041 . BILLY

I’ve been saving this portrait for the official start of spring and the end of our Hibernation. It was a great session with Mr. Billy Bison , as our conversation was all about change and the seasons of life.

His life story was captivating, and I’m glad our paths crossed. Billy has a huge empathetic heart and an open mind. His calm and humble demeanor is contrasted by the energy in his eyes. A reflection of his life as a punk rock musician through the late 80’s and 90’s. He toured, thrashed, and bled on stages with some of the best. Living the do it yourself life to the max always chasing the next big thing. When the music faded his drive stayed full tilt, buying a few businesses building them into successful local icons and selling them. A founding member of the local Ton Up club, Billy has a real knack for cultivating community. I can understand why. He's a genuinely good human being straight to the bone.

In his garage he’s rocking a 1974 GT 500 Ford Gran Torino Ranchero with a 400 cubic inch V8. Then there’s his passion for the Kawasaki motor. Billy grew up in a Kawasaki motorcycle shop. His collection includes a few franken-machines starting with a 1977 Kawasaki KZ 1000 with a GSXR front and rear landing gear, 1300cc API pistons/block and a Mr. Turbo kit, he bought it back in ’89 and since then he’s ridden the life out of it. Then there’s an 1981 Kawasaki KZ 1100 W/1175 pistons and 34mm Mikuni Flat Slide carbs, with a 1998 Suzuki Bandit front end, ’82 GPZ 1100 Tank, and 70's TZ 250 tail, Dyna electronic ignition with rev-limiter and about 5k on a fresh rebuild from the crank on up, she runs real good. The bike that means a lot to him though is a 1974 Yamaha GT 80 it was the first motor bike that Nick Mataya (famous flat track racer) revamped, then sold to him. Jake (Nick’s older brother) would give Nick a ride over to his shop where Billy would then tutor Nick on the processes of paint and body work. Billy has always appreciated that he allowed him to keep his number plate with the sale. Yet every other bike in the garage represents a special moment for Billy in motorcycling history.

Spring is here. Ride safe y'all.

040 . KATIE

Kate is an engineer in the R&D department for a medical device company, and also pursuing a PHD in biology. Her Dad introduced her to bikes early, and she spent a lot of hours in the garage learning how to wrench from him. Her first solo project was installing solid pushrods in a 1983 Harley Davidson FLHT.

Nowadays she’s more of a sport bike girl, riding a 2006 GS500F. Her daily commuter to work and school rain or shine. After work joy rides with friends to Welch Village or Taylors Falls, or the long haul weekends with friends and family to the Apostle Islands, or a few hot laps around Lake Mille Lacs.

039 . DON

Don is a quiet man, a purveyor of the simple life. He grew up just a few blocks from where he lives now in Northeast. A mellow mannered dude who moves slowly and smiles often. He works in hydraulics building slow moving heavy machinery like giant cranes that make the cranes towering over the apartment buildings in town look like tinker toys. When you put this dude on a bike though, all he wants to do is go fast. In the late ’90’s he built the black bike on the far left from the ground up using a Kenny Boyce frame and dropped a 103” motor in it. There’s so much torque to the rear wheel that recently his buddy over did it and sheared the bolts off the hub. It hasn’t been fixed yet. Of course every speed connoiseur must have a 2000 Ducati 996, and to cruise in comfort a 2014 HD FLHXS street glide special. Up until a few months ago Don had the first bike he ever bought still in the garage - a 1969 Sportster - he sold it to my neighbor. The second bike he bought is the white ’81 Harley FLHP police special. One night, on this bike, he and a buddy were racing through town when he came over a small rise in the road to find out there was no more lane left. He couldn’t swerve right or he’d crash his buddy who was carrying a lady friend on the back. So he smashed into the curb and took flight superman style. The bike somersaulted end over end landing back on its two wheels and rolled to a stop. Don got away with a dislocated hip and rode himself to the hospital.

038 . MATT

Matt is an animator at Hybrid Medical Animation in downtown Minneapolis. He grew up with bikers, both his Dad and step Dad rode. It all started with mini bikes and dirt bikes, so when it came time to buy his first bike he went for a ’72 Harley Shovel-head. Over time it became too much of a project and expense to restore. Now, he rides a reliable ’95 Honda Shadow Ace, and he’s damn happy about it.

