The Benaiah XS
100% Biker|Issue 253
Custom motorcycles are built for many reasons, but the one common denominator is passion. In the case of this Yamaha XS650, two passions came together to create one very special motorcycle
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The Benaiah XS

Gordon Cruden is not your average bike builder. He’s a quite remarkable man who turned his own life around in order not only to save himself but to help others. Throughout his life he has always had a love of motorcycles, from his very first bike—a Honda C90—which he bought for £50 at the age of fifteen. However, at an early age, he found himself battling alcoholism which resulted in a stay in a rehabilitation unit. It was there that he began to take a deeper interest in what had led him to that point and how he could overcome his addiction.

That was over thirty years ago and since then Gordon had devoted himself to helping other people struggling with addiction. He found the ideal home in Teen Challenge, an organisation started in 1958 by a young pastor attempting to help teenage gang members in New York. Some sixty years ago, this was a relatively novel idea but one that proved so successful that Teen Challenge now has 1400 centres in 125 countries, making it the largest network of drug and alcohol programmes in the world, its Christian faith approach helping thousands upon thousands of people.

This story is from the Issue 253 edition of 100% Biker.

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This story is from the Issue 253 edition of 100% Biker.

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