Restoring and Sharing Vintage Motorcycles

Paul 0:05

You know dad was very much farm safety conscious , but in the back of our barn on a pile of timber , was his childhood treasure , which was a 1947 Wizard motorbike that he had bought brand new in 1947 as a junior in high school . Wow , and I remember as a kid sitting on that thing and kind of dreaming about it . But you know , motorcycles are too dangerous , right ? But of all the things that he did , you know he left high school and joined the Navy and went all around the world and came back , started his farming operation in 1960 . And that bike made it to his new farm property and it sat there for a while and roughly 2008 , 2009 , he gifted it to me and said let's make this right . At the end of the day , we're just regular guys that have this same common affliction with these two-wheel machines and we want to share it with people .

Ron 1:13

Restoring your dad's old motorcycle , then sharing it with the world . Oh , you know , it just reminds me of all the positive things going on in the world . Even though it doesn't appear that way a lot of the time , there's a lot of good people out there with a passion for motorcycles and a passion for life . That was Paul Krause , by the way , and you're about to hear the whole story , a wonderful story . But first may I just review and level set with you for a minute .

Ron 1:41

So what's so special about motorcycling ? Well , certainly it's the freedom that we feel when we're out on the road , the places we go , the people we meet , the experience of reconnecting with mother nature . But what makes our experience different than , say , running or bicycling ? Well , the difference is the machine . For many of us , our bike is a work of art . The machine . For many of us , our bike is a work of art . It's a visual and physical expression of ourselves . Maybe there are those among our motorcycling community who not only acquire and have the skills to restore beautiful works of art of the past , but who also love to share their passion with their whole community , with the whole world . And when that sharing happens , new friendships are formed . And my friends , that's community and that's a beautiful , beautiful thing .

Ron 2:36

So today I'm excited to introduce you all to my new friend here in northern Colorado , paul Krause of the Vintage Motorcycle Group , and you'll be hearing this wonderful story of Paul's connection with his dad through this very special motorcycle . So sit back , relax and let's take a trip to the past , experiencing beautiful motorcycles from what I would call a more simple time . I think it's a good time to go back . Stay tuned . Recorded in beautiful Loveland , colorado . Welcome to Peace Love Moto , the podcast for motorcyclists seeking that peaceful , easy feeling as we cruise through this life together . Are you ready ? Let's go here on the Peace Love Moto podcast .

Ron 3:41

We're all about community among a lot of different things , and I got to admit , I'm kicking myself in the head because I'm just now meeting a gentleman who lives not far from here and who does some amazing things with motorcycles , specifically with vintage bikes that are just the coolest thing ever . You know we talk about on this podcast all the time about we love riding our bikes , we love getting out , but there's something , too about the bike itself . You know , there's a personality about it that oftentimes matches our own one way or the other , and so , that being said , I'm so excited today to have roughly my neighbor down a few cities down from me to the south , paul Krause , and Paul is associated with the Colorado Vintage Motorcycling Group , and we connected through Instagram and started chatting a little bit and before we actually started recording here . We've got a lot in common , so I just am so excited to introduce everybody to Paul Krause , so thank you for joining Paul .

Paul 4:46

Thanks for having me , Ron . This is my pleasure to join and it's great to meet you virtually now and very soon hopefully in person , and it's the beginning of a great friendship .

Ron 4:59

Oh , absolutely , absolutely . Well , we've got the Colorado thing certainly in common there , but let's talk of this thread we clearly have together about motorcycling . So if you don't mind describe , how did you get into ?

Paul 5:13

motorcycling . I grew up on a farm in Kansas . We had three wheelers ATC 90s and a 185S Honda three wheeler that was dad's . But you know I found my way into a sandpit doing figure eights and whatnot , but you know we weren't allowed to have motorbikes . Motorcycles , you know , dad was very much farm safety conscious , but in the back of our barn on a pile of timber was his childhood treasure , which was a 1947 Whizzer motorbike that he had bought brand new in 1947 as a junior in high school . Wow , and I remember as a kid sitting on that thing and kind of dreaming about it but you know motorcycles are too dangerous , right , and kind of dreaming about it , but you know motorcycles are too dangerous , right . But of all the things that he did , you know he left high school and joined the Navy and went all around the world and came back , started his farming operation in 1960 . And that bike made it to his new farm property and it sat there for a while and roughly 2008 , 2009 , he gifted it to me and said let's make this right and let's get this thing running again . So I spent a lot of time doing research , started a family of my own at the time and so that kind of extended the project a bit but it allowed me to do the project right and I now am in possession and gladly shared this bike with other people

Building Community Through Vintage Motorcycles

Paul 6:49

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Paul 6:49

It's a Schwinn bicycle frame , balloon tire frame with a kit motor on it that you know . The Whizzer Corporation started in the late 30s and had worked with Congress to stay open during World War II as a as something that is an economical way to travel to work stateside and it was very much one of the more popular motorized pedal bicycle motorcycle kits available . And we just happened to have it . And you know , over the years , as we kind of go through dad's belongings and things , I have the Kansas title still , the registration that was matching the license plate which we still have , the owner's manual and more recently , before he passed away , we found the bill of sale for both the kit engine and the bicycle frame with serial numbers on it .

