A Pair of Harley Customs from Eastern Ohio Words by Kurt Diserio — Photos by Alexa Diserio Do you ever think ahead about where your interest in bikes might lead you over the years? Motorcycles exist throughout the countless stages of our lives in various forms. They become a dependable accomplice connected to our past, present, and future. Down the line the stories will start to pile up—and so will the parts. This connection of man and machine manifests in someone like Greg Gump—a true motorhead with a passion that stretches through generations. He has been at it for quite some time and continues to lend a helping hand to those yearning to build something truly unique. 1975 Harley-Davidson FLH built by Zak Klink (owner) and Greg Gump. Greg Gump was first mentioned to me by Rich Gatchel, who originally met him when they worked together at the Yorkville Mill in Ohio. At the time, Rich hit a deer with his ’66 Impala SS and asked Greg to help fix it. After painting the car, he then pinstriped Rich’s shovelhead. The two bonded after that. Alexa and I got together with Greg in Wintersville, Ohio, at Sugar Shine Auto Detailing. The shop is run by Zak Klink—the owner of this beautiful baby blue mid-seventies Harley-Davidson FLH that Greg helped build. “I like working with younger guys because it often gives the bikes their own original style,” Greg mentioned as we went over the shovelhead. He typically builds rat style Harleys but wanted to challenge Zak to complete a finished bike. Some of the noted work on this California-style lowrider was the narrowed front end, stretched fenders, lowered swingarm mounting points, skinny 21 inch front tire, and a fierce amount of chrome. “I’m a blue guy,” he said about his custom paint work. “When it comes to painting, I’m very critical of myself. It has to be absolutely perfect. All paint should be perfect.” The second bike was Greg’s own 1990 Harley-Davidson Evo. The build is a panhead tribute—his favorite H-D engine. While many of the modifications were done himself, his good friend Jimmy Travis of JT Custom Cycles helped with the mechanical work. “I’m a less-is-more kind of guy. There’s nothing on this bike that doesn’t need to be there,” he said after pointing out that the wiring was hidden in the frame. “I never thought of myself as a biker, but I’ve always had motorcycles. There’s just something about the freedom.” Greg grew up in the Wintersville area. What really got him hooked on custom projects was when his friend’s father hired him at sixteen years old to work on a bunch of Volkswagens he had. At one point, the guy bought a 1948 Cadillac convertible and had Greg accompany him to Imperial to drive it home. As he remembers, it was painted a beautiful baby blue with a red leather interior. “I was never right since,” he said. Dave Batting, who has since passed away, was a good friend and an important part of Greg’s life. “Dave was a custom painter, and the first thing we ever did was paint flames on a ’47 Ford in his dad’s garage when we were sixteen years old. I later went off to art school, then married a stripper but ended up getting a divorce.” He continued, “ In the early 1970s, Dave and I had a place in Steubenville called Brush Brothers. It was during the van craze, and that’s where I started airbrushing vans and murals. He then went off to Nashville to become a country music star, and I took over the business. It went from there. Although the names and locations have changed, I’ve always had a paint shop since.” 1990 Harley-Davidson Evo panhead tribute built by Greg Gump. The story didn’t end there. Eventually Greg remarried and lived on a horse farm with his wife in Richmond, Ohio. About nine years ago, she passed away. To occupy his time and mind, he got back into building custom stuff. “To make myself feel better, I started buying everything, but that doesn’t work. I just ended up with a bunch of stuff,” he recalls. “Now I have a body shop and do custom work. I don’t really consider myself a body man, but you can’t just polish a turd. So I learned the metal work and developed more of an interest in building stuff.” Do any of us know how our stories will play out? Of course not. But if there is advice to take away from those like Greg Gump, it would be the undoubted encouragement to find your passion and stick with it. No matter where we are in life, there’s always more to learn. A tribute to his late wife, the seat emblem was made from her Arabian show horse’s headstall. Featured in Issue 002 1975 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FLH Built by ZAK KLINK and GREG GUMP 1990 HARLEY-DAVIDSON EVO Built by GREG GUMP Words by KURT DISERIO Photos by ALEXA DISERIO

