends, footpegs, reservoir caps, adjustable levers and much more followed. By 2005, Oberon’s accessories were selling so well the two Steves shut down remaining areas of the business to focus on motorcycle accessories.
Today Oberon Performance ship all over the world, exporting 60% of their output to stockists in every significant territory. They’ve also recently bought an anodising company, now called Electrodye Ltd, to ensure consistent finish quality.