Paul 7:45

I cried that day that was that Christmas before he passed away and it was tears of joy . It was absolutely phenomenal . It's priceless . This last year this is the dorkiest thing is we were going through more things and it was kind of junk drawer and stuff and I found this Yale lock key and it had a leather band around it and you can find it on my personal Instagram page , but it was the for the Schwinn bicycle steering column lock , which I have a key for already , but this is unused , so it still has the , the it's NOS completely , and it's like all these little . The only thing we don't have is a picture of him as a kid and his bike . Yeah , yeah .

Paul 8:28

So that long story short and I have long stories . I'm from Kansas .

Paul 8:32

I've been told that they it's what we're here for man , I uh , this might be a two-parter I , I that's where it started and I enjoyed showing it . And then I met Bob with the Colorado Vintage Motorcycle Show Back then it was called Motorcycles Reborn held at Heritage Square in Golden , and we've become fast friends . It turns out he's also my neighbor , about two miles away , and he's big into Japanese and European bikes , but that doesn't discriminate , you know we all it is is like how do we bring these , uh , these great machines together , not only to show them off , but to build our friendships ? And I've met some really strong friendships through here , uh , through our show , and it's , it's , you know , a part of is that building community , but it's also networking . You might have somebody who knows bsa is better . Oh , I found a bsa in a garage . What should I know about a 1968 bsa lightning ? Uh , you know , like , what's correct , what's been replaced ? And you , I have a network to do that with , right . Um , we just just , bob actually just texted me that there's a gentleman wanting to sell his father's 95 , 94 year old father's Moto Guzzi and I don't know what , how old it is , I don't know anything about the bike , but he said , should we put it on our Facebook group .

Paul 9:59

I'm like , yes , we should , cause we're here to help people like that do their thing . I just don't want to deal with spammers . So it's it's . You know , we , we , we don't do it for a business , it's it's really our hobby and it's an extension of our hobby that's treated us really well in and it gives us it's that light that gives us that uh , a little pep in our step . You know where we look forward to the next thing . We look forward to the next show or the next maybe coffee meetup or bike night around town type of thing , and it just these , these bikes do so much for us and and they might give us hassles because the carburetor you know the jets need cleaned out or timing is off or valves need lashed , but that's all problem solving . If that's all I'm dealing with at the end of the day , something that's fixable , I'm still winning .

Ron 10:55

Yeah , you know you said a couple of things that I'm thinking about . One of them is the beauty of having this object that's associated with your dad .

Paul 11:04

Yeah , it's pretty special , like you said , but just having that item , that it's writable then I suppose oh yeah , In fact May 6th is the anniversary of the purchase and I call it Wizard Day . It's on our family calendar and I broadcast it to the world , call it wizard day . It's on our family calendar and I broadcast it to the world . And and if the weather is right in may , then I pull it , pull it out and dust it off and we go for a ride . That's not the only time I write it that these weren't meant to be just looked at as like a trophy . You know it has paint chips in it again after we repainted it and and did all that . But uh , it's meant to be enjoyed .

Ron 11:43

So I feel where you're coming from . And the other thing , I was well along that path of the connection with your dad . In my garage I have my dad's older brothers 1926 Ford model T . Oh yeah , it's wonderful Now if I'm way too busy with my day job or I have to make a living to get back into it again , but it's not currently running , but it was running for quite a long time , I think I just let things get gummed up a little bit . And to the Francis side of my family too , that old Ford Model T , my uncle had passed away and my cousin , his daughter .

Ron 12:30

We were all having breakfast together . I was with my mom and dad and with my cousin and her husband . We were all just talking about Uncle Melvin and the short story is it came up . She said , well , we're going to need to sell it and I said you're looking at the buyer . Then I said , oh , by the way , how much . Then I had to call my wife and make sure that was going to be okay . But it is in the garage . But I feel that same tie . That's so good .

Paul 12:55

Yeah , it's just you have that connection to the past . It's very rare to have that in the family for well over 75 years , in our case at this point . And I always hear about the ones that got away . I mean , I had a 55 Chevy pickup in high school . That was my first project . I sold it for a 94 Ford Ranger because it had power steering . I was dumb , but I have all the ones that get away . They teach us a lesson , but uh , you know the ones that we have now we've collected , we , we take good care of it . It's in our family estate planning that wizard , believe it or not , of all all the stuff that we collect in life , that one has a special spot that's going to be well taken care of . If something happens to me down the road , that's wonderful .

Ron 13:45

The other thing that you mentioned is community . This whole podcast is based on a couple of things . I repeat this all the time , maybe I'm just trying to remind myself Peace , peace of mind . So we get that from riding motorcycles , so many of us . And then the love part is learning to love other people . And I think a lot of that has to do with community , that this natural community that we have as motorcycle riders , because we're a little bit of oddballs , right , we go out to do . We go out and do things that'll kill us , you know out on these bikes , but there's this joy factor that comes along with it . And then there's the community piece as well . Just like you said , in my own experience again with the Model T , when I first got it it wasn't running at all , but my cousin , she told me you've got to connect with the local Model T club , which I did , and lo and behold , all these guys are showing up at my house house helping me get this Model T going again . So I really felt that community as well .

