Let’s face it. The world is much different than it used to be. Working on motorcycles and being mechanically intelligent isn’t something that most kids take an interest in these days, so coming across this Ironhead build from Tim Grabiak helps restore a little faith. Tim’s father, Jay, has been running Jay’s Paint and Performance in Greensburg, Pennsylvania for over twenty-six years.

The BMW bikes we’ve featured throughout the years have had a variety of styles ranging from classic restorations to stripped-down customs. The inspiration for each has also been interesting. John Price, who uses his shop name, SG Moto, pulled from an interest in Moto GP to style his 1986 K75S featured here. The popular BMW K models have earned a reputation as sporty and reliable bikes, serving as a great cafe racer platform for cruising around Pittsburgh. We met up with John in the busy SouthSide Works to learn more about his vision for the bike.

Most garage chopper shops get started in a very similar way. Someone gets hooked on old-school bikes and starts messing around with their own two-wheeled projects before things snowball. The next thing you know, they’re in deep with these wild machines, building bikes and making their own parts. Nick SanGregory, a piercer who runs his own body piercing and jewelry store in Pittsburgh, fits this story perfectly.

Some hobbies are more interesting than others. In the motorcycle world, vintage drag racing holds a unique place of the industry. Chasing time on a ridiculously custom bike with an engine that’s pushed to the limit just sounds like a thrill. When we were first piecing together the 2021 Glory Daze motorcycle show, one of the featured builders was Steven Skinner of Shadyside, Ohio.

Building a chopper is as much about the bike as it is about the experience. Dan Ford, a local Pittsburgh musician, was surrounded by motorcycles in his youth but only recently finished the custom XL1200 you see here. With the help of Uptahn Metalworks, the bike started to take shape and was finished just in time for Glory Daze last year. If you picture a classic Sportster chopper build, this is something that might come to mind. The flame tank, custom sissy bar, springer front end, and overall silhouette work perfectly for a first-time chopper build. The black and yellow colors scream Pittsburgh, so we met up with Dan at The Highline on East Carson to capture a fitting background for the Steel City build.

Yamaha changed the game when it released the RD250 models in the early 1970s. They were lightweight, fast, and sounded amazing. Maybe you were there firsthand, but if not, you probably heard stories growing up about Yamaha’s racing dominance at that time. Does the name Kenny Roberts ring a bell?

We’ve had numerous people over the years approach us about seeing cool custom motorcycles riding around Hookstown, Pennsylvania. As it turns out, no matter which bike it was, they were almost always talking about Harry Dykes. As someone who bought his first bike at age fourteen, it was no surprise to learn about the many classic motorcycles that have passed through his garage over the years.

This motorcycle demands your attention. You could look at it for hours trying to figure out what all of the parts are or where they came from. For instance, the brake fluid reservoir is actually a brass mill grinder from Croatia.

It was roughly ten years ago when Dan Swiderski’s shovelhead was stolen from his house, never to be seen again–or so he thought. Unless you’ve personally experienced a similar misfortune, it’s hard to understand the depths your mind will sink to when something like this happens. I imagine all of the hypothetical scenarios circling around like malevolent bats causing constant distractions.

As we dance through the whirlwinds of life, many of us run into periods where it becomes a challenge to find time for our interest in motorcycles. Whether it’s a new career, starting a family, or struggles with health, these changes can hold us back from our hobbies. The goal is to stay involved however we can, even if it’s simply spending time in the garage or hitting the trails on Sunday.

Some to-do lists take a little longer than others. Rick and Kent James, two brothers from Tarentum, Pennsylvania, first purchased a pair of Triumphs back in the late sixties. Rick chose a 1965 Bonneville 120R while Kent went with a 1967 Daytona 500 T100R. After putting some solid miles on the two bikes, they decided to take the leap into building custom choppers out of the bikes. Over the years, their collection of parts slowly grew, and while they never stopped riding motorcycles, the goal of finishing those two bikes took a backseat to life.

There’s a lot to unpack with this in-your-face shovelhead chopper from Ed Jankoski. You might have recognized his name from the local scene or within the pages of our previous issues. Like some of the best personalities in the chopper community, Jankoski could look intimidating from a distance, but up close, he’s as warm and welcoming as they come. That receptiveness is well represented with his latest build, a hot pink, oversized 1980 Harley-Davidson shovelhead with a few different layers of purpose.