037 . CHAD

I first met Chad last year at his friends garage. he rode in on his old 1970 BMW R60/5 with no clutch cable — power shifting from south minneapolis to frogtown — grinning from ear to ear with a mouth full of braces. Dude has so much energy he’s like a human tesla coil of positive vibes. It was great catching up with him again in his own garage, no braces now, but all the same energy. Through the winter the wood stove keeps the cold at bay as Chad channels all that energy into his many projects.. Some just starting, some nearing completion, all documented on an organized check list hanging in the middle of the garage, and the walls littered with scribbles of notes, sketches, and diagrams. I loved his 1969 Honda cl450 twin with a beautiful custom paint job he did himself. It’s just waiting for the final touch of a gold pinstripe. Up on the lift is a 1957 BSA A10 Road Rocket twin pre-unit that he’s been tinkering on for two years. It’s looking damn good. The most recent acquisition is his ’67 Porsche 912. His wife gave the go ahead with on the condition that he off load a few things, so the VW Bus and a Ducati 748 left the stable and the Porsche rolled in. He and his buddies have already gone through the motor once, but I can’t wait to see it when he’s done... that and the BSA.

036 . DONNA

Donna is a registered nurse and spends her days working in the cardiac unit. She grew up riding dirt bikes on the farm with Mom, Dad, and the whole family. Now, she's the only one still on two wheels.

Yes, that's a BMW 1000RR pushing 180 horses to the rear wheel tucked into the insulation. Donna is no stranger to sportbikes a recent "graduate to the inline four, from the v-twin." She's owned a variety of sportbikes over the years, most notable the '07 R1 she unfortunately high sided on a WI backroad - mid air all she could think was "really?..." So this spring when a whoosh of white and blue blows passed you... if you see a few purple locks of hair whipping in the wind - you'll know it was Donna.

Why all the insulation? Donna does all her own remodeling, this was taken out of the attic she's working on, and will soon insulate the garage. She does great work.

035 . RAY

Welcome to Ray Kang's "Man Cave". Ray's not the type of guy that would ever call it that, but his wife bought him the sign, and so it goes. Ray is a pretty serious collector of superbikes. Including half a dozen superbike championship winning homologation specials. A man of the community, he's also the Minnesota state director of the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association. When not wrenching and restoring during the winter months he's got the maps out planning Wisconsin Alphabet road rides, including the 20+ year old AMA sanctioned TWiSTAR rally.

034 . HANS

Stay at home dad by day, moto mechanic and blacksmith by night. In the back corner of a giant industrial co-work space you'll find Hans Peters of Cycle Goods pouring hot metal and wrenching on old/new Harleys. This winter he's got a number of projects going - maybe we'll see his work at the Donnie Smith show, but you can find his metal work here: http://www.cycle-goods.com/store.html

033 . TIM

Come winter, when his garden stops producing, the Chevy Bel Air rolls into storage, and his Guzzi goes up on the lift, Tim turns on some classical music cracks open a beer and gets to work. “Can’t listen to Punk or Rockabilly” he says, “because the bolts get stripped and beer gets knocked over… especially if its in a bottle.” The music works. That Guzzi 750 is immaculate. As an active member of the Minneapolis Ton Up Motorcycle Club he’s very proud of their One-Up Scholarship that begins this fall. The scholarship is designed to provide funding to students with a passion for motorcycle mechanics, fabrication, and community involvement to attend a school of their choice. If you’d like to donate to the scholarship fund visit:http://tonupmpls.com/oneupscholarship/

032 . JAMES CAVE

James Cave, father of 6 and history teacher living in Saint Paul is a self proclaimed hybrid hipster cafe racer and grizzled big bad cruiser rider… But really he's just a big man with a big heart, and loves to learn and share knowledge. In the winter he hunkers down in the garage with his two daughters Poppy & Iris tinkering on bikes. On the lift right now, a Honda VTX coming alive as a cool modern chopper. They're also restoring a Honda CL100, that Poppy is intending to be her ride as soon as it's done. After that will be the Honda CB 750 stashed in the back of the garage and the Honda 550 in pieces in the neighbor's garage. James win's father of the year award in my book.

Even more impressive however, is the course James started at his school (Hmong College Prep Academy) called Reverse Engineering. It is not a vo-tech small engines course per se, the students are learning about themselves, problem solving, teamwork, and how systems work by learning about small engines, and this coming semester: motorcycles.

I wish there was a James Cave around when I was in school.