Paul 14:48

You know , it might be the Whizzer motorbike , the dorkiness of that and I say that affectionately because my wife has created the hashtag adorkable . But it's the contrast of what Pee Wee Herman said . I'm a loner , dottie , a rebel , yet throughout the entire movie he builds friends across the country . You know all shapes , sizes and colors and that's what these motorcycles have done . You know . You just have to seek and find them and that's why you and I are sitting here , that's why Bob and I are good friends and and all the dozens and dozens of other connections that we've had , uh , over the years that have .

Paul 15:28

It draws us together and and it show me a person looking at a bike , even if it's giving them frustration , and they're still going to smile . They might have , you know you , you might throw a wrench , or or a wrench has been thrown at you , it's going to . Once you crack the nut , you smile again . You're like I got it , we got it . It's almost like that bike has been personified and now the two of you can go for a ride after you've figured out the shakedown , run and get all , all the items sorted out . It becomes a a very great relationship between the two of you , but then the larger group . Now you can go meet up and share with other people and everybody has their own unique story . But , like you and I said , we each have our own path . But look at all the parallels that our path , but look at all the parallels that our , our journey has given us and work life and in bike life you name it we . There's something to talk about that we'd have in common .

Ron 16:32

Oh , most definitely , and we were for the folks who are listening . We had a little conversation before we started recording too and got a little bit personal there that I didn't didn't record , but one of the things that I I shared and that Paul and I have in common is that this is a stress reliever for

Celebrating Vintage Motorcycle Community

Ron 16:49

us . Getting getting out on the bike is , uh , just just a little wind . Time makes a big , big difference . Um and um , really , really , really grateful for that .

Paul 17:01

Yeah , and it doesn't matter what you ride . And I've been fortunate , I've got a small collection of things and it might be my 69 Honda CT90 with a basket on the back and I'll go down to Walgreens or just take some back roads around here and spend two hours doing the fastest 35 mile an hour you've ever been on . You know , take the bigger bike , a cb400 and , and go cruise a little farther . A little bit more wind , a little bit more torque , it's all firing those same neurons . But you know , you're aware of your surroundings , you're contemplating , uh , your life and and and the things that are around you and what matters the most , and it , it , it serves so much that when you come home you take a deep breath and you are at peace again .

Ron 17:53

It's that piece , that first piece , right , and and you , you , you mission accomplished , you , you , that it's a little bit of medicine , that that you can get on two wheels , yeah , you know , among many things too , kind of still going down that path is something that I don't know if I'll be able to wrap my head around with electric motorcycles , because I so appreciate the engineering that went into the bikes that I've owned in the past and the bikes that I ride today , just knowing that , yeah , there was some deep thought putting this together , and then this whole chemistry , the geometry , all the science that goes in to everything having to work pretty much perfectly in order to start and to get me going down the road .

Ron 18:43

I think about that . I think maybe another example . So in the garage I have a Triumph Bonneville T120 . It's a new one , newish , but what I ? Oh , it's a bike , oh , it is what I , among many things that I love about that bike is you take off the seat and at the base of the gas tank are the initials of the painter of that tank I love that I love that is written there .

Ron 19:11

I wonder who casey is , but in england you know who . Who you know put a whole lot of thought and experience into painting those pinstripes just perfectly and then signed his or her name . I love that .

Paul 19:26

I've battled with the electric versus petrol bike and the whole thing that we're in right now and it's the movements happening . You and I are not going to stop it separately or together , so I'm going to embrace it in a way that I can appreciate At least somebody's out there . And fun story this fall I picked up my son from middle school . He's an eighth grader and we're pulling through Old Town , erie , which is an old mining town from the 1870s , and going down the street was a kid on an electric dirt bike . He rides at the middle school . One , think about that . It's 2024 and kids are still riding motorized bikes to school , which I think is still pretty cool . Second , this kid's going home .

Paul 20:15

Now , keep in mind , there's the law-abiding Paul Krause and then there's the appreciative inner child of me . This kid's doing a four-block wheelie on his electric motorbike . Beautiful afternoon , and my son knows him . The kid's on the football team and he's just holding it . So steady , he's not chasing squirrels , it's studied , it's really well . Steady , it's not . He's not chasing squirrels , it's studied , it's really well .

Paul 20:45

And here comes a rider on a harley , gives the kid the two down , but I saw the smile on that guy's face . That was beautiful , but I mean , it's a 20 mile an hour zone , it's , it's uh . The kid was not being reckless , he's actually . I would be a worse offender at doing a wheelie down this street on any bike , but he was on this electric bike , perfect torque for it . He has control , more throttle control than maybe some carbureted pieces could do , and I'm like okay , so this is our next generation , right ? And so I'm going to pull back to the show a couple times .

Paul 21:19

So pardon me , but we try not to discriminate on anything other than age . And if , as long as your bike is 25 years or older which hurts this year , because that's the year 2000 and I was out of college at that point that it's a wake-up call . But you know , the uh , the um antique automobile club of america has the same kind of uh . You know that you have to draw a line somewhere and that's kind of what we held to and people do pretty good . But we get these great bikes from the 80s and 90s that guys are just champing at the bit to show off and and because they're still , they're low mileage or they're , you know , really good condition still and and or they've had journeys and uh , you know .

