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For the love of motorcycles
9/1/2010 10:01:58 AM

By Hope Brumbach
Splash Editor

Profiles:
Jeff Weiler

Jeff Weiler likes to cruise.

The Liberty Lake resident has good reason. It's a way for him to show off his handiwork: a 9-foot-long, custom-built pro street motorcycle in apple red.

The bike, which Weiler completed last summer, took best in show for motorcycles last March at an auto and boat show at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center.

"It was really cool; there were a couple bikes there that I thought were better than mine," Weiler said. "I love being creative. I love to build stuff."

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Weiler, 39, recently talked with The Splash about the countless hours he spent handcrafting the low riding motorcycle - and also showed it off.

Submitted photo Jeff Weiler sits on the motorcycle he spent an estimated 500 hours crafting in his garage. The bike won ‘best of show' for motorcycles at a Spokane event.

Q: What got you into motorcycles?

A: I'm actually restoring the dirt bike I got when I was 11. I brought it home and tore it apart and am finally getting it backed together. I've always loved motorcycles. When we got married and moved away, there was a guy in our apartment complex selling a street bike, and I convinced my wife to let me get it. Since 1992, I've had at least one motorcycle.

In 2004, I built my first bike. I won awards for it. For my first motorcycle, it was very cool. Watching all of the Discovery channels, that got me inspired to do something like that. I just kind of put a plan together on what I wanted to build. It was all handmade. It was bright orange. I rode that for four years until I got tired of it, and then I cut up the orange bike. And I built this one. And it's completely different.

Submitted photos Jeff Weiler works on his motorcycle, which he designed and built.

Q: How long did it take you to build this bike? And how much did it cost?

A: Five months, every night after work, weekends, late nights. I probably spent 500 hours. ... It's a lot of hours.

(It cost) $25,000 to $30,000 in materials and $30,000 to $40,000 in (time). Hot rods you can buy the old stuff and refurbish it. That bike, you have to buy everything new. (Weiler purchased the engine and running gear and custom built all the cosmetic components, such as the frame, gas tank and paint job.)

I worked it all through in my head, but I never put anything on paper. It takes persistence.

Q: What was your first ride like on the completed motorcycle?

A: I put it all together and stripped it and painted it. It was just a great feeling. It was evening, because I know I wasn't done with it during the day. It's freedom. It's knowing all that hard work is now finished … and you get to enjoy it.

Q: What makes all the hours of labor worthwhile for you?

A: I love the attention. I love driving down the freeway and having people pull up next to me, taking pictures, honking and waving. It's a great feeling to have people look at it and be amazed and enjoy the finished product and to be able to say, "I made this."

Q: How fast have you driven your bike?

A: I've had it up to 100 mph. This one is made for cruising, going slow, making sure people see you.

Q: How often do you ride it, and where are your favorite rides?

A: As often as I can, if the weather is nice. I'm out typically every night for at least an hour. Thursday nights, I usually leave at 5 p.m. and get home after midnight. I go to Cruiser's (Bar & Grill) for group rides every Thursday.

I like riding over to Coeur d'Alene. I love cruising Sherman (Avenue) on a hot day when everybody's out. It really doesn't matter where I go, I just like being out.

Q: What was the most challenging aspect of constructing your bike?

A: The gas tank was the most challenging. It's seven different pieces in the way it's contoured. Metal doesn't typically like to bend the way I bent it. When I first pitched the idea to my friends, they said there's no way you can build that. It's easy to build a half gas tank, but to mirror image and to get it proportional on both sides, and most people struggle to get it to flow. That's part of being artistic is to make everything fit without making it look odd.

Q: What are you most proud of in constructing your bike?

A: The gas tank. I even put my name on it.

Q: Would you want to ever build and sell custom bikes?

A: I would love to. The industry is so flat, with the economy and market so bad right now. Even when the economy is good, it's hard to sell bikes like that. If there was someone who wanted me to build them a bike, I would absolutely jump at the chance. I do it because I enjoy it. And I love having something that nobody else has. I don't have to worry about going on a ride and seeing two other bikes that are similar to mine.

Profiles:
Jeff Weiler

Age
39

Family
Married to Tanya; daughter, age 11, son, 9

Lived in Liberty Lake
Eight years

Occupation
Mechanical engineer for Parker Aerospace

Education
Bachelor's degree from Washington State University

Talent I'd most like to have
"I've always wanted to learn to play the guitar."

Hobbies
Snowboarding, mountain bike riding, motorcycles