A Classic Triumph Build from Beaver County Words by Kurt Diserio — Photos by Alexa Diserio “I bought a brand new skateboard two months ago, and I haven’t even touched it yet,” Brian Petronchak mentioned while we photographed his stunning Triumph TR6 at Brady’s Run Skate Park in Beaver County. Balancing between building bikes, his job at a custom car shop, and his family can get tricky—especially now that he is a new father. We got together only a few miles down the road from his home and garage shop, Revelry Custom Cycles, where he likes to spend what limited time he has wrenching on bikes. This space also happens to be the underlying reason he and his wife decided on this particular house when purchasing a new home. The selling point was the 30’ x 40’ heated garage with enough room for motorcycle lifts and his many tools. Brian first fell in love with custom choppers during his frequent visits to Daytona Beach Bike Week in Florida, an event you may be familiar with. Taking place the first week of March every year, the rally lasts roughly ten days with attendance hovering close to half a million riders and enthusiasts. He explains, “I worked with a couple of sport bikes when I was younger—race replicas and bikes like that. Eventually I bought a Triumph Speed Triple and tore it all apart in order to paint everything. Most of my friends had Harleys, so I figured I’d get a Street Bob just to ride around. The first time I went to Daytona was for Biketoberfest to see my buddy who was really into custom choppers. That was the moment I was truly introduced to the chopper scene, and I was blown away. I thought the bikes were so fucking cool. The simpler, the better. Ever since then I was hooked. I came home, bought a big welder, and sat in the garage every day for months until I taught myself how to weld. The first things I made were handlebars and an exhaust for my Street Bob. After that it was on.” The long days and nights in the garage paid off. His 1966 Triumph TR6 hardtail has been featured in Cycle Source magazine and was selected for this past year’s Fuel Cleveland show, an exclusive custom motorcycle event. Brian used a narrower front end off of a pre-unit Triumph and shaved the triple tree for an all-around clean look. To achieve the desired stance, he fitted a 21 inch spool hub front wheel and a Harley-Davidson 16 inch rear rim that was laced to a stock Triumph hub. The elegant paint job was the work of Steve Hennis of FlameThrower Customs in Doylestown, Ohio. A few of the little details Brian pointed out were the bolt caps, rubber mounts, and brass elements he made entirely in his garage. "I bought a big welder and sat in the garage every day for months until I taught myself how to weld." When asked why he focused mostly on Triumphs, he replied, “There’s really no particular reason, but I guess I’ve always loved the vintage Triumphs for being simple, clean, and timeless. They’re just less expensive, too.” He hopes to have his next Triumph build done very soon— another 650 with a 1968 Bonneville head and dual carbs. The goal is to have it completed in time for Fuel Cleveland in late July 2018. Featured in Issue 002 1966 TRIUMPH TR6 BOBBER Built by BRIAN PETRONCHAK REVELRY CUSTOM CYCLES facebook  |  instagram Words by KURT DISERIO Photos by ALEXA DISERIO

Only the Essentials Words by Kurt Diserio — Photos by Alexa Diserio Steve Simqu works throughout the day as a CAD manager and project engineer. In other words, he does a lot of mechanical stuff. In the evenings he tinkers in the garage with his many projects. We first ran into each other at the 2017 Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, which you’ll read about later in this issue. He led our group out of Oakland to start the two-hour ride on his custom-built Yamaha XS650. We were able to meet up again later near McKeesport to chat more about the bike. Steve mentioned that he picked up this 1977 XS a couple of years ago for only $250. “My buddy told me about it, and I couldn’t pass it up. At the time, I already