10 Minutes with QuadTech’s Billy Pointer

By Anthony Martin

Bill Pointer owns and operates QuadTech ATV out of Laguna Hills, CA. QuadTech is known for their cutting edge seat configurations and some of the sickest carbon fiber products on the market. Billy has been a part of the ATV scene for a long time. Over the years his Quad Tech products have been been used by most of the top named professional quad riders in the business, including factory and satellite ATV racing teams of the past and present. And today is no different the best riders in the world like Weinen, Natalie, Creamer, Wimmer, Byrd, Upperman, Borich, Fredericks, Baron, Matlock and more are currently running QuadTech components.

By now nearly every die-hard ATVer knows Billy as the guy that creates great carbon fiber parts and innovative seat covers and foams. But there’s much more to the easy-going well-liked family man than quad hoods and seats. With that here’s your chance to learn more about Bill Pointer…

Name: Bill Pointer Nickname: “Wild Bill” Home: Lake Forest, CA Born in: Long Beach, CA Occupation: Aftermarket ATV Racing Products Marital status: Married Kids: Little Bill Pets: Two cats, one dog Began Riding in: 1980 First ATV:1980 ATC 70 First job: Got first sponsor for racing at age 17 and raced for over ten years, so QuadTech is actually my first real job, which started from a hobby. I also did some test riding with Kawasaki in the R&D department. Hottest Girl: Scarlett Johansson Favorite Place: Colorado River and the desert behind it. Worst Place: Anywhere that my buddies or my quad or SxS has a mechanical problem. Worst Habit: Procrastination Pet Peeves: Slow drivers in the fast lane and impatient customers. Favorite Sports Team: LA Lakers Favorite athletes: Kevin Windham, Max Biaggi

How long have you been making parts in the ATV industry?
My first parts were made in 1996 for my own TRX 250R. Soon after, the longest sponsored QuadTech rider ever, Kory Ellis, started using the hoods and seats. After that in 1999 Tim Farr and Shane Hitt were the next big names to use our products. I think I really lucked out. I had no idea what a great group of people I was going to base my business around back then.
Through my early years of heavy dune riding I became very good friends with Ron and Wayne at PEP and Wayne Hinson at Hinson Racing. They were essential in opening many doors for me along the way, including Sparks, Baldwin, Duncan Racing, Team Suzuki and more.

There’s some pretty great people in the ATV industry isn’t there?
Absolutely! Everyone has always been so accommodating. I also really admire the work ethic of the mechanics and racers in this sport. They all love this sport and it shows. I think the sport’s success is a real testament to the people within it. Without the great people in this sport I think it would have fizzled out.

What’s keeping you busy now days?
Family stuff mainly. My son is three now so that is keeping my wife and I pretty busy, but we sure are loving it. Then at the Tech it can get pretty hectic trying to cram everything in each day. My dad and I have been doing a ton of SxS driving in the desert. It has been a great hobby to share with him. Also Mountain Biking has always been a hobby but since my son was born it gives me the most return for the time invested so I have been riding a lot lately. Some buddies have started racing for fun and have talked me into going racing too. It’s a lot of fun.

Quad Tech is the world leader in ATV carbon fiber products. What helps you stay on top of the market? What do you think has kept you around this long?
Sponsoring everyone that races. [Laughing] Actually when I first started QuadTech that was the plan, to just get my parts on the big names bikes, that was all I cared about at the time and pushed to make this happen at almost any cost.
I think keeping the company small and concentrating specifically on the 450-race-bikes has helped too. Racing and helping riders to win titles is what QuadTech is all about. I also think that working closely with our pro riders over the years has helped to improve our products.
I think we’re still in business because of our ability to deliver quality products and we’ve always done our best to get the customer their parts as soon as possible. I would also like to think that having QT parts on MX Championship winning bikes for the last 11 years has helped a lot too.

