Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - October 2008 - (Page 70)

MONTHLY FEATURES ? BIKER OF THE MONTH Restored with Care Locust Grove Restoration By Mike Brown “I was always interested in old motorcycles,” Biker of the Month Joe Hottenstein said, “but as time went on the old motorcycles turned out to be the first ones I had!” This interest eventually led Joe to opening Locust Grove Restoration and created the opportunity to “do everything I like to do.” “I have a very patient wife,” Joe continued. “I spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours just restoring bikes for myself. Once I got started I never stopped.” Joe began his professional life as an artist and sign painter and then spent 20 years as a commercial photographer. When the photography business slowed down in the early 90s, Joe contemplated other options, and while doing so noticed an ad in a British motorcycle magazine promoting a motorcycle restoration service. This sparked an idea. “I wondered if that would work over here,” he said to himself, and no longer questions the notion. It works just fine, thank you, and Joe and his assistant now average eight to ten full restorations a year and many partial ones. Both kinds of jobs are welcomed. “Restoration is a loose term,” Joe explained. “One of my customers buys ‘restored’ motorcycles and I finish them!” To provide a concrete example, Joe said he’s now working on a Horex someone else “restored.” “He cleaned up the wheels and then gave them a clear coat of lacquer,” Joe said, adding that the lacquer soon yellowed and the rusting issues had never been properly treated. “We see a lot of this,” he said. In his line of work Joe sees many “bodges” and has to undo each one in order to do a correct, professional restoration. One of the more interesting examples of bodging came via a BSA A-10, also “restored.” “The guy was a farmer,” Joe said. “He knew how to repair manure spreaders but he sure didn’t know how to restore bikes.” Joe found that out when the motor wouldn’t turn over because the oil pump gears were frozen. Apparently Farmer Bob used a hammer to install the oil pump and in so doing collapsed the alloy case, locking the gears. Another interesting les amp y ex man with own is sh ork. stein ration w tten e Ho ity resto l th Jo Mon f his qua e o of th r Bike oe is es J y bik man ion. e of t is on Restora und ve regro ust Gro n fo e-4 i n at Loc quar o riel S A ing work repair came on a Norton. “Everything was tied together with leather shoelaces,” Joe said. Often the goofs are more a case of what wasn’t done. Joe encountered a Triumph TR6SC, a fairly rare bike definitely worth a few dollars and the customer who brought it to Joe had paid a good dollar for it. “The problem was he never rode it before he bought it,” Joe explained, saying the customer bought the motorcycle after hearing it run well on trailer. But when ridden a few miles, a serious misfire occurred, eventually getting so bad the bike would barely run at all. Triumph experts may have already deduced the problem Joe suspected, the TR6SC’s ET ignition system, a known troublemaker, especially when the system is old and the varnish coating around the coils begins to break down. This allows current to short out between the coils when heat expands them and causes the misfiring. 70 October 2008 | WALNECK’S CLASSIC CYCLE TRADER® I WALNECKS.COM http://WALNECKS.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - October 2008

Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - October 2008 Contents American The Buzz w/Buzz Walneck Motorcycle Tips w/Mike Brown Bench Racing w/Mark Zimmerman 1915 Cyclone Sold for 520,000 Doublemint Whizzer Grab Yore "Trusty" 45 and Head for the WOODS! …. Events Listings & Advertisements British Mid-Ohio Review Biker of the Month J Wood Mid-Ohio Auction Results European 1963 Parilla 125 Wildcat Test 1970 Ducati Desmo 250, 350 & 450 Singles 1955 NSU 250 Max Japanese My Day With a PWK Motorbikes & Scooters Antique Cycle Clubs Parts, Accessories, Want Ads How to Place a Word Ad Area Code Directory How to Subscribe How to Place a Photo Ad

Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.