031 . KEVIN

Kevin is an engineer and machinist down south of the cities. Outside of his day job, he makes custom tools, parts, and accessories using his very own CNC machine. "I don't buy new trucks and things ya know? I like old jeeps and motorcycles, it pays for itself." Last year he and his son finished the chopper for a school project. Now he's customizing a sportster to sell in the spring. Then he and his wife will be making a trip around Superior aboard their Honda VTX 1300. You meet the nicest people on a Honda.

030 . HAWK

His name is Hawk, his dad a rockstar bowler back in the day earned the name, and now he carries it on. Before his days as a shop foreman and master welder at a local machine shop, he served 7 years in Federal Prison. inside creativity kept his mind alive. Hawk is a very talented illustrator, he drew portraits, beautifully detailed and finely crafted portraits for folks inside and out, most notably a fun exchange between he and LA Ink star Kat Von D. Before prison he was a tattoo artist and professional musician playing the drums and bass, occasionally rocking out in a Kiss tribute band, in full makeup dude looks exactly like Gene Simmons. Now days his creativity is focused on these Harley’s. custom paint jobs are his forte. took him 4 years to grow his hair out, he said “not many long hairs left these days…” at a very young and lively 47, the spirit is strong inside Hawk. This spring you might catch a glimpse of a shiny hot orange metal flaked and flamed Harley with long locks blowing in the wind along the backroads of Wisconsin... raise a hand and wave hello to a very happy man.

029 . MATT

Matt is an engineer who just graduated and now works on diesel engines at Cummins. He invited me out to his garage last night to check out his winter project. A 1985 Suzuki GS 450. I loved his garage, the wood burning furnace keeps it nice and cozy, and his dog was a sweetheart. This is his first build, since graduating from school. Behind him is his first bike a 2001 V Star 650 that he's put a ton of miles on traveling around the country. Next to that is his most recent purchase a 2012 V Star 1300, he needed the extra power so his wife could come along this summer. They've got a big trip planned out to the Tetons. There is also a chopped up '82 CB 750 he just bought and got running this week. A friend is coming to buy that one up.

Here is Matt's run down on the Suzuki build:

The Suzuki started its life as a '85 GS 450, and I've since done all custom wiring, and custom sheet metal wiring box. I made the hardtail out of the old triple backbone pieces, and upper half of the old frame. It's got a Biltwell spring seat, peanut tank, and a headlight from a local swap meet. The thing I'm most proud of is the custom, modular sissy bar that allows me to run with just a fender hoop, a tall sissy bar, or a tall sissy bar with a luggage rack.

028 . RON

Ron Kelly works the graveyard shift at a local print shop, when he's not burning the midnight oil he's tweaking his tasty gold Honda 450 - a valve adjustment is up next. The one thing I wish he had in the garage tonight was his fully restored Ford Fairlane.

027 . JOSH

Had a great time hanging out with Mr. Josh Syx this afternoon. With the temps close to 40 degrees it was warm enough to open the door and share some stories from the road. Josh has spent a lot of time exploring the backroads of canada and the US aboard his KLR. One story included a monster 500+ mile day. Gotta respect that. I also loved seeing his Suzuki 250 two stroke cafe that he put a lot time into, and it shows. It's a real looker. Can't wait to see what he does with his Honda CL project.

026 . KEN

Father, Husband, Architect, and purveyor of a finely tuned salt and pepper beard Mr. Ken McQuade. A soft spoken gentleman of the two wheel world. Enjoys the ferocity of the triple, and character of the 450. One day yearns for a long hauler, with eyes on the new Tiger 800. Keep your eyes out for this guy come spring, he’s good conversation.

025 . J.J.

JJ, an engineer, has it all figured out. Dude takes three weeks off every year to travel with his wife and friends aboard this super clean 1300cc Honda cruiser. Until the snow breaks, its just beer and snow blowers.

024 . TOM

Bus driver by day, and tinkerer by night. He‘s got a fine selection of modern and vintage machines tucked away in this three season porch. The Kawasaki was his father’s bike, he still rides it. There’s a Triumph 250 Trophy behind the Norton, and I’m sitting on one of two vintage scooters.

023 . BOB

Bob is a carpenter, he built his beautiful house with his own hands and the help of his kids. Right now he's working on this 1973 Ducati GT for his son. Back in the day Bob used to race, his collection includes a few more Duc's, a guzzi, and two BMW's. He likes his customized R75 airhead the most. I'll second that.

022 . MCKINLEY

Tucked away in a small garage rests this wicked Daytona 600, aside from a small low side scrape its a beautiful machine, and Mack is taking good care of it this winter ready for some turns this spring. Although he may just pack up and move to Southern California at any moment… and I fully support that.