Paul 22:08

But you know , as long as it's that old age , displacement , whatever , uh , we're just trying to bring community , and a lot of times these bike shows can be , you know , for old men , but no , there's a whole crop of middle-aged folk . Maybe I can call myself middle-aged or upper middle-aged Labels are hard but we're starting to see , you know , a younger generation of kids in their 20s and maybe early 30s that just picked up their first bike . Well , are we opening the door or are we blocking them out ? And you know what are they seeking ? Oh , that's exactly what we were seeking back when we started a community of some sort . So how do we , how do we embrace that ? And we , we've had everything from Honda sprees , if you remember those little scooters . They're little , either 50 or 70cc bikes maybe . I don't know much about them , but we had a matching pair a couple of years ago . We had Honda's Z50 Monkeys and little bikes . And then you get the 1916 Indian from a couple of years ago and it was not in rideable condition , but the gentleman started it , if you ask , just so he could demonstrate and hear the thing purr again . It was beautiful .

Paul 23:30

The Rocky Mountain Vintage Motocross Club they show up and bring a display of really great dirt bikes from the 80s . And you can tell from my voice I get excited because we didn't force them to come . We don't charge an admission , we don't give out prizes for this . It's called a show , it's more of a display . But you know what ? People still show up and every year there's something new because somebody's got a new project that they are itching to get out of the garage after a winter project and they just finished it and they that this is the beginning of the writing season . When we host the show and it it's always interesting . I'll get to the parking lot at 6 30 and there's like five guys there and we tell them it starts at eight .

Ron 24:17

oh , I've seen that too at too . At our church every year we do a . It's called Carnival on the Corner . It's a fundraiser or just kind of a carnival , I guess , for the community to bring everybody in , and we have a car show element of that too . Same thing Any number of times when I've been there , or even for other little car show events or whatever . An hour and a half early is not early . That just shows we're doing something right .

Paul 24:45

That's right that there is a , that there is a , a hole . We started to fill it and people are embracing it so that I , I , we don't get mad , we're , we don't , we're just like . It's a good smiling effort to uh , uh , get all set up and and they get the prime choice of whatever real estate in the parking lot that they want . And , yeah , we're off to the races .

Ron 25:07

And they're sitting in their lawn chairs all day long and they're just fine .

Paul 25:11

It's , it's , it's , it's one of the greatest chatter noise levels , you know . It was just this nice rumble of laughter and talking and a handful of startups , because somebody wants to hear that Winkle Suzuki , you know , fire up , which is a whole other sound than you've ever heard before . Or the Kawasaki Triple that rolls in , and it's funny when you hear the Unique bike pull in and people are kind of coming and going throughout the day and but when you know you have something special , when most of the crowd turns to look at the thing , roll in and and they just follow it just the entire way , that's where I get my joy , like I'm a people watcher at heart . So to get to do all this , that , that uh , watching people enjoy these bikes and and that's , that's proof positive of we're doing something , uh , on the right scale .

Ron 26:10

You mentioned , you mentioned the , the little kid . What was a middle schooler ?

Paul 26:14

riding a wheel .

Ron 26:15

Yeah , did you see the movie , the Bruce Brown film , on any Sunday ? Oh , yeah , yeah , that reminds me of a scene there too . There's a kid , I think , on a Honda Monkey or I don't know if they called it that at the time . But so he's riding a wheelie on that little 50cc bike and , as it turns out oh , I wish I knew the name , but he turns out to be a pro motorcycle racer . After that he's probably eight years old and just riding wheelie along .

Ron 26:49

Kind of speaking of that , this conversation makes me think of that old Bruce Brown film in 72 . For those listening who have not seen it , you can find it out there . Seen it , you can find it out there . As far as going back in time and learning a love for motorcycling , you watch that film and you'll get both . So that's the film that hooked me in . So I believe that I was 10 when that came out , 10 or 11 .

Reviving Memories Through Vintage Motorcycles

Ron 27:17

My mother and I think I've shared this , maybe on an episode of the podcast , but my mother took my friend and I , jimmy , and dropped us off at the theater in the middle of the day to go see a book on any Sunday and I came out of that and I was sold , sold , and I was just after that point I was just begging my parents to get me something with a motor on it .

Ron 27:38

I was that kid too , riding my Schwinn Stingray around , literally around the block , around this neighborhood it's . I would ride at least a quarter of a mile , including turns and everything , on one wheel , just just riding it along there . So I was that kid just biting at the chip or what do you call it . Uh , you know , uh , just raring to go . Yeah , we're a motorized journey . And then it's taken me 55 years or whatever it is . Now you know it's , it's just taking me all this time .

Paul 28:10

And that's what the wizard has done to tell stories is is I'll have you know what would typically be seen as kind of the burly biker right and he'll come up to the bike and I'm not going to , you know , mince words . I did a great job , I love this bike , I'm so proud of how it turned out . But you get these guys come up and they'll say I had one , or I wanted one , or my neighbor had one . But I've had gentlemen come up in their cuts and they'll be like this is where it started and they'll , you know , they go from two wheels and pedals and then the kit motor . If they were fortunate enough to cobble something together . That gives them just a little bit more freedom to explore . And then , you know , they graduate up . But I've , I've seen sometimes I just kind of step back , I don't even engage them , because I just want them that they're taking it all in there's , there's something deep there , and I've told this story a bunch of times .

