"Wareham motorcycle shop to participate in Laconia build-off"

By Jaime Rebhan | May 04, 2011
 -Wareham Week,Village soup

Photo by: Jaime Rebhan)  

Nick Vieira of Dartmouth-based Theory Motorcycle Products, chats with Masshole Moto's Mike Painter about the Laconia Biker Build-off. Theory Motorcycle Products is one of the team's sponsors. 


 -A Wareham motorcycle shop will face off against five larger shops for a chance to win $5,000 in the Laconia Biker Build-off during the annual Laconia, New Hampshire Motorcycle Week in June.
The invitation to the event came as a big surprise to West Wareham-based Masshole Moto. An event organizer approached the team because he was impressed with what he saw during a bike show in Boston last month, said Masshole Moto's Mike Painter. The shop was asked to participate in the build-off because another shop had backed out.
Masshole Moto, comprised of a group of hobbyists who enjoy building and working on both modern and vintage motorcycles, accepted the invitation. The event attracts tens of thousands of people each year.
"We're just a bunch of guys with garages," said Masshole Moto's Mike Painter. "With no time at all" to prepare for the event.
The other bike-building participants have known for a year that they'd be in the running for the big prize. Masshole Moto had just two months - with just over a month left - to come up with a game plan.
"All they give us is power and a tent," Painter said, adding that the Masshole Moto team is excited for the challenge.
Motorcycle Week runs from June 11 through June 19. The team will begin building its bike on June 11 and the event's attendees will vote on their favorite of the six shops on the 18th. No building can be completed before the event.
Masshole Moto is up against Dudley-based Irish Choppers, Belchertown's Pitoniak's Custom Cycles, New Hampshire shops Ready Customs and Vintage Custom Cycles, and New York-based Deadwood Choppers.
Masshole Moto's budget is limited and the team must bring all of the parts and tools it needs to build the bike.
"We have friends bringing parts down, we're going through our attics," Painter said. "We're going with what we have laying around. ... We like to make parts, we don't like to [buy] parts."
A few sponsors have already stepped forward to help with the team's expenses.
Painter said the event is a big opportunity for Masshole Moto. Even if the team doesn't win the build-off, the event will be covered in a slew of motorcycle enthusiast magazines and could put the small shop on the map.
"A bunch of little guys like us are going up against the big guys," Painter said. "We're just trying to make it happen."
Masshole Moto will hold a fundraiser and celebration at Gilda's Stone Rooster in Marion on June 4. A raffle will be held to help the team pay for expenses.
For more information about Masshole Moto, visit www.massholemoto.com.