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Harley Davidson Service and Repair Custom Building - Performance Work - Apparel |
(505) 892-9076 |
300-A Frontage Road Rio Rancho, NM 87124 |
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Albuquerque Journal - Friday, April 15, 2005 Motorcycle Customizer Brings Home Honors in CompetitionBy Michael Davis Journal Staff Writer Crossroads Cycles' Richard Weinbrecht has been building custom choppers professionally for four years, but it's a passion he's nurtured throughout his life. Last month, he achieved a milestone.
In his first competition, the Rio Rancho bike builder ran away with honors
in the Second Annual New Mexico Custom Bike Super Show in one category, then
beat bike-building legends Jessie James of West Coast Choppers and Pat Kennedy
of Pat Kennedy's Custom Motorcycles, in another.
His custom Yamaha Virago earned a first-place trophy in the metric custom
category. "We're the little guys that no one knew about," said Weinbrecht. "An Arlen Ness bike beat us in Full Blown Domestic Custom, but I'll take second to Arlen Ness any day." Weinbrecht, 51, shares his shop at 300 Frontage Road off of N.M. 528 with about six other bikers who help him turn tubular steel and sheet metal into living, breathing works of art capable of flying down the road like mechanical bats out of hell. He also shares his shop with his dog, Felon, who Weinbrecht insists runs the place. "He's a great dog but he's guard trained, and bound and determined to protect us from anything loud," Weinbrecht said. "That doesn't go over too well when we have to start the bikes." His recent success comes amid the rising popularity of custom motorcycles and the biker culture that has spawned such TV shows as "Great Biker Build Off," Jessie James' "Motorcycle Mania" and "Monster Garage," and "American Chopper," which chronicles the exploits of the Teutul family that runs Orange County Choppers. Weinbrecht said he plans on entering national level competitions later this year. The New Mexico show, held in the Lujan Building on the state fairgrounds, attracted 117 motorcycles. Weinbrecht's Virago was entered in a competition for factory-made Japanese motorcycles that have been customized. "That was the first time I took a Sawzsall (a powertool that cuts through steel) to a motorcycle frame, but this bike was just put together so oddly that to do what I wanted to, I didn't have much of a choice," Weinbrecht said. "They put the fender of the bike inside the frame. What was I supposed to do with that?" The bike's owner, Diane Polasky, a doctor of oriental medicine, said she brought her bike to Crossroads Cycles for custom work after everyone else turned her away. "Having a motorcycle is very important to me. I work with patients all day and riding is how I unwind. It rejuvenates the spirit," she said. "Trouble is I'm 4 feet, 11 inches tall and weigh a little more than 100 pounds, and large motorcycles don't fit." She said a patient sold her the Virago about a year ago. "I went to Rich hoping he could help me and he did so much more than that," Polasky said. "... What's amazing is that no one had done this sort of thing before. "The judges wanted to create its own category but Rich and the rest of the people in his shop wouldn't let them," she said." Weinbrecht said he never expected the bike to do as well as it did. "This was our first show and I didn't know how we were going to do," he said. Weinbrecht's blue chopper, owned by Buddy Espinosa, of Española, took second place in the Full Blown Professional Domestic Custom category and his custom red FXR style bike brought home the third-place trophy. Weinbrecht finished ahead of Jesse James and Pat Kennedy. "Everything in here is unique and built by hand," Weinbrecht said. "I guarantee that you won't see a duplicate anywhere on the road. A lot of these other shops sell choppers that are all the same— the only difference being the paint. I don't believe in that." The red FXR custom is owned by Davin Peralta of Rio Rancho. "I knew that, to me, this is a very special bike," Peralta said. "I had no idea that it would be liked by so many people." Weinbrecht said he's been into motorcycles since he was 13 and road a 250cc motorbike near his parents home in New York. "When they were there, I rode it up and down the street, and when they were gone I tore through the back yard," he said. "They weren't too happy about that. I've had a motorcycle ever since. I'm pretty sure that's when I started working on the bikes, too. When we were kids we always wanted to do something to them— to have something different."
"I want to share that with those who want a custom chopper they can ride for
miles, not just to the nearest bar." For More Information Contact: |
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Last modified: 03/08/07 |
