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“Manufacturing QualityConcrete Block Since 1918”#_ “For Permanent SolutionsConcretesis? in. si sThe Daily GlobeIronwood CommunitFebruary, 2006 •PLANNING_(Continued from Page 13) while considering reasonable developing plans to address each. area. Growth and progress willBy ANDY HILLGlobe Associate EditorIRONWOOD — A motorcyclefan could go hog wild at Backstreet Cycle Machine.Bill Penrose and sons Luke and Dan do everything to keep Harley Davidson motorcycles and other makes on the road.a niche market, but a growing one.“For the most part, we keep the local guys going,” said Bill, who fell in love with motorcycles as a teenager, buying his first bike when he was “about 15.”“There was nobody around here that would work on them, he said. “I bought a little building up in Norrie. It was basically a hobby. There weren’t that many motorcycles around. There was hardly anybody riding in Ironwood.”He estimates there are now 500 to 600 Harleys cruising the local highways.“I live in Iron Belt and there are 10 to 12 in Iron Belt alone,” saidLuke, “which is quite a bit for a little bitty town like that.”Backstreet isn’t a franchised dealer, though the shop can trulydo it all.“We service American made, Harley and Indian, and some British, said Bill. “If anybody breaks down I don’t have to order anything, because we have the parts to get them back on the road.”Bill is a talented all-around mechanic, but motorcycles became his preference for a simple reason: “They’re much smaller and they aren’t dripping snow and ice all thetime.”The services include major andold stuff,” said Bill, “But we try to keep up with all that’s current. We’re getting into a lot more restoration.”Luke, who has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, specializes in the powder coats that beautify the Backstreet creations.“Dan is into the metal fabrication, body work, welding,” said Bill.“And we do air brush work, too. said Luke. And the machine shop work relates to many local area businesses and loggers, Bill said.“Now Kaufman (sheet metal) comes here to get metal work done,” said Luke.Daily GlobeBill Penrose works on a customized Harley Davidson motorcycle created at Backstreet Cycle Machine. The cooling fins on the motor have been powder coated in contrasting color at the shop. Penrose and sons Luke and Dan perform all sorts of service on motorcycles, mostly of the vintage variety.minor mechanic work, tires and accessories.Bill’s wife, Mary, is a talentedseamstress.“She does the upholstery for us,” he said. “The paint work and powder coating we do.”The true works of art produced in the Backstreet shop are custom motorcycles.“So far we’ve done probably 30 of them,” said Bill.He’s especially proud of a Harley that won a best of show award in Arizona.was a ‘rat bike,’ just a mess,” said Bill. “We raked it, extended the forks, made all the controls, the brass.”The new leather seat covered a hand-hammered pan. The result was dazzling.Backstreet has fans from all over the country. The work bench inthe crowded back shop tells the story. There’s a Harley engine for a customer from Arizona, the transmission from a Canadian bike and an engine from a Marquette Harley fan.“It’s just word of mouth, basically,” said Bill.The business also grows because factory-authorized dealers work mainly on modern bikes.“They don’t want to work on the
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Ironwood Daily Globe
Ironwood, Michigan, US
Tue, Feb 28, 2006
Page 31
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