The Shop

The Shop
2631 S. Greeley St.
Tim Schneider
(414) 276-6686
theshopmilwaukee.com

1. What made you decide to specialize in European and Japanese bikes?

It all started one night 11 years ago while drinking beer with my good friend Scott. We talked about how there weren’t any good independent motorcycle repair shops that specialized in Japanese and European bikes in Milwaukee. Everyone was doing the Harley thing. At the time Scott and I were racing vintage motorcycles and were really into the café racer scene. After few more beers Scott said, “Hey dude, you should open a motorcycle shop that only works on Euro and Japanese bikes.” And that was that. The Shop was conceived during a hard night of drinking. I quit my day job and the rest is history.

2. How long have you been at the Hide House and what made you decide to set up your business there?

The Shop has been located at the Hide House for five years. Wow, time really flies. We moved the business for two reasons. First, the building we occupied on the East Side was being sold to the highest bidder, which was someone with more money than I had. Second, we really needed more space. It worked out well.

3. What was the first bike you ever rode solo? Owned?

I believe the first motorbike I ever rode solo was a bike owned by my childhood friend. It was a 1983 Suzuki RM80, a single-cylinder 79cc two-stroke dirt bike. I think it produced about 15 or 16 horsepower. That’s a handful when you’re 14 years old. The first bike I owned was a beautiful 1966 Honda Superhawk. It had the coolest tach and speedo gauge housing ever! I wish I still had that bike.

4. Are there schools where you learn motorcycle mechanics? If not, how do you and your crew learn to repair bikes?

My mechanics and I are self-taught. We’ve accumulated a vast base of knowledge about old bikes that could never be taught in school. For modern bikes there are schools like the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Florida. The only way to get up to speed on these old cycles is to attend the school of hard knocks with plenty of elbow grease packed in your lunchbox and then go for it. Some of the bikes we work on are so obscure that service manuals and parts are obsolete. When repairing a bike like that our years of experience pay off in spades.

5. Do you do any bodywork or just repairs?

We don’t do any bodywork or painting or fiberglass repair. We leave that to the people who specialize in that stuff. We rarely sell used bikes. It’s a hassle and some people think 30-year-old bikes come with a lifetime warranty. Not!

6. Are there any other shops in the area that only repair Japanese and European bikes?

There are several other shops in town that only work on Japanese and/or European bikes like Motorwest. Most dealership service departments have a policy of not working on bikes older than 10 years. We have an excellent reputation around town for working on vintage and classic motorcycles and being honest and hard working. I’m very proud to be thought of in that light.

7. What is Meatball’s job?

The Meatball. For people who don’t know Meatball [Jack Russell terrier] check out our web page and see for yourself. He’s great fun to have at the shop. He’s sassy as hell, has a vertical leap of 18 inches, and thinks he’s in charge of operations. What can I say? Man’s best friend.

8. What are your all-time favorite bikes?

There’s not enough newsprint in your paper for my list of favorites. If it rolls and goes I like it. I love getting on one of the bikes from my little collection and rolling some chain. I’ve test ridden a lot of bikes since opening The Shop and most of them have something I like. Okay, my favorite is the Honda RC166.

9. What bikes have the least repair problems? What kind of repairs do you typically make?

Of all the various makes and models that we’ve serviced I think Honda motorcycles from the ’70s are most trouble-free. I sound like those stupid truck commercials that mention JD Power and Associates. Most of the service work we do is basic repair like tires and tune-ups, reversing years of neglect. We rebuild many carburetors and replace many batteries every spring because of improper winter storage. At the other end of the spectrum we do high-end stuff like building race motors and full engine rebuilds and restorations.

10. From how wide an area do you draw customers?

We have been written up in some well-known motorcycle magazines with national distribution so we get clients from all over the Midwest but most come from the Milwaukee metro area.

The Shop
2631 S. Greeley St.
Tim Schneider
(414) 276-6686
theshopmilwaukee.com