Paul 29:15

But I had a gentleman uh , he was fairly heavy , set in a wheelchair , uh , uh , being pushed by his son-in-law and at a car show , and he was . I saw him across the parking lot and and he said , oh , wizard , wizard , let's go over here . And so they came over and he was . I was standing back and he was talking to his son-in-law about you know the compression release and how to start it and you know it's it's a little bit of a death trap , but you know 12 year release and how to start it and you know it's it's a little bit of a death trap , but you know 12 year old kids then are way , they were more , uh , adult than our 12 year old are . Now . Let's cut through the chase . But he said I left two of them in topeka when we moved to colorado . He left two of them in the garage and I get goosebumps every time I hear that because you know he just up and left and it was , it was , it wasn't in the cards to bring them . So I leaned in and I , you know I just asked him . I said you know we started talking about it . I said , well , would you like me to start it ? And it was a probably a 95 degree day .

Paul 30:17

So that engine was , everything in there was , it was primed and ready and and typically on a whizzer , you the compression release , when you pull that it's , you know it stops the engine . So it helps with your starting with the pedal , then you engage it and then that fires , fires things up . And I was able to do it standing off to the side because everything was pretty viscous and I just kicked those pedals and it fired right up and that gentleman grabbed the arms on his wheelchair and he just almost lifted up because that sound , that single cylinder sound , is just . You could just see the memory washing across his face and that's why we do this . That's why we do it .

Paul 30:57

It's not for me to show off . In fact , you know there's a handful of trophies in the garage and and I appreciate those . But those moments of helping somebody retell their childhood story or their wishes or , you know , their passion in some way . Now I'll , I'll get the guy who was , like you know , the bicycle purist we live in Boulder County , right , so you get these guys like I don't understand why you put a motor on a bicycle . That's like context to everything , humorum , that's fine , everybody's entitled that way . But just those handful of people who you really reach through the thing that you help bring back to life , makes it all the worth it .

Ron 31:46

Oh , absolutely Well , you know . The other thing that I discovered we have in common when we first started talking is that , uh , it's , we live in a very hurting world . There's there's guys all right shooting themselves , you know , and there , that's just the reality . There's a lot of bad things , there's a lot of depression , a lot of sadness out there . If we can do one thing that share with other people this joy that we experience through motorcycling whether it's vintage or travel or adventure riding or motocross or whatever and if we can just share a smile with somebody and say you know what I really like ? Something like this , you want to have a look . Smile with somebody and say you know what I really like , something like this , you want to have a look .

Ron 32:22

And next thing , you know , they may be the kind of person that comes along and says you know , I think I've been looking for this all my life . Maybe this is what I need and that's what I was sharing a little bit too is my hope for the podcast .

Family Support in Motorcycle Hobby

Ron 32:38

All that I'm doing is just talking about what a wonderful , fortunate life I've had , because dad gave in when and let me get a bike , and it's been part of my life ever since and it's been wonderful . It helps me get through the end of a stressful day or being able to go out on a multi-day ride or whatever just kind of resets my brain , resets my heart in a lot of ways , Because I meet strangers out on the road too that do the same thing . You know how this is more so than I would than the kind of bikes that you ride . But you pull up to a gas station and start filling up . Next thing you know you've got a crowd , Instant conversation , and that's not going to happen when two people pull up on their Prius .

Paul 33:27

I've hauled bikes on a trailer back to my hometown in Kansas and one of them was to take the whizzer back to where it was purchased the hometown car show big benefit for the community there and I rode it down Main Street for the first time in over 70 years and took a picture of it in front of the shop that you know it was an upholstery shop that the guy also sold these kit engines out of and you know I pulled it up on the sidewalk and I've got pictures of that . But it just to get there . You're going down I-7 , you stop in Lyman or you stop in Burlington and here's an open trailer of I've got a handful of old bikes that I gladly am able to take with me and share and it's a 20-minute gas stop and that's before I even get to go inside and get an iced tea and use the facilities . It's one of those things . But my family , they've come to enjoy it and tolerate it maybe .

Ron 34:33

I was going to ask you , how is the family support with this hobby of yours ?

Paul 34:39

I was . I was , I was ambitious in the beginning and I had to kind of throttle that given family life and other priorities type of thing . But you know the the family loves it . I , my wife , said you could have any project . Uh , as long as she could still park her car on one half the garage , the same thing when my mom hears this , she's gonna oh yeah , there's , there's , there's this .

Paul 35:06

I thought this was a circle of trust . We're not letting other people know we uh . So I have a number of projects . I've got , you know , a bike stand , but I I have a , a Tetris of how I can put the bikes in and the . You know it's not a big garage but I can move things around . So if I'm doing repairs and a buddy can come over and we're wrenching and uh , doing different things and uh , I can put it all back and her car still fits back in there and everybody's happy . But they do support it and you know I am very careful with you know where do I want to take it ? To a show , or is there a day ride ? And we plan it ahead . You know , we just make sure everybody's schedules are on par and we've got good communication and that's key . Schedules are on par and we've got good communication and that's that's key .

