El Solitario MC is a Spanish motorcycle brand that took Harley Sportsters into the Sahara because—and I'm quoting founder David Borras here—"anybody could do it on a KTM, so it's not that interesting."
That's the energy. Not contrarian for show. Contrarian because the obvious path is boring and boring is death.
We carry El Solitario at Pemulis because they operate the same way we try to: make the thing you actually want to exist, then figure out if anyone else wants it. Their tagline is "Only Outlaws Will Be Free." Ours might as well be "Convergence of Nostalgia and Novelty." Different words, same refusal to let the algorithm decide what's cool.
Galicia, not Madrid
El Solitario runs out of Galicia in northwestern Spain—specifically an old beach house in Rías Baixas that David and his partner Valeria Libano turned into a workshop, design studio, and occasional gathering point for an international cast of lunatics.
David was a lawyer for six months, then a broker for seven years. Made good money. Was miserable. When his first kid was born in 2007, something cracked. He started building motorcycles with his hands and never looked back.
The first bike El Solitario built from scratch was the Winning Loser—a rigid Yamaha SR250 with twin cylindrical tanks that took 500+ hours to complete. By 2011, they'd relocated to Galicia and committed to making "the best motorcycles and riding apparel in the world" from a modest garage. A decade later, they've shipped gear to every continent and featured in a documentary alongside Shinya Kimura and Deus Ex Machina.
The Gesamtkunstwerk thing
El Solitario uses a German word—Gesamtkunstwerk—to describe what they do. It means "total work of art" and comes from architecture: the idea that one vision should control everything from the building's exterior to its furniture to its landscaping.
For El Solitario, that means the bikes, the gear, the photography, the films, and the adventures are all one project. You're not buying a jersey. You're buying into a worldview where the details matter because the details are the whole point.
It sounds pretentious until you realize it's just what happens when obsessive people refuse to delegate their taste.
Desert Wolves: Sportsters in the Sahara
In 2016-17, El Solitario took three Harley-Davidson 1200 Roadsters into Morocco's Sahara desert. Not because it was smart. Because it was interesting.
They enlisted Nicky Hayden's former MotoGP crew chief to build custom Öhlins suspension. They partnered with Kriega on bags, SHOEI on helmets, Dunlop on tires. Mercedes-Benz provided the support vehicle. The whole project was called Desert Wolves and it was, in David's words, "totally stupid"—the good kind of stupid that proves something can be done precisely because everyone said it couldn't.
The gear they developed for that trip became the tactical line we carry now.
What we stock at Pemulis
We're an El Solitario US stockist shipping from San Francisco. Here's what we carry:
The Rascal pants
Two years of development. Based on vintage motocross racing patterns. Hand-cut from 1.4mm goat nappa leather tanned in Portugal, sewn one by one in a tiny family atelier. Cotton plaid liner, extra hip padding, knee zippers for armor. These are the pants you build your riding wardrobe around.
Tactical gear
The vest and bags came out of Desert Wolves. MOLLE webbing, modular pockets, built to distribute weight across long days in the saddle. The vest is $589 and worth it if you actually travel.
MX jerseys
Old-school motocross aesthetics, modern construction. The Wolf MX line is heavy-duty. The Racing Type jerseys are cleaner. All of them look like they came from a parallel universe where corporate sponsors don't exist.
Jackets and layers
Gloves and goggles
T-shirts
$65 tees that don't feel like merch. The Lobo wolf graphic comes in three colorways. The Dirt Wolves and Ride or Die are the loud ones. K.I.S.S. is the subtle one.
Hats
The soft goods
Shop El Solitario in San Francisco
If you're looking for El Solitario in the US, we're your stockist. No international shipping wait. No currency conversion. No customs roulette.
Browse the full El Solitario collection or stop by 4051 Judah Street in the Outer Sunset.
Only outlaws will be free. The rest of us pay shipping—but at least from here, it's domestic.