Why the Hogs Head?

The hog wasn’t a random choice just because we thought it looked cool. (Although we do think it looks cool, but that’s neither here nor there). We didn't pull it out of our arses at random, the hog was already there, long before Splitworks even existed.

If you’re anywhere near vintage Harley culture, you know the term "hog" is basically part of the language. But the real story goes back to September 1920, at a 100-mile dirt track race in Indiana called the Marion "Cornfield Classic." A Harley factory rider named Ray Weishaar adopted a six-week-old runt piglet from a local farmer to be his pit mascot. He named him Johnnie. After Ray won the grueling race, little Johnnie was the very first to greet him at the finish line. Ray then picked little Johnnie up and took him on a victory lap with hime. The press started joking about Ray "hogging" the wins, and just like that, a scrappy little pig helped birth the most famous nickname in motorcycle history.

That story always stuck with me.

For me, the hog was just always around. I grew up surrounded by vintage bikes and Harleys. My dad was forever working on them, and a lot of the old clothing he wore featured hog graphics. It became the visual language of my childhood. My mum even picked up on it subconsciously as if there was an ornament, a badge, or a picture with a pig on it, she’d bring it home. The hog wasn’t just about the bikes, it was just part of the furniture.

For Lance, it came from a completely different, but equally real, place. He actually grew up on a pig farm in Ireland. Being around pigs wasn’t some symbolic, aesthetic choice for him. It was daily life. It meant early mornings, hard graft, and proper, dirty work. So, when stories like Fast Johnnie came up between us we knew we had something.

When Lance, Niall, and I started building Splitworks in Belfast, we went back and forth on ideas like anyone does, names, marks, designs. But the hog kept resurfacing. It wasn’t forced, and it wasn’t overly designed. It just felt right.

It carried Biking history. It carried my family history and it carried life, hard work, and it looks good. It had humour in it. 

The whole point of Splitworks, has always been about doing what feels right to us. Vintage cues, moto culture, hard graft, and gear that is built to last. It's a true labour of love.

We didn't choose the Hogs Head because it looked good. We chose it because it already meant something to all of us.

- Shane