A chance encounter at a Mississippi motorcycle shop has sparked a charity ride aimed at helping amputees return to motorcycling, with Emerald Coast Harley-Davidson hosting the inaugural Missing Parts Ride on June 28.

• The event emerged from an unexpected meeting between social media personality Justin “Danger” Nunley and Joel Rooker during Nunley’s holiday visit to Tishomingo, Mississippi. 

While shopping for helmets at a local motorcycle store, Nunley was approached by a woman behind the counter who recognized him and asked him to wait to meet her husband, a fan of Nunley’s content.

“Before I could say a word, she said, ‘he’s got one arm and he rides a motorcycle’. And I said, I believe I will stay. I’m curious,” Nunley recalled.

When Rooker arrived at the shop five minutes later, Nunley immediately noticed one sleeve tucked into his hoodie pocket. After brief introductions, Nunley’s curiosity about how a one-armed person operates a motorcycle led to an invitation to Rooker’s home for an impromptu video session for Nunley’s channels.

At Rooker’s home, Nunley filmed as Rooker demonstrated his adaptive motorcycle setup and explained the costs involved. The meeting took an unexpected turn when Rooker’s car battery died at the motorcycle shop, leading Nunley to offer assistance.

• “I said, since you did the video with me, jump in the truck and I’ll take you down to the auto parts store and I’ll buy you a new battery,” Nunley said.

During the drive to the auto parts store, with Rooker in the passenger seat, Nunley called Daniel “Gus” Gusoff, owner of Emerald Coast Harley-Davidson, with the idea for a charity ride.

“Every time Justin calls me, I have to make sure I’m in the right frame of mind to take the call,” Gusoff said laughing. “But when he called with Joel in the truck and explained the situation, being in the motorcycle business and knowing how giving the motorcycle community is, it was an easy yes for me.”

• The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 28, at Emerald Coast Harley-Davidson in Fort Walton Beach. Registration costs $25 per rider, including a passenger, while VIP packages are available for $500 and limited to 50 tickets. VIP registration includes a Friday night party with Nunley and priority positioning during the ride.

Rooker’s journey back to motorcycling illustrates both the physical and financial challenges amputees face. After losing his arm in a factory accident, he purchased a 2005 Deluxe motorcycle within months of his injury, determined not to give up his passion for riding.

“That’s why I bought that motorcycle a couple of months after my accident, because I figured if I didn’t, then I probably wouldn’t start riding again. I might have given up,” Rooker said. “That’s why I did that. So I wouldn’t give up the idea of riding a motorcycle again.”

However, the path back to riding required extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation. Rooker’s stump remained severely swollen for approximately six months, resembling “a softball,” before he could begin the prosthetic fitting process. Even then, he required additional surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to shorten his bone by a quarter inch to accommodate the proper prosthetic arm.

“The doctor said it would require cutting the bone, and he said that’s going to hurt really bad,” Rooker recalled of the procedure. “I had a quarter-inch taken off of my bone and the stump shortened up so I could get the correct arm, and that’s the arm that I wear now.”

Nearly two years passed between his accident and his return to riding, but Rooker said the wait was worth it.

• “It was the greatest feeling in the world” to ride again, Rooker said of his return to motorcycling.

The total cost for Rooker’s setup to return to motorcycling reached approximately $7,000 17 years ago. This included $2,000 for the prosthetic attachment designed specifically for motorcycle operation and an additional $5,000 to $6,000 for modifying his motorcycle, including relocating controls to accommodate his disability.

The specialized prosthetic attachment was created by Mert Lawwill, a former Harley racer from the 1970s who developed the device specifically for amputee motorcyclists. Lawwill’s attachment, which resembles a trailer hitch ball, allows riders like Rooker to operate their motorcycles effectively with one arm.

The technical challenges of adaptive motorcycling extend far beyond prosthetics, requiring significant modifications to the motorcycle itself. For amputees like Rooker, every control must be repositioned and customized based on their specific needs and remaining mobility.

• “You start talking about amputees and the prosthetics, it’s not just the prosthetics to get them back on bikes,” Nunley explained. “They’re all customized based on the individual, so you have to customize the bike along with the rider.”

Rooker faces additional limitations with newer motorcycle technology. He must use cable-operated motorcycles rather than newer fly-by-wire systems, which cannot be effectively adapted for left-hand throttle operation.

“I think up till 2015, all bikes were cable, and I think around 2015, that’s when they started using the fly-by-wire,” Rooker said. “Since I have to have the throttle on the left side, I have to stick with any type of cable bike.”

The Missing Parts Ride has generated enthusiasm far beyond the local area, attracting participants from multiple states including Kentucky, Texas, New Mexico, Iowa and Colorado. Several Harley Owners Group chapters are organizing overnight rides to attend the event, with some planning multi-day journeys.

• “We’ve had people reach out that are gonna ride their motorcycles all the way from Kentucky, Texas, and more,” Nunley said. “Some hog chapters are planning overnight rides here as a group, which is really cool to see other dealerships support it.”

The growing interest has caught organizers by surprise, with registration opening recently and sign-ups increasing daily.

“The support has been really encouraging. We don’t even have an idea how many people to expect yet. Registration’s just opened, and it’s growing every day,” Gusoff said.

The day’s schedule includes registration and check-in from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., followed by a safety briefing. The ride begins at 11 a.m. and concludes with a post-ride party featuring food from Sonny’s Barbecue, a cash bar, live music, and live and silent auctions.

Shannon Burke from the Shannon Burke show will serve as master of ceremonies and broadcast live Friday afternoon.

All proceeds will benefit Motorcycle Riding Events of America, a local nonprofit that will distribute funds to qualified amputees seeking adaptive equipment. The organization includes law enforcement and military personnel on its board.

• “We want to give amputees an opportunity to submit a request and work with their local motorcycle store or whoever’s helping them with that attachment on their bike,” Gusoff said.

Several local and national businesses have committed support for the event including Nine Line Apparel, who is producing event t-shirts at cost price. National prosthetic companies have also expressed interest in sponsoring the event, and organizers are seeking donations for live and silent auctions.

Nunley emphasized the charitable nature of the event, noting that participating businesses are donating services rather than profiting from the cause.

• “No one is making money on this event. We’re trying to give everything back that we possibly can to put people on motorcycles,” Nunley said.

The event builds on ECHD and Nunley’s history of charitable work, including fundraisers for children’s Christmas gifts, helping people pay for cancer treatments, and supporting the military. He expects the Missing Parts Ride may become his largest charitable endeavor to date.

For Nunley, the event represents his commitment to using his substantial online following to help others rather than focusing solely on monetary gain.

“One thing that I always said when I started doing videos online is that if I’m ever blessed enough to have a large platform that I want to do as much as I can to help other people,” he said. “I’ve always tried to stay true to what I wanted to do from the beginning.”

Rooker’s message to other amputees considering a return to motorcycling is simple: “Never give up hope and never just never give up. Just keep pushing to get a correct prosthetic so you can get on your motorcycle and ride.”

Registration and additional information are available at missingpartsride.com. Questions can be directed to missingpartsride@emeraldcoasthd.com.