The year was 1971 and the journey was American. Upon graduating from Kettering University (then General Motors Institute), Roger Sears and a seven of his closest friends from campus hopped on their motorcycles and began a two-week trek from Flint to California while stopping along the most American of institutions along the way.

“It was one of those things that’s on your bucket list,” Sears said. “We took Route 40 and Route 66 - the scenic routes. No freeways. We visited many national parks en route.”

Sears always had a passion for motorcycles and kept a Honda 750 while at Kettering. From graduating in 1971 until February 2015, Sears worked in the auto industry and now, 44 years later, he’s finally returning to his original passion - motorcycles.

Sears is the founder of motoStyle LLC - a company that will produce “half naked” brand custom bellypans for the Ducati Monster 1200/821 bikes. Bellypans serve to improve the appearance of the bottom of a motorcycle engine. Based out of Clarkston, Michigan, Sears will begin selling bellypans to dealers and individuals in February 2015.

“The Monsters are bikes that owners like to customize because they come bare from the factory,” Sears said. “The parts should sell because there are many people who like to modify the bikes and make them personal. Our unique selling proposition is that we are using the exact same processes as large manufacturers. We are creating parts the same way that Ford or GM would. No one else in the motorcycle aftermarket is doing that today.”

After graduating from Kettering with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Sears worked for General Motors (GM) for 34 years in multiple capacities in Ohio and Michigan. He worked in Engineering and Sales and the Inland division (now Delphi) and as a Product Manager at Pontiac where he oversaw the development of the Grand Am, Grand Prix, GTO and G8 over the years.

“I worked with the design staff a lot at GM. We collaborated to define the vehicles - here’s the target demographic/psychographics, so here’s the execution,” Sears said. I liked the interface with design a lot so it kind of prepared me to do things like this [half naked]. I love working with creative people.”

Currently, Sears is focused on producing and selling the bellypans but would like to eventually expand to fairings (front protection from wind) and other customized options for Ducati Monster and other bikes.

Sears sees his current entrepreneurial work as both an extension of his experiences at General Motors and as a return to his original passion - riding and working on motorcycles.

“One could say my career at GM and motorcycle hobby both prepared me for this entrepreneurial experiment,” Sears said. “It’s what many people dream about for their retirement years – doing something they love on their terms and timetable. It’s a dream come true for me.”