Kind of a grumpy looking picture, you don’t usually find Al looking this grumpy because he loves his job. He has been working on motorcycles and motorized toys since the age of 10 and has over 35 years of experience doing it. Al enlisted in the military when he was 17 and spent 23 years doing that while he wrenched on motorized toys of all kinds on the side. He built a unicycle around the age of 8 and fully customized his pedal tractor at about 9. Built his first go kart from scratch at 12 that was powered by a Honda Trail 50 engine and the list just keeps going on and on from there. Al has done things in the mechanical world that others told him couldn’t be done.
The History and How It All Started
Once upon a time this goofy looking, sideways building was a corner gas station and service station. It had a couple of gas pumps out front on an island and a really cool brick and mason canopy over the top. It had an air hose outside wrapped around an old car wheel mounted on the side of the building. There was an office area up the steps where you went in to pay for your gas and could get a soda and a candy bar if you wanted. Two large overhead doors and one small one led into the service area where they brought in the cars and trucks and well, lawn mowers and such to do the service and repair work. It didn’t have any fancy lifts or anything like that to raise up the cars so you could get underneath. Instead, on the one side there was a pit, a big concrete hole in the floor, where they would drive the cars over and then go into the hole to do the work from underneath. The owner ran a successful business for many years mainly because he knew what customer service was. Over the years the building has gone through many changes. The island and pumps are gone along with the underground tanks that used to hold the fuel. The canopy no longer exists and the pit has been filled in to name a few. There is one thing for sure that still remains and that is the customer service. Small town, small business, old school customer service.
Meet the Pack
Al Osborn (Owner)
Bill (Shop Foreman)
As you can see from this picture, it can be difficult at times to tell if Bill is being serious, and there are times when he can be a jokester when he’s talking to you about your machine but, he always takes his work very serious. Bill brings 10 years of paint and body and 10 years of welding experience along with the better part of his lifetime riding and wrenching on bikes. He can make a straight line out of any rough surface and splash paint like nobodies business with his natural technique.
Bane (Supervisor)
Well now, that is a mighty fine picture of me. I wish I was as spry now as I was when that picture was taken. I’m getting a little older now and I suppose the time is coming for me to have to train my replacement. I don’t think the guys think too much of that idea but, somebody has to keep these guys in line along with running security when they are gone. I like it when kids come in they always talk to me and pet me. I’ve been here since Al opened the shop here, its fun to watch the people and stuff on Main Street.