Motorcycle hearse business brings biker community together, says owner

Stephanie Cram · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 22, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

An Edmonton institution is offering ceremonial processions acceptable for bikers, by hitting the roadworthy with a coffin — oregon urn — fastened to a motorcycle. 

Brad Chalcraft, proprietor and relation of One Last Ride, said the motorcycle hearse concern was an accidental helium stumbled upon. 

"I was looking for a car hearse and I was scouring Kijiji, I enactment it connected Canada-wide and the motorcycle came up and I thought [it] would beryllium a large concern opportunity, [to] alteration the mode funerals are done," Chalcraft said. 

The 1998 Harley Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle is primitively from Windsor, Ont., where erstwhile owners George and Val Winney, ran the Forever Free Motorcycle Hearse Company. 

After George Winney passed distant successful 2018, the motorcycle was sold and enactment into storage.

Chalcraft contacted the owner, who didn't deliberation helium was superior astir starting the concern successful Alberta. 

"So I hopped connected a level and went to Hamilton to cheque it retired and it ended up coming location with me," helium said. 

Chalcraft said it's emotionally draining enactment implicit the past 2 years, but it is rewarding. 

"It's hard to spot radical successful symptom and grieving, it's not the easiest thing. There's been times wherever I adjacent question myself wherefore I'm doing this," helium said.

"The feedback is conscionable unreal — it's consecutive positivity — [even] if I tin assistance them get immoderate closure successful … honouring the mode that their loved 1 passed, oregon adjacent lived, being an avid rider." 

Honouring 2 Alberta bikers 

The motorcycle has stickers connected its windshield — reminders of immoderate of the past ceremonial processions, including the ceremonial for NHL subordinate Bob Probert.

Probert was primitively from Windsor and played for the Detroit Red Wings.

Two funerals that meant the astir to Chalcraft were for Tyler Duboski and Laurent Isadore, Alberta bikers killed successful a clang past August. 

The bikers were connected a foundation thrust with the Redrum Motorcycle Club when they were struck by a semi-trailer motortruck adjacent the hamlet of Faust, astir 300 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. 

At the ceremonial for Isadore, who was a cognition keeper from Driftpile First Nation, Chalcraft learned astir Cree civilization and was talented a ribbon shirt. 

"When I spot that galore bikes travel unneurotic and the brotherhood and the sisterhood … the full assemblage came retired and supported this man, it was huge," said Chalcraft. 

Chalcraft said helium offered to pb Duboski's procession. 

"It perfectly changed my life, and to this day, I inactive ticker the video of [the ride]," said Jed Mansell, Duboski's father. 

"When I'm bittersweet … it puts a grin connected my face, truthful it didn't conscionable assistance maine that day, it's helped maine for the past twelvemonth get implicit what I've been going through." 

Mansell said his lad had lone conscionable started to thrust soon earlier the accident. 

"He was free, helium was astatine bid erstwhile helium was riding … earlier the mishap was the happiest clip of his life," said Mansell. 

"I truly privation that I would person gone with him riding and I ne'er had the opportunity." 

Mansell said it was lone astatine the ceremonial that helium afloat understood what biking — and the Redrum Motorcycle Club — meant to his son. 

"When they archetypal enactment him successful the … sidecar, everybody is revving up their bikes and stuff, it was magical, it was thing I ne'er expected, I was overwhelmed with feelings," said Mansell.

"It conscionable brought clarity to … what [biking] meant to him." 

Mansell said he feels similar an honorary subordinate of the Redrum Motorcycle Club. 

"They've go my household present that he's gone," helium said. 

"To this time … they each scope retired to maine and speech to maine and marque definite I'm okay, and present I recognize it, and I emotion each and each 1 of them." 

For Chalcraft, helium said it's important to connection funerals that champion bespeak the idiosyncratic who has died. 

"We each stock our emotion for motorcycles and particularly erstwhile these avid riders pass, you think, 'what would they want?'," said Chalcraft.