Iron Works - The Shop: American Motorcycle Specialists

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Contents
APRIL 2012
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ON THE COVER
Volume 22 • Number 3 • Our 182nd Issue
Rick Krost considers himself more of a component designer and vintage bike aficionado than a builder for
hire. But when U.S. Navy Fireman and Afghanistan
veteran Gabe Wingard asked Rick to build him a bike,
Rick couldn’t refuse. His US Choppers board track
platform was the perfect basis, aided by authentic H-D
parts such as the drivetrain and front end—plus a
slew of capable friends.
FEATURE BIKES
FEATURE STORIES
Screamin’ Yellow Psyclone ........................8
Running the Front Range........................24
Creatively cloning a classic
2-wheeled traction in the Mile High City
US Choppers Board Tracker ...................20
Chopperfest .........................................34
Convention takes a contemporary turn
Honoring Dave The Man Mann
Super Glide in the Family ........................30
From neglected to noteworthy
Boney Joe’s Black & White Rider.............36
Is simplicity an illusion?
Persistent for Performance ....................44
“Pipes” resurrects a respected race bike
“SALT” Bike Helps with Horsepower.........48
DEPARTMENTS
Empowering girls to grow strong
Readers, Writers and Riders ..................19
Pappy’s Flatside Flier .............................52
This Shovel goes the distance
Your letters
Bagger Buyer’s Guide.............................70
Get road ready
IW GARAGE
IW Product Review ................................40
Mustang touring seat
Seasoned Citizens .................................76
A winning Wagner
IW Eye .................................................82
Worth a thousand words
T-Man Performance ...............................56
Demystifying performance headwork
REGULARS
About Avon...........................................62
Marilyn Stemp ........................................6
Talking about tire types
S&S Cycle Story ....................................64
Engine Science 101
Shop Time ............................................68
Billy the kid rides again
IW Product Review ................................73
Kreiga tool roll
Making frugal fun
Sam Kanish ..........................................12
Sunny side up
Bert Baker ...........................................14
Recognizing the new normal
Kiwi Mike Tomas ...................................16
Honoring man and machine
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The Other Half
MARILYN STEMP
Making Frugality Work
y parents grew up as
Depression kids, people who lived through
America’s formidable economic
times of the early 1930’s. After
the excesses of the Roaring
Twenties and the stock market
crash of 1929—when investors
leaped to theirs deaths in despair from Wall Street office windows—
there was a serious economic awakening in
America. Pundits and observers in today’s
media have referred to the Depression era
in light of our current economic woes and
rightly so; there are parallels to draw that
can be educational if you’re paying attention.
Depression kids like my folks developed
coping mechanisms and a sense of austerity that became ingrained in their lives. Their
attitude of frugality became second nature
to their kids, too. In my family of five children and one wage earner, my stay-athome Mom managed our resources with
care. Funny thing is, I don’t have any recollection of feeling deprived. We had a big
backyard to play in, ate dinner every night,
and all of us kids got a dime to put in the
collection plate on Sundays. We even took
vacations–all seven of us packed into an
Opel station wagon for a (free) week at my
aunt’s beach cottage.
My parents were frugal with dignity. Making do created character and built work
ethic. Fact is: we had enough. Hand-medowns and a car from the last decade got
the job done and no one complained.
The difference between then and now is
the long stretch of fat years we’ve had in between. During that interim we got brainwashed into thinking that if something wasn’t
the very latest thing, it had no value. Lately
though, it’s heartening to see a different
trend that harkens back to Depression diligence: one in which buying used isn’t considered merely acceptable but even smart. The
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number of posts on Ebay and Craigslist, in
both the buying and selling sections, proves
this. And the can-do spirit is regenerating as
people are taking pride in fixing up a vehicle
or house on their own instead of depending
on experts, no matter that it’s out of necessity rather than choice.
These attitudes bode well for the motor-
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cycle industry. Companies in the
American motorcycle aftermarket today have their noses to
the grindstone as they concentrate on making solid products
that people want and need to
keep older bikes viable or to
piece together runners from
parts. And smaller American
manufacturers are making strides in ways
that are gaining notice.
There’s recent news that Sucker Punch
Sallys will continue building bikes, as an example, and you’ll find only American made
parts for V-Twins at www.stores.allamericanharleyparts.com. Every bit that goes into
Rinehart Racing’s exhaust systems is made
in-house or sourced in the U.S.A. and
thanks to current growth the company plans
to build a new facility to make even more
components on their own. And I’d be remiss
if I didn’t mention Baker Drivetrain. As a domestic manufacturer, Bert Baker is justly vociferous (in these very pages) about banging
the gong to support American companies
and buy American-made products. (Please
write and tell me about other ones.)