As for daily operation, my parents help out so much. My mom does the accounting and my dad comes up with how the parts should look, then he makes the prototypes. A few years back Tim Farr won the Glen Helen National with a few one-off pre production parts that my dad made in his shed. I do everything on the seat end, from patterns to shaping foam. And Hollie runs the phones when she is not in school. Trust me running the phones here isn’t easy. She really does a great job of taking care of our customers. And lastly, if it wasn’t for my friend Sean, who takes care of pretty much all of the production work and packing boxes, I would not have a business to be proud of at all. So all in all it is a team effort that keeps us at the top of our game.

How are you holding up in this economy?
Fortunately we are doing good. Since we are a small shop, cutting back by laying off people is not possible, so we just had to cut back to a four-day work week. Unfortunately we had to raise our prices because our vendors had to raise them on us.
Another way to deal with our situation was to discontinue the slow moving products that take up space on the shelves. We’ve also had to cut back on sponsorships, but that was actually pretty easy since a few riders retired and the factory teams disbanded.

How many people do you have working at Quad Tech?
Just three of us, Hollie, Sean and myself.

Do you have any new exciting products coming out?
Yes Stealthy black grills for our TRX hoods and a new line of seat covers with increased durability, but they’re still in the testing stages right now.
I am very excited about it and if it can pass Josh Creamer’s abuse test it will be tough enough for anyone.

What’s the most popular QuadTech product?
The Hump seat kits and the TRX 450 Scoop Hood

 

What do you like to do for fun?
Spending time with my son, RC cars, Mountain Biking, Driving SxS buggies and Jet Skiing.

Speaking of Jet Skiing. You were a pretty successful pro. How far did you go in Jet Ski racing?
Pretty far in 10 years, but I realize now that I needed to be more serious about it then. I won two expert National Titles, two Pro National Titles and three Pro World Titles.

Very impressive. Not many can say they’ve accomplished anything nearly as impressive as that. How about ATV racing?
I’m more of a quad rider than racer, but I did race once. It was fun and ended up winning a novice race at a track in Lake Havasu. I bent wheels and an axle in one day of racing so I decided I preferred dune riding and wanted a blingy dune quad.
I love track riding. While testing with Kawasaki I certainly got my fill of riding quads on motocross tracks.

Do you race now at all?
No, I raced so much when I was younger on the jet skis that I am not too into racing and everything that goes along with it.
I got into Dirt bikes with my buddies and spent a lot of time at the tracks with them. I like putting in laps (on anything) and chasing whoever is in front of me, and I like being able to pull off when i feel like it.

You seem pretty laid back and relaxed. It’s hard to imagine you being as competitive as you were when you raced jet skis.
Actually I’m a very competitive person, but some people underestimate me because I am so laid back and easy-going. I feel like getting amped up is a little over the top and not my style. I would just get warmed up and focused on the task at hand. Hype is just hype and wasted energy in my opinion.

What made you turn? Why didn’t you just start manufacturing jet ski parts and stay in that industry?
I turned a hobby into a business and it has been very rewarding. I had been in the jet ski thing for so long and knew everybody, but I guess I needed a change and my favorite thing to do since I was little was ride something with wheels and a throttle.
Making jet ski parts would have been logical but I was just over the sport completely. I still love my jet ski but it took about 5-10 years for me to love riding one again. Riding one on a track takes me back in time and it is so much fun, [Laughing] and the water doesn’t beat you up like dirt when you crash either.

How long do you see yourself doing this?
As long as I can contribute products to this industry that people need for their ATVs.

Hey do you have a favorite Kory Ellis story?
Anytime a few beers are had with Kory can turn into an adventure. I have a lot of favorite KLS stories. He is an awesome guy and a great friend too.

We appreciate your time and wish you the best of luck in years to come. Any last words?
I feel very fortunate to have had products on all of the factory team’s bikes when they were fielding a team in the sport. This has pretty much been a dream come true. It was perfect timing and they recognized that QT could provide them with the product and support they needed to go racing at the pro level. I’m really thankful for this.

 

www.quadtech-atv.com

 

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