David DeMartini, aficionado of Harley bikes, dies at 52
When they needed someone to install the parts or rebuild engines on vintage Harleys dating to the early 1900s, they stayed with David DeMartini.
Mr. DeMartini, known by many in the cycling world as one of the few experts on old Harleys, died June 18 at his Fall City home. He was 52.
Friends say they are awaiting the results of an autopsy, though they suspect Mr. DeMartini may have died of a heart problem.
Mr. DeMartini grew passionate about Harley-Davidsons in his late teens, said his wife, Joanne, and worked for various Harley dealerships in the 1970s.
He became part-owner of a Harley dealership in Bellevue for several years and in 1981 opened Northwest Custom Cycle in Issaquah.
He owned 10 Harleys that dated from 1928 to 1969. All could run. All were in pristine condition.
Dave Eady, a customer and friend, remembers sifting through charred rubble on his hands and knees with Mr. DeMartini after a fire destroyed the business in 1989.
They handpicked old Harley parts from the remains — parts that people from all over the Northwest and Canada came to Mr. DeMartini to get for their bikes.
That year, Mr. DeMartini moved the business to Snoqualmie, where it still thrived.
"He could have gotten insurance money for those parts, but you couldn't find those parts anywhere else," said Eady. "If you needed a part, he'd find it for you. It may come from Egypt, but he would find it."
Mr. DeMartini's expertise drew loyal customers, some who repeatedly came back for more than 20 years.
And they came back yesterday for his last ride. Friends estimate up to 300 motorcyclists roared through Issaquah in a procession from a funeral home to the cemetery.
Mr. DeMartini rode in style. Instead of a hearse, he was carried in the back of a 1950 hot-rod pickup truck to the grave site. His wife trailed in a 1940 hot rod.
"His love was the old bike," Joanne DeMartini said. "He loved everything — the seating, re-building, customizing. Pretty much everything except painting."
Kevin Crutchfield of Carnation met Mr. DeMartini six years ago when he decided to fix up an old Harley. Mr. DeMartini helped identify the bike as a rare Sportster XL, one of only 42 in the world.
"It was certainly rare to find an expert on that bike," Crutchfield said.
Mr. DeMartini was also fond of practical jokes. Friends laughed yesterday when they told of him putting grease on the earpiece of a phone, then handing it to someone else, saying they had a call.
Mr. DeMartini is survived by his wife, Joanne; sister Patricia Akerly of Renton; brother Robert Demar of Friday Harbor; and several nieces and nephews.
Brian Moore can be reached at 206-464-2145 or bmoore@seattletimes.com.