Paul 35:54

And now you know my son's 14 and he's . We started him with a during the pandemic we built a . We had a mini bike that we did a Predator 212 swap on out of Harbor Freight and threw a torque converter on it and that was a little too much for a 12-year-old at the time . But you know , we'd take it to the farm in the summertime and he had a straight pipe header and you could hear him every corner of the farm that he was on . And you want to talk about mental health . That sound went away and I thought , oh , did he crash ? And I looked way down the driveway and there he was pushing it back and we forgot to bring him gloves that trip . He had his helmet , didn't have gloves , so he was blistered up both sides . He ran out of gas and they always say there's a friend of mine Motorcycle Rewind on Instagram and YouTube he , he says , uh , don't drive it any further than you want to push it back . Uh , but he , henry , ran out of gas but he was pushing it back to to refill . But was there a frown on his face ? Was he mad ? No , but you could hear that straight pipe header all over the farm and and he gets putts around .

Paul 37:11

Well , he , he , he's outgrowing it and we sold it this summer and and , uh , but he's . We've been practicing up on this trail 90 of ours and I've got a little cb100 that I got a year ago out of a garage and got it up , you know , raring to go again . It's a little 1971 bike and yes and uh it perfect intro bikes for for young individuals and my daughter's a little skittish . Uh , I have a uh 76 yamaha trials bike , uh , that we take to the farm and that one it's a little bit more intimidating . You know the two stroke but it's geared right . It just there's a confidence level a little hump you got to get over and , and if it's not her calling now , maybe it will be later , but I'm not going to force it . But the boy definitely has caught the bug .

Ron 38:05

Oh , I can relate . You mentioned the , the CB 100 and 19 one . I'm trying to think I had the cl 100 and I think it was a 71 also , if I'm not that's the bike that I graduated up to .

Ron 38:20

From going through a number of little bikes , had a , uh , honda xl 70 , uh , forget what your model that one was , maybe a 75 , something like that , or that , or no , it would have been . I'm trying to think of my age . So I graduated high school in 1980 , got to do the math and everything , so it might've been a 1970 , something like that . And then , when I was going to turn 15 , on my 15th birthday , I went to get my endorsement for to be able to ride a bike less than 100 cc's . So I got the cl 100 from a guy that my dad had worked with and it was blue and I think , if I'm not mistaken , the distinction between the cb and the cl maybe is the cl was more street oriented well , the cb has the lower pipes and I've always been talking about the city bike whereas a cl is a little bit more scrambler , pesky with the higher pipe yes , it did have the higher pipe .

Ron 39:21

Yeah , yeah , and it was blue . Yeah , I'll have to find a picture somewhere I'll send you .

Paul 39:27

Uh , I've got lots of pictures . We all do right and uh , it's , it's , uh it's a lot of fun to get them out there and show them off . But yeah , I just sent you a picture of the CB100 this fall .

Ron 39:45

Is it on your Instagram also ?

Paul 39:47

Yeah , so on the Motorcycle Show Instagram , under the profile you can find links to my my personal Instagram , which is open . You can see all that stuff . So it's just all my ridiculous time wasters that I call hobbies and appreciations .

Ron 40:07

I jokingly say and it drives my wife completely crazy and she'll hate that I'm saying this on the podcast too , but I'll go ahead and say this . I think it's funny . So I tell even my buddies . At church I said you know what ? I've got two choices in life . I can either go out to the bars every night and talk to strange women , or I can hop on my motorcycle and go for a ride . I choose to do the better thing for our marriage and I go for a ride on my motorcycle almost every just for her .

Paul 40:34

I do it for her and then strange people talk to you at the gas station . Strange people , I'm kidding , oh it's , it's good , and you know the these . You know this . This cb100 um had 800 miles on it . Oh , wow , it hadn't been run . It had some paint scars from being moved around in a garage and had no title . So each bike presents me send a certified letter , or hopefully all that gets you an address to send a certified letter to the last known title holder that you have in your possession . And all that never appeared . So it actually went way more smoothly than I anticipated .

Paul 41:40

But you know , each , each project bike has its own challenges . It might be a carburetor it's always a thing , but I'm getting pretty good at that and it might be , you know , changing your first tire and tube and and , and you know those . Those are the fun research projects . And of course we got YouTube . But you get a climbers manual . Hopefully you can get a an original Honda manual or shop manual for these bikes and I just I love learning that . I mean it's you have your day job but uh , and you can learn there . But these are also firing those , those neurons . They give you that little pep , uh , just like going out for a ride . You might be stuck in a garage . It's 45 degrees cause it's the middle of January , but you're having fun .

Ron 42:29

Well , there's something special too about working with your hands . Right out of high school I worked with my dad at the machine shop and got pretty handy with the screwdriver and stuff . Then , after that , I got into the computer industry and it's all been vaporware ever since . You know , poking on a keyboard all day long . I used to . I even joke with my team at work .

Ron 42:50

Sometimes just those of us , those of my team , who are old enough to remember the Jetsons , I'll say you know , george , the running gag on the Jetsons was George . Jetson would come home from work and he would complain to his wife that he had to push the button all day . Well , that's what we do all the time . We just push the button . We're just pushing the button , but getting out , whether I'm working on the bike or back , when I was working on the model t I , I remember one one evening , my , my wife comes out to the garage and she said when are you coming to bed ? It's 11 o'clock and I was up underneath it . I was up underneath the model t having a great time , like on a wednesday night , you know I had to work the next day .

