Brad Oxley Shares His Thoughts on the Bassani Lifestyle

Brad Oxley on Daryl Bassani: Cool, Innovative, and Unforgettable

For Brad Oxley, President of the Costa Mesa Speedway, Daryl Bassani wasn’t just an innovator... he was, simply put, “the coolest guy of the ’70s,” and somehow, he stayed that way forever.

Oxley’s admiration for Bassani began early. “From the time I was 12 years old, Daryl Bassani was the cool guy,” he recalls. Back in the early 1970s, the image of Bassani—long hair, welder’s goggles, pipe in hand—was iconic. “You’d see the ads… ‘Bassani makes the power,’” Oxley says. “He just had that presence.”

As a kid, Oxley and his friends spent their time working on bikes and riding whenever they could. One friend had a KE175 fitted with a Bassani pipe, and to Oxley, that was everything. “We loved working on our bikes… and I thought that was just the coolest thing ever.”

Years later, that admiration turned into a real working relationship. During a time when noise complaints threatened the future of Costa Mesa Speedway, Oxley’s family turned to Bassani for help. Speedway bikes were notoriously loud—running straight pipes, high compression, and methanol. “We went to Daryl,” Oxley says. “And he came up with a really cool muffler.”

What made it special was its innovation. “It was the first exhaust system that ever had the pre-muffler,” he explains—something now widely recognized in performance exhaust design. Bassani didn’t just solve the problem; he helped keep the Speedway alive, producing hundreds of exhaust systems so the track could meet sound regulations and continue operating.

But beyond the engineering, it was Bassani’s personality that left the biggest impression. One unforgettable story involved a family trip to Baja. After borrowing Bassani’s massive motorhome, things didn’t go exactly as planned. “We had dragged the bumper on a bad road,” Oxley admits, unknowingly damaging the plumbing.

When Bassani later discovered the issue, it didn’t end well. “He called me and said, ‘You need to be up here in 15 minutes. No more free pipes for you, dude,’” The septic tank had ruptured all over Daryl... Oxley recalls. “He was literally furious.”

For a young Oxley, it was intimidating. “I was mortified. I apologized like crazy.” But what stood out most wasn’t the anger—it was what came after. “Later on, when I ran into Daryl, it was like nothing ever happened. He was just really cool.”

That balance—intensity in the moment, but loyalty and respect over time—was part of what defined the Bassani lifestyle. To Oxley, Bassani was more than a builder; he was an innovator from an era when creativity drove the industry. “This was the ’70s and ’80s… there was a lot of room for creativity,” he says. “Daryl, FMF, Pro Circuit—they all came from that time.”

Bassani combined that innovation with a powerful personal brand. “He had a cool persona, and he marketed it well,” Oxley explains. “When you saw that picture of Daryl holding the pipe, you just knew.” Riders didn’t just buy the product—they bought into the identity. “Everybody wanted a Bassani pipe because you knew it was cool—and the products worked.”

That authenticity is what built Bassani’s loyal following. “They made a good choice,” Oxley says of Bassani customers. “They hooked up with a guy that was legitimate.” He describes a sense of mystique around the brand—but one grounded in reality. “Daryl was a real guy. He was loyal. And I think his customers felt that.”

Even today, that impact remains personal for Oxley. “I’ve got a Daryl Bassani memorial sticker on the back of my truck,” he says. “Because Daryl’s sick—and I want to be cool too.”

Looking forward, Oxley believes the legacy is far from over. While there was a moment when it seemed Bassani might fade away, he sees Lifestyle Cycle's leadership as a turning point. “Daryl built a reputation—a mystique—and it’s a legacy worth protecting,” he says.

With Lifestyle Cycles stepping in, Oxley is optimistic. “Junior has the heart for it… and he’s got the drive,” he explains. “He knows how to bring in the right people and push things forward.”

For Oxley, the future is clear: “I see a bright future for Bassani Pipes.”

And just like the man himself, that future promises to be bold, innovative—and unmistakably cool.