Tequilow Bagger!

I finally got to see the article in Urban Bagger of our "Tequilow Bagger", owned by Josh here in Mount Pleasant.  I just have to say, Dave and his crew at Maverick Publishing did a kick ass job with the pictures and the article.  I mean, it is impressive.

Again, we are blessed.  Photo courtesy of Maverick Publishing.

Still Building!

I know, I know.  Custom Baggers.  I get it.  I have absolutely no issue with the current Bagger craze.  That doesn't mean I am digging on every customized HD Touring motorcycle I have ever seen.  There are some of them out there... Geez!  REALLY?

Our shop just recently was featured in a National Magazine for a Bagger we completely redid from the frame up.  I am grateful for that article.  I am glad we were chosen.  We are truly blessed.

But, we are also still building custom bikes!  That's right, our shop is still building frame up custom bikes.  When I tell my fellow shop owners that, they can't believe it.  But it is true.  I just had a customer sign up for another one yesterday.  And we have yet another one getting ready to go as well.  Not only that, but I have another customer coming over in about a week to sign up for what will be our third new build.

With what we currently have in the shop, those three will put us somewhere close to the double digits of custom builds in our shop, between what we are finishing up now, and what we are starting.

Am I grateful, you bet your ass I am grateful!  Thankful to have customers and friends that still want to ride lane-splitting, adrenaline-producing, kick-ass custom bikes, that look as great as they run and ride.

I'll say it again.  We are truly blessed.

Trophies or Oil?

The other day, as I was mindlessly scanning Facebook, a came across a post from a guy who was my "friend" but I've never actually met.  He also owns a shop, and apparently was trying to make a point to someone about his accomplishments, by showing a picture of all the trophies he recently won at a bike show, trophies like "Best Paint".
Now honestly, that all doesn't make a hill of beans to me.  I have no issue with it, and actually I would say, good for him.  Congrats for his accomplishments.  You know where he lost me?  When he put, "now go change oil" at the end of his post.  Meaning, "you're not talented enough to win any trophies like this, so just stick with what you can do, changing oil".
Like I said, it wasn't directly toward me or anything, but it was obviously directly toward someone who he was trying to put down for not winning said contest.
So, by his mentality, am I to believe that mechanics who change oil and perform service on motorcycles are at the bottom of the "motorcycle industry" ladder, and "bike show winners" are at the top?  Is it a progression?  Like, some stuffy white collar guy who starts in the mail room, and works his way up in corporate to eventually be the CEO?

That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.

To quote a friend, (who is also a real mechanic), "winning a trophy doesn't make you a mechanic".

Bike "shows" don't really carry a lot of weight with me.  Winning a bike show with a motorcycle that is covered with fiberglass and flashy paint, over the stock sheet metal, to me, isn't much of an accomplishment.  In fact I would say, that as far as being at the bottom of the "custom motorcycle" ladder, the "builders" who use fiberglass bolt on covers over stock gas tanks and fenders would find themselves there.  You see, if you want a custom gas tank at our shop, we are going to make it out of steel.  But, I digress.

What we are talking about here is the insinuation that changing oil makes you lower than the "fiberglass gas tank cover installer" on the motorcycle food chain.

Well, that may be his world, but it isn't mine.  I love horsepower.  I love making the bikes go faster, run better, sound better, and perform better.  And there is an incredible sense of satisfaction when someone brings their bike into our shop with a problem, and we fix it for them.  When we REPAIR a broken motorcycle.  There is something very gratifying about diagnosing and fixing an issue on someone's bike, the look that they have on their face, when they know they can go riding this weekend.  Or showing someone their dyno sheet, and their eyes light up when we show them their new horsepower and torque numbers.

I love hearing the stories from years ago, when motorcycle shop owners sought out a different kind of trophy, one won at the drag strip that weekend.  A trophy from beating the guy in the lane next to you, on a stretch of track.  Now that's a trophy to be proud of winning.

But, with the 2013 AHDRA Championship Points Series cancelled, those of us that like the horsepower, and "mechanical" aspect of it all, may find ourselves a smaller minority than ever.