JASON'S PRESS - Newspaper Artical - West Central Tribune April 9th, 2005

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A closer look at ...
Custom motorcycles are passion for Willmar man
By David Little

Staff Writer

Stolen cars aren’t disassembled and sold for parts at Garb’s Chop Shop in Willmar. But several snazzy motorcycles have been assembled there.

“If you think of chop shops, you think of stolen cars,’’ says Jason Garberding, the bearded, 26-yearold shop owner. “It makes people think a little bit. It’s really a legitimate custom motorcycle shop. I guess that’s why I used the term to get people’s attention a little bit.’’

Another attention-getter is the big, low-slung 130-horsepower red beauty that Garberding built for his father. “It fits him like a glove,’’ beams the proud maker.

Garberding opened his small shop one year ago on Willmar’s north side where he offers parts and service, and where he customizes bikes. He said he “went to the extreme of his fabricating skills’’ to build the red bike, which his dad bought. The value has been placed at $50,000.

“That is a lot. I couldn’t afford that. I went to the high end to let people know what I can do. I want to get back to the $20,000 to $30,000 bike range where you can definitely ride the heck out of ’em and still look cool,’’ he said.

“Without my dad, I wouldn’t have been able to do that. It’s pretty cool for him to put that much faith in me to build him something like that. I’m pretty happy with that.’’

Garberding makes a type of bike called a pro-street. It can be licensed and handles well on the street. The design resembles a chopper, with a narrow tire on the front and a wide tire on the back. But the handlebars don’t rise up as high and the front wheel doesn’t stick out as far as a chopper.

He’s customized two bikes so far. He’d like to make three or four a year. He says the bikes could be raced at the drag strip, but prefers they be driven on the street. “I don’t want to abuse them,’’ he says.

Garberding starts with the frame, which he buys, then imagines the design in his mind.

“I’m a terrible drawer. I think about how I want it in my head. It’s pretty much all there the first day. I just try to pick it out piece by piece and see what I want.’’

He also buys the engine, wheels, tires and transmission, then he fabricates the gas tank, oil tank, handlebars, the exhaust, the seat and all the moldings. To make the gas tank, for example, he forms a shape with hard paper and visualizes how it would look with the engine.

Then he traces the pieces onto sheet metal, cuts out the pieces and hammers them into shape on a leather bag filled with lead shot. He runs the pieces through a machine called an English wheel that removes the bumps but retains the shape. A gas tank he’s making for a bike now consists of 11 pieces of metal.

The shiny red paint on his dad’s bike — upon closer inspection — reveals a series of 100 nearly-hidden ghosts and skulls around the fenders and gas tank.

“Everybody tries to do something different. There’s no rules in this game ’cause that’s what makes it so fun. The best thing about it is you can do anything you want, be as creative as you want and people like it.’’

Garberding has had a passion for motorcycles since he rebuilt a dirt bike at age 13. During his junior and senior years at Willmar High School, “Garb,’’ as he was nicknamed, took mechanical and welding classes. “I knew when I was 16 I was going to do auto body,’’ he said.

After graduation in 1996, Garberding learned fabricating and painting skills at Ridgewater College. He worked as a painter in the Twin Cities, worked at Jeff ’s Body Shop in Pennock for a couple of years, and then for an auto glass company in Willmar until it went out of business. He then decided to start his own business.

“I thought, either try it out now or look back in life and regret not ever trying it,’’ he said.

The red bike was Garberding’s second. It placed fifth out of 160 bikes at this year’s 18th annual Donnie Smith Invitational March 19 and 20 in St. Paul.

A smaller bike, which he built first and painted orange, has won three awards. It received the People’s Choice award at the 23rd annual Willmar Car Show and Swap Meet in 2003, placed first in custom motorcycles at the 24th annual Willmar Car Show in 2004, and took second in best of class at the 17th annual Donnie Smith Invitational in 2004.

The red bike will be featured in the June issue of Hot Bike, which Garberding calls one of the top three national motorcycle magazines.

Garberding says a customized motorycles gets looks from people.

“That’s what this business is really about,’’ he said. “It’s making something cool for yourself and for a customer. But (when) you get right down to it, people really want to be seen. That’s what I think this is all about, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun. I couldn’t imagine doing something else anymore.’’

Garb’s Chop Shop is located at 309 13th St N.W. in Willmar; www.garbschopshop.com