Paul 43:31

You probably got a great night's sleep too .

Ron 43:34

Oh yeah .

Paul 43:35

Oh , yeah , it's beautiful .

Vintage Motorcycle Show Community Support

Paul 43:38

I sit in front of this glass screen all day as well and , uh , you know , there's something about putting that aside aside from like maybe a quick YouTube video or whatever . Uh , you know , instructional video , certified YouTube mechanic , is the joke around here at this point . But , uh , you know , to get out there and problem solve and you know , we , we had our , our , I had my childhood of old vehicles and and , naturally , aspirated vehicles and a lot of the same things apply now .

Paul 44:13

Uh , my brother , a handful of my brothers , are a phone call away if I have an ignition problem or something else mechanical that I just can't quite visualize yet and but they're older , they've had that experience and , uh , I can share that with them and that's a , that's a . Or call a friend , and I've got a good friend that comes down from longmont and and , uh , we tinker and it's that afternoon goes by in a breeze but I'm I'm happy at the end of the day because I got to hang out with my buddy , listen to some old hank williams on the bluetooth speaker and and wrench and , and we yell at each other and laugh at each other and it's just , it's good fun .

Ron 44:58

Oh , it is , it is . Hey , I don't want to forget to tell , tell me and the audience about your show . It's in June , right ?

Paul 45:07

Yeah , so we typically have it , uh , the first or second weekend in june I'm still finalizing the date , uh for for the the event , but it's held in old town , erie , uh , in a ? Uh , it's an old church parking lot , uh , like old 1888 style building . Um , our show . It's well attended and continues to grow since the pandemic . As we've grown , we've kind of settled it here . We're blocks away from a handful of really good restaurants and coffee shops , so it makes it makes a little bit more enjoyable to to have those services there . We open it up to a handful of vendors that are motorcycle related in some way . We don't , we're not trying to create a craft fair or swap meet . That's one that puts more work on us . I don't want to have to work the show . I want to walk around and talk to my friends and meet new friends and um , it just that's really not the point . But we we have a really good attendance with the AMCA . The Flatiron Chapter comes down and puts on a nice display as well , and then you get some of these guys coming out of the woodwork . A couple of years ago there was a 1910 Wagner , which is a pedal motorcycle , and , believe it or not , mike , mike wolf , just recently acquired the bike and so I've been in connection with him and I shared him photos that we had from our show and I said is this the same bike ? He said yes , this came out of denver . And just making those fun connections , like you never know , we're all the same with there might be a star in the in the world , you know , but at the end of the day we're just regular guys that have have this same common uh affliction with , uh , these , these two-wheel machines , and and we want to share it with people . So so , uh , you know it . But the bike show itself , uh , it usually runs about eight o'clock till about 2 PM . There's only a few stragglers by two . A lot of people cut out , um , and uh , it's a first come , first serve . Find your spot , uh , hop off , walk around , enjoy the day .

Paul 47:30

Um , good friend of ours out of golden has a uh needled , um uh Harley with a sidecar and he's got a coffee roasting business . So he sets up and has free cups of coffee for everybody . And , um , this year I'm working . Uh , hopefully we will have a 10 type photographer . Oh , cool , and that will be . You know , we'll help her out and promote her , but you'll be able to sign up and pay . Pay her directly . I don't want you know , it's all for her .

Paul 48:03

Uh , last year we had a , a street artist , uh , uh , a gentleman named Paul Heaston , who's a sketcher , and you can find this on our Instagram page as well . I've been following him for years cause I'm a art kid and designer and and a appreciator of what he's done . He's based out of Denver , but he contacted me , said I'd like to come up for your show , and he showed up and he sketched one of the the attending bikes , which was a mid fifties BMW , and ended up selling the sketch to the owner and taking a handful of commissions from other people in the crowd . I don't know how many or who , but we're supporting the community in ways related to bikes , but not directly in such a way that was stereotypical and that warms my heart that we can create that avenue for that to happen . And you know there's a handful of upholsterers that have come through and set up a tent and you can get their information and they have examples of their wares . Independent motorcycle shops are a big deal for us . You know the people that want to hang up their shingle and and and get their name out there . This is for them , you know , and they'll bring out a handful of bikes that they're proud of , that kind of draw people in and and you , you , you can't get any better than that because it's it's the best of the best out here . But more importantly I think we talked a little bit about this We've , bob and I Bob actually introduced me to the Morgan Adams Foundation , which is a pediatric cancer research and education outfit out of Denver , and they've done a lot for the front range and Colorado community , for families afflicted with children that are battling this uphill battle of kids' cancer , and they have a big concourse at the Centennial Airport every August and this concourse includes vintage planes , motorcycles and cars the best of the best you will find out of Colorado , sometimes from out of state .

Spreading Love and Community Through Motorcycling

Paul 50:12

But now they're raising well over a million dollars in one night . Oh , wow , that's wonderful . And I've personally have , uh have been in contact and and with families and with their kids . Uh , they , when health is too much to be around a big crowd , um , they've held photo shoots at like a little farm and they're like , hey , would you mind bringing some bikes up so we can do name the time and I'll be right there .

