8 minute read
Hot Rods, Customs And Racers Take Over St.Paul
This year’s Donnie Smith Show, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, had all the ingredients for a great weekend; indoor flat track racing, a motorcycle show, car show, and a massive indoor swap meet. Friday was the inaugural “War of the Twins” indoor flat track races at the Minnesota S t a t e Fairground. This was the first year for the flat track races, and it was a great addition to the Donnie Smith Show weekend of events. There was phenomenal racing, and a few pretty epic crashes. The crowd turnout was huge, which really added to the electric atmosphere. These indoor flat track races are great for spectators because you can get extremely close to the track to watch. Combine the closeup view with the amplified sounds, smells, and excitement of being in a confined an arena watching the motorcycles racers go by makes for a wild time and a great beginning to the weekend.
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Saturday was the opening day of the Donnie Smith Show, and I knew enough to get to the show early and head straight to the swap meet. This indoor swap meet is enormous, and there are rows and rows of parts. As soon as the doors opened, I went straight to the swap and started scouring the parts for deals and parts I absolutely had to have. I made out pretty good and had quite a loot to carry back to the hotel. I received more than a few looks as I came strolling into the hotel lobby with a cart full of tires, rims, exhaust and other miscellaneous
motorcycle parts.
After spending almost every dollar I had on my swap meet shopping spree I headed
to the motorcycle show to check out all the custom motorcycles on display. This show always has some incredibly cool bikes that are brought out and this year was no different. There was a wide range of custom motorcycles from choppers, bobbers, both metric and American, baggers, café racers, and a few builds that defied all category labels. One of the highlights was a bright yellow custom 1985 FXR that had been meticulously restored by the Klock Werks team. This was a custom FXR that was built by Gene Koch in the late 80’s and was brought back to showroom condition and unveiled at this show.
Another highlight from the show was found in the Metzler booth. The legendary Sugar Bear was in attendance and was at the booth signing autographs, taking pictures, and telling stories. It is always so great to see him and listen to a few of his tales. At one point in the day, Kevin “Teach” Baas brought his chopper class from Lakeville North High School to the booth to show off their inprogress build, which uses one of Sugar Bears famous front ends. It was excellent to watch Sugar Bear interacting with the high school students; you could see the inspiration and motivation flowing, sparking these future chopper builders.
The best part of the show for me personally was meeting Donnie Smith and having a great conversation with him. He is one of the founding fathers of custom motorcycles and definitely put the Midwest on the map. Our discussion covered motorcycles, politics, guns, President Trump, and a story about the first motorcycle frame he cut and raked many years ago back on a farm in rural Minnesota. I was very thankful for our conversation and I walked away motivated and inspired.
The Donnie Smith Show is one of my favorite Midwest shows. The show has so much to offer, no matter what you are into and this year’s addition of the flat track races really amplified this show.
MotoStuka shanks
I’m Rob Howe and I live and work on a bit of land in the Texas hill country – just outside of Austin. I have been a designer for more than 20 years. After graduating with my degree in Industrial Design, I pursued a career in consumer electronics designing cellular telephones for many big providers. Corporate design work was great, but I wanted to do work that was more creative. After completing yet another project, and being laid off when the project ended, I decided it was time to make a change.
I founded MotoStuka based on principles rare in our throw-away culture.
My products represent a dedication to simple rugged design, high quality materials, durability, and an obsession with time honored craftsmanship. Not only do we make all of our items in the
United States, we work hard to source the raw materials domestically as well.
It took over a year to design the product line and develop the processes needed to make MotoStuka items unique. All the leather used on our products is treated with a finish that combines locally sourced natural ingredients applied using custom made equipment designed for our processes. Besides making the leather look old and creating a beautiful patina, it also adds water resistance.
We offer natural leather as well as hand dyed versions of our products. Most of our products feature each of our four core colors: natural “Bronze”, “Coal” black, “Oak” brown, and “Bloody” red. In keeping with our commitment to personal craftsmanship, all of the dyes are mixed by us to make unique colors and one-of-akind effects. For example, our Bloody red is mixed to be darker and more “bloody” looking than standard oxblood dye. You’ll notice that it gives the leather a marbled look. Our Coal black is applied over a Bloody undercoat. This “warms up” the black and creates an antique ombre effect as the red works its way to the surface of the leather.
Of all of our products, our Shanks gloves are our most popular item. Each pair of Shanks is the result of a tremendous amount of effort. To assemble the “raw” glove, we partner with a group of craftspeople here in the U.S. that makes the glove to our specifications. We then customize the length, hand sew the wrists, brand each pair, then dye, wax, set, and polish each pair. While this is a lot of labor, our Shanks stand apart from the standard, factory made or imported glove. I take this work perhaps too seriously, but I am very proud of the results. The feedback I receive from customers reinforces my decision to walk away corporate design and do my own thing.
It’s hard for me to believe that MotoStuka has been growing into a successful brand for 4+ years. I work passionately to add to the growing product line, and have some interesting stuff in the works. I love collaborating with artists and craftspeople from all over the country. And I am, with the help of these very talented people, developing compelling, diverse new products.
I know how lucky I am to be able to care for my family, contribute to my community, and provide opportunities to others. I am proud to be making things that are challenging, unusual, COOL, and NEVER boring for customers that I am lucky to know!
biker bookshelf
milwaukee mike takes a look at chop, ride & party
Article By: Milwaukee Mike
For the uninitiated, our friend and contributor in Holland,
Ton Beerepoot (Beer) has come up with a new way to bring the world of the 2% bikes and the lifestyle to the faithful. If you are not familiar for the concept of 2%, it goes something like this, of all the people that ride only 2% truly ride choppers and live the lifestyle that goes with it.
The offering comes in the form of Chop, Ride & Party 1&2. The book comes is 180 pages of all things chopper in a hard-bound yearbook style. Ton worked tirelessly to fill it with the best that the world has to offer in the form of local builds and those from clear across the world. I
believe that as the years wear on, it will continue to become the go-to guide for what’s going on in the Chopper scene around the world. It brings a good feeling deep down in my soul to know that there is a large group of people out there who will find kindred spirits in the people and bikes that are portrayed on the pages within. It also has the best of parties and gatherings that appeal to the 2%ers the world over. As well as tips and tricks to fill your needs. Beerpoot was also sure to include monumental road trips that make moving about the world on a chopper brings. So, if this the type of publication that appeals to you, visit www. choprideandparty.com/ and order your copy. Don’t forget to tell him Cycle Source sent ya!
