By the time most owners find a true mechanic, someone who can actually diagnose a simple problem with their motorcycle, they have been let down by the industry as a whole! It's not like we're a group of card-carrying members of some chopper union.
It's a dog-eat-dog chopper world these days. Everyone wants a piece of the pie and everyone claims to be the best at whatever it is they do.
That's where I am a little different that most other "builders" out there. I like to meet different builders and trade ideas; share and learn. Lately, I've learned that there are very few guys out there who are doing their own engine work. I must be a total kook because I re-do all of the oldies like Ironheads and Shovelheads. What? You figure that only old dudes do valve jobs on Panheads and Knuckles anymore? Or do you just buy that stuff out of the catalog ready to run? Sure, there is something to be said for all those new engines. They do have some pretty sweet parts in 'em...most of the time.
I guess it's about the difference in the industry as a whole for me. I live for building bikes for people-specific people. To me, a chopper is a one-off expression of the owner's idea of what a two-wheeled flying carpet is-magical! It's not a thing that can be mass-produced like a model, because the end result should be as unique as the owner's fingerprints, although that cookie cutter approach is apparently how money is made in the bike business these days.
The process I like takes longer and involves a lot more one-on-one time with the owner. Many times, I'm just the wrench and the owner essentially becomes the designer, or at least has a huge part in the approval of the style and custom parts used in the build. I see a lot of people building bikes with huge personalities of their own and then start selling them. Sometimes it works out fine, but it just isn't my bag.
Working with people the way I do comes from starting out restoring antique bikes, working as a wrench at a dealership, building race bikes, and finally opening my own shop. The only way to survive was to make the customer happy. And yes, that means that I built themed bikes in the '80s and early '90s, but that last shark bike I built 12 years ago was more of a chopper than most of the assembly line engine-equipped old school bikes I've been seeing the last few years.
Maybe I'm stupid to think this industry survives on people spending excess money on toys they really don't need. Our living is made on people's excesses. And, like it or not, that makes what we do a service-oriented industry. We better work on making all our customers happy, or they will go play with different toys.
Sources
Rico Fodrey
Hi-Bond Modified
Motorcycles
Pomona, CA
(909) 208-8795