You have to admire a person that doesn’t let huge life changes interfere with his or her passions. For Jonny Aquino, this meant not giving up his love of motorcycles even though he became paraplegic at the age of 13. To take it one step further, Jonny is helping other folks with disabilities to get back to the sport they love with his Parashifter.
Jonny Aquino’s passions were easily described as riding BMX and riding his dirtbike. So after becoming paraplegic at the age of 13 it made the most sense to him to keep trying to ride! And he did, until one time he fell on his dirtbike and it fell on him, breaking his leg. As any concerned parent would do, Jonny’s dad took him off the motorcycle and swapped it out for Honda Oddessy’s and other steering wheel + cage motorized vehicles. It was a few years later when Jonny got his first quad and where the story of the Parashifter begins.
Jonny and the Parashifter at the dunes.
“In about ’89 or ’90 I got an ’87 250X and shifted suicide-style with a piece of wood trim. I chose the trim because if I crashed, it would break and I wouldn’t get stabbed,” Jonny explained. He rode with something to help him shift in one form or another until he got together with a good friend and fellow fabricator, Kevin Faulk. ” We talked about a hand-shifter to let me leave my hands on bars, and worked out a design,” Jonny said over the phone, “We tried new things until finally finding a shifter to work on the bars. I rode and experimented for a long time and let it evolve. We have kept a cable-design since ’92.”
In 2008, Jonny got back together with Kevin and they worked on a new design together. They changed the design a little bit to look really good, make sure anyone can use it, and have it be adjustable for bigger or smaller hands, and rider preference. Jonny explained, “We came up with the current design for my YFZ. It’s machined, works with any sized hands, and completely reliable. Electric shifters on the market just overheat or you can’t find neutral or they don’t have a positive feel when riding, so I came up with a mechanical version. It’s been flawless for the last 2 years.”
The Parashifter on Jeremiah Jones' LTR
The Parashifter works by mounting two levers on the handlebars on the left side, running two cables through a pivot point, down through the plastics and through another pivot point, and then mounting a piece down by the footpeg to keep it secure, where the cables attach to the motor. It’s similar to running an extra clutch cable through the plastic and so far he has had no problems with unusual wear or the cables snagging. The lever closest to the rider will put you into first gear, and to upshift you use the lever below the clutch. You can even mount the system to pull in the up-shift lever and the clutch at the same time.
“There’s nothing worse than having to limp a bike back to the pits because something doesn’t work,” Jonny said, and he’s got an excellent point. The Parashifter is made of 6061 aluminum and retails through ADA Motorsports for $450. ADA Motorsports stocks some, but most of them are made to order. The bar piece is universal, but the shifter/footpeg is different on each model. Current models ADA Motorsports has designs for fit the YFZ450 and the LTR450. They currently have a Raptor 700 model in production, as well as a Banshee model. “Almost everything can be made. Bottom mount of footpeg, it attaches there, and cable lengths are little different,” Jonny explained.
So how did ADA Motorsports come into the picture? After the the first few versions of the Parashifter, Jonny’s friends and family urged him to patent the design, but he never felt it was good enough. It wasn’t until February of 2011 that he decided to head back to the drawing board, tighten up the design, and file the paperwork. It became a patent-pending Parashifter in July of 2011 and ADA Motorsports was formed to help get people who otherwise would not be able to ride, back into their passions. Jonny stated, “ Spinal injuries are more frequent, and more people need to ride. I just wanted to give back to the sport so people can continue to ride.”
The upshift-downshift cables mounted near the footpeg.
Ultimately the plans are to get the Parashifter to take off and eventually expand and develop new products to help people get on their bikes. In the meantime, Jonny rides every couple of weeks and races on occasion, even winning a few here and there. He plans to ride more and complete a series in 2012, so be on the lookout for this local talent at the track! Jonny will also be at Dunefest again in 2012.
“Get back on your bike and just ride. Tear up the trails, tear up the dunes, tear up the track, just be on your bike and ride!” Jonny declared. For people who might otherwise not be able to, Jonny is giving them the chance back. For people who think they “can’t,” Jonny has shown them, indeed they CAN.
Nothing's stopping him from going fast! This is Jonny riding the MX at Madras
Contact Jonny Aquino at ADA Motorsports via:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/ADA-Motorsports/150128468421084
Website: ADAMotorsports.com
Phone: 541-508-8869
Email: ADA@yahoo.com
About Megan
Megan grew up riding quads and got involved with the racing community in 2004. She maintains Pit Traffic out of service to the sport and friends she made! She graduated in 2009 from Central Washington University and now she is always looking to help, collaborate, and create. Megan likes to write, take pictures and make art digitally and traditionally. Of course, she still loves to ride!
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Nice work Jonny! See you at Dunefest…..