Paul 50:41

It's , this adorkable hobby allows us to go farther , farther than we ever imagined when we were putting the nuts and bolts together to make a difference . And I think you know you and I talked about the distinguished gentleman's ride and uh , I know you're , you and your wife are very intimate with that up in your neck of the woods . And last , we've been in contact with uh Revzilla and Revit down in Denver . They've invited us down for their big get together at the setup and we put up a tent and get our name out there and again , building community for men's health . I think it's , it's important we , oftentimes we and I know this , I'm guilty of this Like where you know you have that passive , I'm fine , I'm doing okay , but deep inside are you ? And where is that conversation that talk to , to those resources that are going to help you with some of those demons that might be having a hard time shaking loose ?

Ron 52:00

Yeah , and that's it , and among many motivators that I have to continue with this podcast , even though I think to myself I have no idea what the next topic is going to be or who I'm going to interview next or whatever . Sometimes I find myself so lost , but then I'll get an email from someone who confides in me that it's made a difference , that listening to a positive message about something that we both happen to enjoy , that we can find joy from that , and then we realize that we're part of a community as well , find joy from that , and then we realize that we're part of a community as well . Then , um , maybe I'm not going to make a bad decision , like I was probably going to make before . And I've literally heard that from yeah , um , and that's , among many things that that keeps me going , you know , on this , because there's there's real positive energy in this little hobby sport , whatever you want to call it that we've fallen into . There's real positive energy there .

Ron 52:57

It takes us I mean , I feel like I'm preaching to the choir but it takes us out of the wind , it clears our mind , takes us out into nature , and then we've got this community of other crazy people who do the same thing and that you could like at the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride . I use this example all the time at the DGR . The best example of what that thing's about is that you can go up to a total stranger who's dressed up in a suit like you are and , for the event , give them a big hug and say hello , my name is total strangers , because you've got that thread of we love motorcycling for one reason or another and we happen to care about people too , and boom . I mean , what else do you need to have in common besides ?

Paul 53:41

that that's so cool , I mean . I mean what a force that has taken over the world and in one day , just put on your hat of , like , how many bikes concurrently were on the road for the same cause and that number of people , that that that movement has done so much for this world in that way and it just it starts with one person and it catapulted into just an amazing legacy that I hope continues and continues well , it continues because of guys like you , Paul .

Ron 54:16

Honestly , I mean having the heart and getting involved , as you described , with children's cancer support and things like that . That's just . I can't imagine what these families are going through and they need all the help they can get and you're stepping into the gap and making a big difference .

Paul 54:35

Yeah , it's part of how I was raised , but also there's just something that draws you into that and I don't like to be alone . I like to be with my people and I've got multiple tribes , but this is one that I'm very happy with because it's so diverse and it continues to evolve . Multiple tribes , but this is one that I'm very happy with because it's so diverse and , uh , it continues to evolve and , and I see the you know , at least in Colorado , the motorcycle and commit uh community is is very expansive , from adventure riders to , uh , you know the , the long haulers , to the sport bike . You know the younger crowd that's riding sport bikes and they're self-organizing right now and you'll have I see it on social media . But there's a handful of organizers that are pulling together a hundred , 200 bikes on a given weekend to drive around the Metro and one person and it just snowballs and it's so exciting .

Paul 55:33

This one group . They just ran December 21st , right before some of this cold snap . You know , one more warm day , warm air quotes . It's so good and you know it truly tells me that we have a long way to go in this space and that means there's more work for us to bring these people together and continue to educate and to continue to bridge those gaps , whether it's age or gender , gender . You know how do we , how do we become that that uh , that group that makes , uh , helps everybody , uh , in some form or fashion ?

Ron 56:20

Well , this is absolutely a demonstration all around with us , the DGR , the different things that you're involved with as well . Uh , this is a demonstration of love for your community , love the world , and uh , there's just too many hurting people out there that need a lot of that , and so we've got to keep after it . Yeah , paul , thank you so much for being on the show , Thanks for reaching out , and you know I bash technology a lot , but thank goodness we've got Instagram . We found each other . Yeah , there's a few shiny glimpses .

Paul 56:53

You know I bash technology a lot , but thank goodness we've got Instagram . We found each other . Yeah , yeah , there's a few shiny glimpses . And I mean , look at , you know , we're on Zoom right now and , although we're a handful of miles away and we're going to correct that we're going to go get a cup of coffee at some point .

Ron 57:05

And absolutely my friend .

Paul 57:07

Absolutely . You figure out your work , travel situations and I'll figure out mine and we'll make it happen .

Ron 57:14

Guaranteed . That sounds great , paul . Thank you so much . Appreciate it . Thanks , rob . Oh , my thanks again to Paul , and I'm so excited to meet him in person . We're so close and I can't believe we haven't met yet . But you know , in a previous episode I ended with playing the song what a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong . It is a wonderful world , my friends . It seems pretty dark out there sometimes , but Paul and his team at Colorado Vintage Motorcycleining , their passion with the support for others is just one more example . It is a wonderful world . Let's let other people know about that . As always , thank you so much for listening and if you would like to write a review or rate this podcast , that would be really , really appreciated . Most folks seem to listen to Apple Podcasts and Spotify , but our review is very much appreciated . It kind of helps us spread the word about this podcast . Until we visit again . My friends , thank you so much for listening and I wish you peace and I wish you love .