Even Shovels You Say?

Mid July in Calgary, the Stampede is in town and everyone is whooping it up throughout town. Not everyone though. Situated at 237-12 Avenue, SE, across from the Stampede grounds is Evil Twins. Despite being in their first year of operation these guys are already building a loyal client base and the reason is obvious! Service… above and beyond the call of duty.

Last month I installed a pair of economy tires on the Classic, thinking I was saving money, wrong. With barely three thousand kilometers on them, I had already gone through the first ply of the four-ply rear tire.

On Wednesday evening, middle of the Stampede, I show up on the doorstep of Calgary's Easyrider's. These boys are always working head down, ass up… so sometimes it is difficult to get through on the phone. Dean had previously told me that if I can't get hold of them to just drop down, they are always there.

Well, now was the time to check that out. With canvas showing and no other wheels, I was stranded until I could get new tires mounted front and rear. Truly expecting my trip to be a waste of time, but with no other options, I decided to risk blowing the rear tire on a trip to their shop.

Pulling into their newly paved parking lot I am both pleased and discouraged to see numerous bikes parked outside the shop doors. Brad is usually working on something so you have to wait your turn for his attention. This never bothers me because I prefer to greet the lovely DonnaLena first anyway.

After a quick view of the rear tire Brad informs me that my assumptions were correct, my rear tire wasn't safe for the road. Ten minutes later (7:40 pm), a project bike is wheeled off the bench and I roll the Black Beast on. Garvie locks the front wheel in place and up she goes. With Dean and Garvie working together the front tire is quickly replaced.

While chatting with an old friend out back Dean emerged to inform me that I wouldn't be going any place. Bad news, my swingarm was broken off at the rear axle and the only thing keeping the axle in place was the drive belt and my good looks… so you see the danger I had been in riding the bike as it was. A free moving axle may have explained why the previous tire went bald so fast.

WOW, I thought, I was pretty lucky to make it all the way from Penticton to Calgary without killing myself. Then I thought why the *^#@+~% didn't the two previous shops that serviced the bike recently notice something of this grave importance. The last shop I had actually complained of the harsh suspension and they charged me for two hours shop time to check it out and stilled failed to notice a broken swingarm.

This stresses the importance of using one mechanic all the time that you trust to take the few minutes to inspect your bike while servicing, it may well save your life. It also supports what I have said before of knowing your own machine. While it is easy to blame others, in the end we are all responsible for our own existence.

It may be late, but we are not out yet. The boys got on the phone to the 'Crazy Bagpiper' Duffy, and convinced him to come down to the shop to weld up my swingarm. While the boys labored on the FLH, I relaxed out back chatting with some pretty girls and simply enjoying the view of the Calgary Tower and surrounding area. At 11:00 pm we went around to the east side of the building and watched the fireworks. By 12:20 am, the guys had the bike back in one piece and ready to roll down the highway safely again.

Being small business and family oriented I prefer to give my business to like operations whenever possible. These guys fit the bill on all counts. They are a new, family business. The brothers are from Nova Scotia and DonnaLena is a native Calgary girl. Most people do business with people they like, drop down and meet these folks and I guarantee you will return. As one of my partners always reminds me, we have to be credible all the time. I call them as I see them and these people at Evil Twins have my confidence and trust.

They understand that the mileage that we put on our machines means maintenance is of the utmost importance. These guys took the time to actually look at the bike and pointed out numerous items that needed attention. While we always hate to spend money, it is better (and usually cheaper) to maintain the bike at home rather than on the road.

Brad is a Harley factory trained licensed journeyman motorcycle mechanic, and has recently added another factory-trained mechanic to their crew of enthusiast workers. Rob is another mechanic who enjoys his work and will happily take the time to explain your bikes inner workings when asked. Easyrider's offers a full line of service, including cylinder resizing, balancing of bottom ends, and head porting. They work on anything from the shovelhead (troublehead) era to Evo's and Twin Cams. Four speed to six speed transmissions, as well as a full machine shop. They'll even work on Japanese bikes.

The day after they fixed the FLH, two of my fellow Photo-hogs had their bikes in for new tires. Huss said it for all of us when he happily exclaimed he had found his new place to hang out and service his Dyna. The place is casual and they go out of their way to make you feel welcome. They even let you look over their shoulder as they work. If you haven't visited this new shop in town yet, do so, and tell them CC Ryder sent you. I promise they won't kick you out.

CCRyder

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