Donnie Smith Motorcycle Show 2019

Welcome to Ride & Rally with Fix My Hog. Brought to you by Gatorz Eyewear. Fit. Form. Function. Proudly made in the USA. Footwear provided by Harley-Davidson Footwear. What's up everybody? I'm Nate Beck and you're watching Fix My Hog Ride & Rally 2019. It's Twin Cities. It's spring, and that means two things. Number one, we're getting the bikes out. And number two, we're headed to Donnie Smith. If you've never heard of Donnie Smith, he's a custom bike builder out of Minnesota and one of what I consider the three legends being: Arlen Ness, Dave Perewitz, and Donnie Smith from the '70s. Really paving the way for custom choppers and custom bikes. And he's still in the industry today building bikes, and he's still putting on an awesome bike show. So the sun should be coming out here pretty soon. So I'm gonna head over to my shop, grab my bike, ride on over and let's see what we can do. So we're here at Donnie Smith and as you guys know I'm a huge Sportster fan. I own a Sportster, but this has got to be one of the coolest Sportsters I've ever seen. Jeff Anderson built this. It's a 1994 Harley-Davidson Sportster that he then built to look like an old 20s bike, even complete with the old-style paint. I'm here with Kevin Bass. How's it going man? Good man. Good to see you again. Good to see you too. If you saw 2018's video you saw this bike here, but in it's early stages of completion with the Lakeville North Chopper Class. They now have it done. It was over in Sturgis? Yep, Sturgis. Michael Lichter Buffalo Chip. He invited us to display it with all the other bike builders which was awesome. So we really had to hustle getting it done and ready to go so we could get out there in time. Yeah, and then we also shot it in Mama Tried this year and that was awesome. How was Mama Tried for you? Mama Tried was amazing as always. I mean, I feel fortunate to have bikes that these kind of shows want to have in it, you know? Sure. Micro, Luchter, the Mama Trieds and its just really, really neat to see a project that I am doing with high school kids getting that much attention, you know? Worldwide. I mean our bikes have been in a Harley Museum, magazines across the country, you know? And it just shows what you can teach kids to do if you believe in them and give them a chance. Absolutely, absolutely. So for those of you that don't know, Kevin has been working with kids, running a chopper class, STEM technologies for how many years now? Oh man. Well, I've been teaching for 24 years you know. Okay. So the chopper class started, the whole idea of building bikes was around 2001-2002. Sure. I got invited to bring one out to Smoke Out, back when it was just getting started. Yup. And I had a little card table and the bike that the kids and I would put together and it just took off like wildfire from there. Nice, nice. You're still doing it. So let's go over the bike a little bit if you don't mind. Yeah. I know the leather work on it is really, I think in my mind, obviously it's a gorgeous knucklehead but it's the leather work that sets it apart, and really stands it out from all the other bikes. It's next-level stuff you know? Because in this industry people are always trying to do something different you know? But sometimes it gets to be too gaudy and they're doing things that are like, just cause you can, you shouldn't you know? And so like what I teach my kids with these bikes, we'll never do a really crazy theme. No Orange County Chopper stuff. Sure. We want bikes that are going to be cool now, cool 10 years from now. Like this bike right here, when we were building it, we could have just a black tank on it. You saw it last year. Yep. A raw metal tank. And it looked great. It was a great looking bike. Well I think the stance on it for me on this bike is really what makes it. It's got that nice low, lean race look you know? So a little bit about this bike, the frame was built by a friend of mine, Partner Frameworks Schools out of Arizona. And the axle plates are actually over an inch. Raised up higher, it would actually drop the bike down a little more. Okay. Give you that real mean, kind of low look. Sugar Bear made the front end for us. Got an S&S 93 inch knucklehead, which is just a power horse. A Wagner old-school style tranny. And then we use the tech cycles so its actually got an electric start on it, which is kind of neat for an old bike. Oh yeah. And I was able to hide it behind the stock-style G2 oil tank. Sure. So you hardly can tell it's there unless you're really looking in. You can still kickstart it then. Right. And you know, got internal throttle from Nash Motorcycles. The leather work really, it made this bike something different. You see so much, but to have a leather-wrapped, hand-carved tank and a fender and all that, it's something people haven't seen you know? Oh absolutely. So they stop and even the bike itself is cool once they realize that tank. It draws people in and it takes them 20 minutes to go over all the details and realize and comprehend, like wow that's leather and it's been wrapped. It's pretty neat. Overall the whole bike turned out great, you know? Students were working hard on it last year, and like I said we had it here as just our in-progress roller. And here it is done, man. And it's turning heads. Cool. What another awesome show from Donnie Smith and the crew and its 32nd year. I really love that the event hasn't lost that grassroots feel of being just like a good, down-home show. The curation that they choose between old-school choppers, big-wheel baggers, the vendors, and the swap meet. It's just, it really is, a massive show that has that small feel. That really inclusive of all styles. No matter what you're into, what you ride, there is absolutely always something there for you. The really the standout for me was PJ's Garage and their big-wheel baggers. I am a chopper guy myself, but the work, the artwork in just the engravings. Using motorcycle chain. Welding it together for handlebars. That's really pushing the limits of what custom building is. That's really what you see at the Donnie Smith show every year. If you're interested in going, absolutely go early and check out that swap meet. You can get hard to find parts from a lot of old, vintage bikes. And if you don't have a vintage bike, and you're into that like old Harley Memorabilia, there's a bunch of that stuff too. But I'll warn you it does go quick so you have to show up early. It is, what I think, one of the best bike shows in Minnesota, if not the best bike show. And in March every year it really kicks off the riding season. As you saw, man we rode there and I just had a great time. So if you're in the area absolutely in March, check out Donnie Smith Show next year. We're looking forward to it. Can't wait for the 33rd year and what them and the crew has to do. So until next time, ride safe, wrench safe, and we will see you on the road.