An Exciting 38 Years

Written by Poul Hansen

My Mom and Dad (Steen and Marion) immigrated from Denmark back in 1959 and landed in New York city with barely two nickels to rub together. They made their way westward, stopping in Edmonton to visit with family and friends before continuing their journey to San Diego. For reasons never explained to me, they ended up staying in Edmonton to begin this terrific journey of theirs.

Steen was a plumber and pipe fitter (ie. welder) and Marion was a hairstylist when they left Denmark. Upon arrival in Edmonton they started working in their respective trades. As Steen was an avid motorcycle enthusiast, he started riding in local events with the Edmonton Motorcycle club. Being the true entrepreneur he was, he noticed that the local riders were behind their European counterparts when it came to clothing and such. Thus, Steen and Marion began importing items from Europe to supply the local riders in the club with and at the local races. One thing led to another and they began getting increasingly busy as they were importing more and more clothing & accessories from Europe.

At about the same time, Steen and Marion began importing Husqvarna motorcycles for the Canadian marketplace and those were some exciting times. They flew over European greats like Niels Arne Nilson, Bill Nilsson and Gunner Lindstrom to race in the Canadian Motocross Nationals and put on riding schools. Better yet, Steen hand built and welded up a Titanium framed Husqvarna for Niels Arne Nielsen to ride in the 1972 Nationals. That was one very trick motorcycle.

So now we have Marion styling hair and Steen welding pipeline with his welding rig during the day. At night time they're both packing orders to be shipped to customers all across Canada. During all of this, Steen is also working on bikes in the garage. It was at this busy time that Steen and Marion finally made the decision to take the plunge and leave their respective careers. They set up their first retail motorcycle shop back in 1971 selling Husqvarna Motorcycles and their European accessories. I'm sure the neighbors contributed to this move as they were tired of the back-alley being a test track for the bikes at all hours of the night.

We've had a few different locations over the years and originally started out as a half retail/half wholesale operation. Steen and Marion slowly built up their product lines to a point where they stopped the retail side entirely and focused on importing & distributing aftermarket products and looking after the companies growing customer base. Back then, they were both actively involved in the company. Steen looked after racing, riding schools and new products while Marion handled all the office related jobs associated with any small business at the time and keeping Steen inline.

Racing motocross, hare-scrambles and enduros were a fact of life for my family and that was how we spent our summers as I grew up in the family business. I still remember my first job for my father back when I was in elementary school. I had to bicycle to the shop after school each day and wash/vacuum the floors. For a kid, I made good money; fifty cents a day was huge when you could buy a chocolate bar for only a nickel.

These days, Steen and Marion are retired but Steen still continues to ride a couple times a week at age 72. My kids are the ones racing now and the company is run by yours truly. Due to an accident I am no longer able to race but love to watch the kids ride, race and have fun with their friends at the track. I think it's the perfect sport for families because it builds a special bond between parent and child as they can both participate in the same sport and share the experience.

Steen Hansen Motorcycles Ltd, which then became Steen Hansen's and now is affectionately known as SHR is a company with a rich history. We're known for our service, friendliness and our strong relationships with customers. We have terrific employees who have been with us for many years, awesome products, first-class catalogues and most importantly we support and get involved in the industry.

I personally want to thank every one who has supported Steen Hansen's these past 38 years. It means a lot to all of us here at SHR. We truly value your support, more than you think, and we'll do whatever it takes to be part of your business.

We're looking forward to another exciting 38 years and hope we can share this journey together with you.

See you at the racetrack!