had a 1973 XS650 rat bobber, so this new purchase sat around for a while. Eventually, I decided to finish it for XS650 Fest and ChopOff, which is the largest gathering of XS650s in the US. It’s an annual event held in Defiance, Ohio at the Pandemonium Shop. The build started in February 2017 and was completed by summer. Most of the work I was able to do myself. When it became crunch time, I had some friends come give me a hand.” The one piece of the motorcycle that stands out the most is the swingarm. Most people think it’s a hardtail upon first glance. “The goal was to make it comfortable but look different,” Steve said. “I really wanted the hardtail look but also preferred suspension because my ass was killing me on my other hardtail XS.” He started with the A-Frame but wasn’t a fan of the standard horizontal setup. Drawing on CAD at work throughout the day allowed him to stir up something fancier, and he thought the teardrop shape would work perfectly. When it came time to select the paint, Toyota’s Sunset Bronze was the immediate color choice for the frame. BMW’s Imola Red was used for the modified SL350 fuel tank. He mentioned, “I’m not typically a fan of metal flake, but this tank felt right with a light coat.” Some of Steve’s favorite parts include the custom sediment bowl and other small pieces he built himself. Washers, mirror bar ends, the choke knob, and wheel spacers were a few of the first bits made on his lathe. When bringing attention to the cables and wires, he pointed out the cloth guitar cable that was used. These details helped pull it all together. Besides addressing a couple of small things over the winter, Steve made it known that he’s very happy with the bike. “It’s fun and feels surprisingly comfortable.” Before wrapping up, there was talk of some other exciting projects he had in the works. I have the feeling that this is just the beginning. Featured in Issue 002 YAMAHA XS650 BOBBER Built by STEVE SIMQU instagram Words by KURT DISERIO Photos by ALEXA DISERIO

Beers & Bobbers at Southern Tier Brewing Co. Words by Kurt Diserio — Photos by Alexa Diserio The Bonneville lineup continues to grow. To introduce their new Bobber Black and Speedmaster models, our friends from Triumph Motorcycles organized the Back in Black tour. This V.I.P. party took place across the United States in different cities to offer an exclusive look at the new additions. Pittsburgh’s stop was held Wednesday, November 8 at Southern Tier Brewery on the North Shore, providing a great mid-week excuse to drink a bunch of beer and bullshit with other Triumph enthusiasts. Concentrating on consumer demand paid off in a big way for Triumph. The new Bobber became their fastest-selling model in their long history, and as you’d expect, they have built on it since. One of the new models featured for this tour is the Bobber Black. Like the name suggests, Triumph has swapped much of the chrome for stylish black components. The front end also received big upgrades, with 47mm Showa forks, a wider 16 inch front wheel, and a second front disc. Triumph Bonneville Bobber Black Fitted with alternate handlebars and seat Forward controls on a Bonneville? I’ll admit it was somewhat odd getting used to at first, but the new Speedmaster cruiser has potential. It’s similar to the Bobber Black as far as the 1,200cc parallel twin engine, but the easygoing rider position, beach cruiser handlebars, and larger fuel tank make the Speedmaster something of its own. Other noticeable differences are the presence of more chrome and polished aluminum, a removable passenger pad seat, and a classic frame-mounted rear fender. In addition to these two new models, Triumph had many other bikes spread around Southern Tier. It was the perfect opportunity to ask someone to hold your beer while you threw a leg over a Thruxton or Scrambler. The night was hosted by Mosites Motorsports. Vendors included Steel City Mods & Rockers and The Paint Chop. Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster Steel City Mods & Rockers Casey Kennell from The Paint Chop painted a Bonneville throughout the night. Featured in Issue 002 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE BACK IN BLACK TOUR SOUTHERN TIER BREWING CO. 316 NORTH SHORE DRIVEPITTSBURGH, PA 15212 www.triumphmotorcycles.com facebook  |  instagram Words by KURT DISERIO Photos by ALEXA DISERIO