Norkin's Mental Therapy Pan

life has a way of leading us to where we never knew we needed to be. Things happen, directing us in a different route in life. Sometimes when we arrive at where life pointed us, we just say, “huh, I never knew.” The tough side of it is sometimes life gives us some pretty harsh, in your face, directions.

Let’s take Joe Norkin, for instance. At 60 years old, Joe was still a competitive Motocross racer, then he broke his back in a racing crash. After going through therapy and putting in the work, Joe was back on his feet. Joe was now ready for some motorcycles back in his life. Looking for something that would get him involved with two wheels and hands-on outside of racing, Joe looked to build a custom motorcycle. Now guess what? Life decided to reroute Joe in a big way. Sadly, Joe lost his home in the Paradise Camp fire in California. The Camp fire was the largest and most destructive in California’s history. With an event of this magnitude, many groups stepped in to help people deal with the mental stress. When Joe was asked if he would like any therapy to help deal, he told them he had his own therapy planned.

Norkin met up with Will Freeman of Freeman Choppers. After the two talked and Joe told him his therapy plan, Will jumped in to help. An aftermarket Pan frame was ordered, and Will made a deal on a fresh STD Pan engine sitting in his showroom.

Over the next few months, the bike traveled back and forth

between Joe’s garage and Wills shop. Joe would work on things at home until he reached a point that he needed assistance, and he’d load everything up and head to Will’s. At Freeman Choppers, they’d knock out the visions of custom work Joe had. Sometimes they would look at each other in slight disbelief of the idea of the other. They would work on it and eventually see each other’s vision.

With a frame, motor, and each other’s visions locked down, the build flowed along…until, COVID!! Yep, another speed bump in life’s highway. Things slowed, but Joe and Will pushed on. The Pan was connected to a 4-speed tranny by an enclosed primary. Will modified an original Oil Bag to clear and hide the electric start. 16 and 21 inch spoke wheels were shod in new rubber and hung from the frame and springer front end. The bike was taking shape.

With everything fit, the Pan was ready for some color. The question was, who do they turn the sheet metal over to for paint. After some searching, they found Striper Josh. Josh works out of Miller Chop Shop, a business dating back to his grandfather in Reno, NV. The selling point for Josh was that before his family would let him work out of the business, they sent him on the road working Rallies and events, perfecting his talent and making his name. Josh laid down the beautiful colors and graphics and sent everything back for final assembly.

When they received all the parts with their final colors, Joe and Will

Owner: Joe Norkin City/State: Arizona Builder: Freeman Choppers/Owner Year: 1955 Model: Panhead Bobber Value: Lots Time: 6 Months

Engine Year: 1955 Model: Panhead Builder: Freeman Choppers Ignition: Points Displacement: 80 CU Pistons: Biker’s Choice Heads: V-Twin Carb: S&S Cam: Andrews A/B Grind Air Cleaner: S&S Exhaust: Custom Primary: Belt

Transmission Year: 1955 Make: V-Twin Shifting: 4-Speed / Foot Clutch

Frame Year: 1955 Model: Stock Rake: Stock Stretch: Stock

Forks Builder: V-Twin Type: Springer Triple Trees: Extension: None

Wheels Front Wheel: Paughco Size: 21” Tire: Avon Speedmaster front brake: None Rear Wheel: V-Twin Size Tire: 16” Tire: Avon MK2 Rear Brake: MRC/Drum

Paint Painter: Miller Chop Shop Color: Black / Yellow Type: Graphics: Art Deco Style Chroming: Stock

Accessories Bars: Paughco Risers: Paughco Hand Controls: V-Twin Foot Controls: V-Twin Gas Tank: Paughco Oil Tank: Freeman Choppers Front Fender: None Rear Fender: Freeman Choppers Seat: Mother Road Customs Headlight: Taillight: Drag Specialties Speedo: None assembled the Pan for the final time. A slow, tedious chore but worth it in the end. The final product, the beautiful Pan dubbed Pan-demi (ha-ha, get it), was together and ready to take the world by storm.

So, in the end, remember, when life throws you a sharp curve, just lean in and throttle out. The result may amaze you. Just look at Joe. He has a newfound love for building bikes, made some amazing friends in the way of Will Freeman and Striper Joe, and has an awesome bike to boot. Joe also wanted to thank his girl Patty because we all know what we put them through when we take on these things. Keep your head up, face in the wind, and keep building.

