FAYETTEVILLE — How fast, how far and how much are some of the key questions for a custom bike.
"It's all chicken to me," said Shannon "Shoe" Gower, owner of Hotshoe Custom Motorcycles. "Some of it just tastes like steak."
Gower, a self-described "wrench," says he can build anything on two wheels with a hammer, saw and pipe bender out of his small shop in Locust Grove, Okla. A sample of his work is on display outside Baum Stadium for the 10th annual Bikes, Blues & BBQ.
The small shop is usually locked, Gower said, so thathe can focus on the task at hand, which includes servicing four-wheelers before noon and building one-ofa-kind motorcycles after lunch. Twice a week, he said, his mother, P.J., comes in to clean out the voice mail and schedule appointments for potential buyers and the occasional motorcycle rally coordinator.
Gower said he hadn't planned to attend the rally, but came at the request of Nelson Driver, who was looking for a builder to fill a slot caused by a cancellation. So, Gower brought the projects he was working on and, of course, his own bike,"Turbodacious," or "Bo" for short.
The bike centers around an old Kawasaki KZ motor that Gower saved from the trash heap and built up for power. He said the motor now puts out about 160 horsepower. When the turbocharger is engaged, that goes up to 250-300 horsepower.
Bo's handmade gas tank mimics a person's shoulder blades and waistline, Gower said.
"I like something organic," he said. "Something that feels nice in my hand."
Gower said his bike has a five-speed transmission, engaged with the push of a button. It takes a special kind of person to get the bike to top speed, he said.
"You'll pass Elvis in third gear," he said. "This thing hunts."
Gower said he enjoys working on metric bikes, which mostly are made outside of the United States because they don't have as many custom parts available for them, such as those made by Harley-Davidson.
A custom bike from Hotshoe starts with a drawing by Gower, who can simply add chrome to a sport bike, like the Suzuki Hayabusa, for about $3,000. Or he can build a complete bike from scratch with a rebuilt motor for $6,500, though a person can spend as much as they want.
Gower got his nickname and business name - and much of his building experience - from his days racing flat track motorcycles, where the racer puts his foot down in the turns for stability. His custom bikes have featured accessories such as Sony PlayStations and rearview cameras among a host of available options.
People who want a bikemore customized than a factory bike with bolt-on parts have options such as Wichita, Kan.-based Big Dog Motorcycles, said Tim O'Laughlin, factory representative.
"Most of our customers are Harley-Davidson owners, or former Harley-Davidson owners," O'Laughlin said.
O'Laughlin said his company offers seven motorcycles ranging in price from $24,000 to $40,000.
One of the benefits of getting a Big Dog custom motorcycle is that it meets the requirements of the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency, O'Laughlin said. The bikes built to factoryspecs are also more reliable, he added.
The company is the largest of the custom shops, O'Laughlin said, and has grown to 80 dealerships across the country since its founding in 1994.
Gower prefers to keep a small operation, and not have to hire a large staff to keep up with a daily production schedule. A small operation entails taking on other jobs, which includes performing warranty work for some of the factory custom motorcycles.
"I know the sins behind every one of these things," he said.
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Northwest Arkansas, Pages 11, 18 on 09/26/2009