Building Custom Motorcycles
Growing up on his grandfather’s horse farm, Walter Thurn, Lead Field Service Technician (Kent), developed a love for all things mechanical. The horses were not his true love – it was the tractors, farm trucks, 3 & 4-wheelers, and dirt bikes that got Walt’s attention. His parents would give him a new toy truck or airplane for Christmas or his birthday and within hours Walt would have the toy dismantled – much to his parent’s chagrin. However, they quickly learned that he wasn’t “destroying” the vehicles but instead figuring out how the parts worked and fit back together. As he grew older, Walt’s interest in building things transitioned from Legos and models to real cars and motorcycles. In other words, the toys just got bigger and more expensive!
Almost every job that Walt has had since becoming old enough to work has involved using mechanical aptitude. In high school, his group of friends would work on their cars adding custom features in their spare time. This hands-on way of learning came with making lots of mistakes, but Walt recognizes that those mistakes were critical to the learning process. In the late 90s, and early 2000’s, Walt became influenced by TV personalities like Jesse James and Ian Roussel. Additionally, with the popular chopper build-off shows and custom motorcycle builders like Indian Larry and Jeff Cochran, Walt wanted to see if he had what it would take to make his own creations. Walt’s custom build process starts with searching for a clean bike. There are no brands that he is tied to but looks for good bones, features that stand out to him, and a reasonable price. He finds most of his bikes online or through word of mouth. Walt says that once the bike is on the lift, it “tells him” what it is going to be; the vision usually becomes crystal clear. Once the vision is decided on, he begins the process of striping down the bike. Doing almost all his own work, Walt then starts the process of assembling the bike with custom parts. Sometimes he will buy parts online other times he will modify the existing parts and fabricate how the parts will fit and/or fasten to the bike. If he can’t buy a part, he will make it. Even purchased parts usually go through some sort of modification before being added to the bike. Once it is attached, if he doesn’t like how it looks, he will redo it. Selling the finished bike is usually done through word of mouth or online. The entire process can take several months to a couple of years depending on the amount of customization. What is Walt’s favorite part? Surprisingly, it isn’t riding. While he does enjoy riding his custom motorcycles, the greatest fun is the search for a new project bike. He loves building things for people he knows because he can get a good understanding of what they are looking for and how their personalities should shine through his work.
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