Article By: Charlie Weisel

if I’m being honest, sometimes I struggle with these articles. I don’t do well when it comes to relaying a play-byplay of a recent trip, nor do I necessarily enjoy it. I wouldn’t say I completely dislike it, but I do fear that there is an inherent risk of sounding a bit repetitive and mundane.

Because of this, I always try to find a way to relay more of the how’s and why’s of a trip and provide inspiration.

Yes, looking at photos and hearing about the more dramatic aspects of an adventure is always entertaining.

I will continue to offer those snippets, but the realness and rawness of motorcycle travel, the thoughts, and emotions that course through one’s mind, are reserved for those who do it. I’ve been thinking about these things a lot lately, probably because my life, and my wife’s as well, have recently experienced some significant changes. Not changes for the worse. In fact, they were changes made by choice and hard work but changes nonetheless. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a creature of habit, I find ways of doing things that work for me, and I struggle to deviate from them. I’m a bit stubborn in

that way. So, when it came time to make the decision to sell my business, I hemmed and hawed for well over a year before deciding to pull the trigger. The reality of that decision is still difficult for me to wrap my head around, but I’m slowly getting there. It wasn’t until very recently, in fact, that the realization that we weren’t shackled to the 9 to 5 set in. In addition to the changes in my life, we also recently learned that Kayla will be deployed to the middle-east for a year, a deployment that will be taking place relatively soon. These two main factors led to the unfolding of this previous trip, one that proved cathartic and revealing of what our lives now looked like. When we left Colorado about six weeks ago, we had no idea that we were embarking on a monthlong, 5,000mile journey through seven states. We had every intention of simply heading to Red Lodge, Montana, for our annual club run and returning six days later. What unfolded was a clear reminder of what we had been working towards. There were two factors at play that affected our change in plans. First, my mom called mid-trip and asked if we could be in Arkansas the weekend of July 17th to celebrate my

niece’s birthday, sister’s birthday, and my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. The only correct answer to that question was a resounding yes. Secondly, we had already intended to take a late summer ride to Wisconsin to visit Kayla’s family before her deployment. In light of that last-minute addition to our summer plans, Kayla suggested that we move up our late summer ride to visit family in Wisconsin to…. right now! Kayla’s ability to adapt and suggest radical changes to a trip is just one of the reasons I love her. Typically, however, when she would suggest turning a week-long ride into a 4-week ride, I would shoot it down because I knew that work and maintaining my business had to take precedence. That was not the case anymore. For the first time, I was really and genuinely realizing that. I pondered the idea for a minute or two and told her that I saw no real reason why that wasn’t a good idea. So, with our time in Montana coming to a close, we pointed the bikes east instead of south and began slowly meandering our way to Wisconsin.

The true beauty behind this trip was the relative lack of a timeline or commitments. Yes, we needed to be in Arkansas by the 17th, but we certainly didn’t need three weeks to get there. Our days consisted of sleeping in, enjoying a Cup o’ Joe at whatever local coffee shop we could find, and then starting our day with no real destination in mind. Far too often, motorcycle trips turn into a whirlwind tour of “having” to be ‘somewhere’. That is a habit I am actively trying to break and maybe the point I am trying to make through all this rambling. We live in a society that thrives on this “right now” and “more, more, more” mentality that is both physically and emotionally draining. It’s not healthy. It’s not helpful. It benefits us in no way. If most you are anything like me then you use your motorcycle as an outlet to escape that reality. Why then do we insist on carrying that “more, more, more” attitude into our motorcycle life as well? I honestly think we do it unknowingly. That thought pattern is so ingrained in us that we don’t even see it anymore. We all talk about hitting the open road with no destination, no goals and no objective but are we actually following through with that? I think the honest answer to that question is no, we are not; myself included. So how do we go about that? How do we adjust our brains to slow down and be more in the moment? How do we adjust our brains to be less concerned about where we are going and more focused on where we actually are? I don’t know if I have the answer to this but I know that I will be working on it. My gut is to say start small. Try going for a weekend ride with no other intention than to spend a night under the stars, destination irrelevant. Try going for a ride where you only ride new roads. Try going for a ride where you only stop at new places. Try just going for a ride for the sake of enjoying the weather.

I’m not sure if doing these things would help or not but I think just planting that seed of change would go a long way. Most often positive changes come with the realization that what we are doing isn’t working for us. I think this carries through in nearly all aspects of our lives whether it’s related to work, relationships, addictions or motorcycle travel. The key is to acknowledge it, then do something about it. Have any insight or thoughts on the matter? If so, reach out to me on Instagram @ travelingchopper and let me know what they are! Until next time, try slowing down a bit and enjoy the pavement that is under your wheels right now.