And if you can’t find exactly what you’re
looking for, there’s no scarcity of metal fabrication and machine shops staffed by American craftsmen who would gladly make that
one-off component you’re after. Yes, it will
be pricier and the process requires more effort than clicking the “buy now” button, but
you’ll end up with something truly unique and
the benefits will ripple far and wide.
Garage bikes built on a budget are now
getting more respect than they used to and
you have to admit, they have individual cachet you can’t always find in production
bikes. Motorcycling in general is looking economically smarter as gas prices stay high.
This isn’t simply my opinion and I’m not making it up; there are surveys showing that the
ratio of used to new bike sales is on the increase—and has been rising for several
years now. We’re finding ways to keep our
current machines healthy instead of greedily
buying the next new thing. What a switch
from the days of waiting lists!
According to a 2009 Polk Report, registrations of used bikes were increasing substantially, reflecting the used-to-new sales
ratio. Said the report, “Historically this ratio
has been around 1.45, meaning that used
motorcycle registrations top new motorcycle registrations by 45 percent. In 2008,
the ratio rose to 1.88 and is on track to
reach 3.07 in 2009.” This was especially
true in the Midwest where used over new
sales increased more than 20% within one
year in several metro regions. Early in
2009, Polk projected that year would show
the fourth consecutive increase. Though it
might not sound like it, this trend is good
for bike retailers, too, because the profit
margin on a used bike is often greater than
that of a new one.
You might think this trend bodes ill for
new bike manufacturers, but at least where
Harley-Davidson is concerned indicators
show otherwise: used Harley-Davidsons are
outselling some other OEM brands and
2011 totals for new bike sales from H-D
show an increase of 5.8% in the U.S. and
5.9% worldwide. Increased production is
planned for 2012.
With more people riding motorcycles for
frugal transportation, the need to purchase
necessities such as oil, tires, and bad weather gear is increased. Used bike buyers are
worth catering to because they need parts
and accessories now and present the potential to “buy up” later.
Statistics aside, I see the best news as
this: people are still buying motorcycles and
riding them. If you already have a bike
you’re keeping it maintained. At the same
time, both new and current riders are buying both new and used bikes. And the tendency to ride for economic reasons, which
may be the current impetus of the trend, is
as good a reason as any. Bikers have always known that riding is fun and hip, along
with the showboating and superiority we
enjoy on two wheels compared to cage drivers. Now that the secret of riding’s efficiency has become more apparent, we can
be proud for being frugal, too.
America in recent years, with job losses,
home foreclosures, and ubiquitous belt-tightening, is not so different from those Depression times that my parents survived. The
persistence and fortitude of the people who
weathered those tough times in the past to
thrive and persevere is a lesson to us now. If
you wonder if we’re up to the task, just look
around or glance in the mirror: we are
those people and we’re making it work. IW
IronWorks April 2012
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n the 8th running of the Dave Mann Chopperfest last December 11, bike builders
from far and wide came to meet along
side the beach in Ventura, California, to
share their creations with the public.
This show’s original name was supposed
to be Pacific Coast ChopperFest. Artist David
Mann was the planned main feature doing
original artwork for the show, but just three
months before the first Chopperfest David
passed away. As a sign of love and respect,
builders came that year to honor the Mann,
and organizers Tory Duvarney and Dave
Hansen decide to make Chopperfest an an-
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nual event. Recent gatherings have brought
150 vendors and over 4000 attendees.
Each year more bikes, vendors, and attendees arrive to share their stories about how
David changed the biker lifestyle and affected
their own creative work. Chopperfest has become the event for showing functional, rideable bikes that demonstrate visual appeal
and distinctive spark. It’s an outlet for The
Mann’s spirit as well as a place to see and
enjoy his work.
Let’s take a walk around and look at some
of the custom bikes that rolled into the
2011 Chopperfest. IW
Taber Nash shows off an Ironhead Sportster he named
“Straight Lewis.” There’s gotta be a story there.
Typical of the bikes at the Fairgrounds that day is this
vintage-styled bobber with a modern soul.
A beautiful Velocette it is a guaranteed show stopper.
Norm Neuman brought his stunning land speed racer.
Kurt of Ventura Motor Works brought out another beautiful Shovel from his shop.
This speed influenced bobber looks fast just sitting
there.
A sleek flattrack Norton. Too bad there weren’t any
races that day.
Knuckleheads were everywhere. But this one is a Velvet
Hammer.
It’s no surprise that this bike was found on craigslist a
few days after the show.
Here’s one Nasty looking bobber. It even says so.
This Supercharged Shovel displayed refined fit and finish.