Garage Feature I – “Pinky”

If you’re even remotely serious about building bikes in the Twin Cities or Midwest for that matter then you probably know Rick. He’s a wealth of knowledge and quite a unique character. When I asked if I could get some pics for the site he responded with “I dont give a shit whatcha do.” Believe it or not, he and I get along really well. All the local bike and car guys gravitate to him when it comes to heavy duty fabrication work. He’s an all around motor man with decades of experience and experimentation.

I’ve heard him referred to as Handsome Rick, Fabricator Rick and my personal favorite… “Pinky.” Rick is one fine fella. He’s professionally or semi-professionally raced just about everything with a motor at one point or another. New rules have been written because he knows how to exploit the unmentioned details. He told me a little story about 3-wheeler ice racing in the 80’s. He asked what the widest wheel base allowed was. They said something like 3 feet. He went home and built a trike axle so narrow and with such narrow tires that you could canter around a corner like an 2-wheeled enduro. They showed up a couple weekends in a row. Won 1st place in their amateur division on every race they attended. The next season they introduced a minimum wheel base and that was that.

Rick’s really a bit of a living legend when I start to really think about it. I’m pretty sure he’s never had a “regular job.” At one point in his life he was racing 48 weekends out of the year at different tracks across the US. The last time I visited, the founder of House of Kolors Paint, Jon Kosmoski happened to drop by with a front end for Rick to work up. On top of it all, he’s a really solitary guy.

He’s good shit and he’s probably one of the most interesting guys I’ve met since my move to the Midwest. Who better to start off our first ever Garage feature than the one-man garage master himself. I shared all kinds of oddball ideas with him and he always says to me, “if you can imagine it, I can make it.”

welcome to the chopper blog Garage Feature I. More to come.

xs650 Motor Rebuild – DONE

Another small win on the workbench. Just finished the xs650 motor rebuild. New cam chain on Sunday and I finished rebuilding and torquing down the head last night. Slapping it back into the frame later today and trying to move on to the next project as quick as I can. Gotta get the next one on the lift. Dreaming of warmer days. Tune in again. Garage features coming up soon on the chopper bog.

VESPA UPDATE

Lots of tire kicking over the weekend. One guy laid down cash and backed out. THE SCOOTER IS STILL AVAILABLE. One weekend of reassembly and you’ve got a scooter worth 2k come spring. Someone come and take this thing home.

the Kingdom of Diamond Dave

Much thanks and appreciation to Diamond Dave who was kind enough to let me stop by his garage last night for some much needed advise and inspiration. Dave’s a real cool fella. He’s got style and an endless stash of killer chopper parts. He knows his sh*t and is willing to share some knowledge. All you gotta do is listen. That’s good people.

Click here to check out some photos of Dave’s garage scene shot by Josh Kurpius from Kemosabe and the Lodge

photo by Josh Kurpius

Midwest Shops & Garages

Midwest Shops & Garages Series. A new little feature we’re rolling out this winter. The idea is real simple. If you’re from the Midwest (or anywhere cold for that matter) you know that when the snow falls, the cycles, projects, shops, garages and hide outs are the place to be. We’re gonna visit some friends, check out their digs, and see what projects are in the mix.

No where to go and nothing to do but tear it down and put it back together. The first garage in the series will be coming up soon so be sure to check back.