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Twinline Motorcycles
Building a community; One bike at a time
 There exists a group of riders who live
for the thrill of riding, restoring and generally worshiping
vintage model Japanese and European bikes. Ian Halcott (at
right)
just so
happens to be one of those guys, and he’s turned his passion into
his business. What started when Halcott was just a 16 year old boy
riding a Honda CL160 in small town Yakima, has become the now 31
year old's niche custom bike shop.
Halcott’s first experience with
motorcycles occurred early on in 1981 at the
tender age of four, while propped up on his
father’s orange Honda CB175. His enthusiasm for tinkering with
motorcycles began as he grew older, while teaching himself how to
ride in the back alley of his family’s house. Ian later drifted away
from the hobby as he left home for Evergreen College, earning
degrees in Video Production and Social Sciences. Soon after, Halcott
returned to what he loved doing so much--building, shaping and
restoring vintage motorcycles.
 Twinline Motorcycles is located in the
Georgetown neighborhood of South Seattle, tucked away in the corner
of a light industrial park. Approaching the front, a few gutted
bikes and tires strewn about tells of the work going on inside. A
small ordinary sign hung above an old beat up door in a warehouse
type building, gives the impression that this shop isn’t about the
glitz and glam. It’s a place where a handshake and a six
pack can get you just as far as a fat wallet. A
place to stop and visit just to check out the latest builds and
freshest ideas. Twinline is more than just about building bikes, it's
becoming part of the entire community, a place where riders
gather
to share their interest in the joy of
building motorcycles.
Above - Tomorrow's project bikes waiting their turn.
At a time when the economy is down, Twinline has more work than they
can handle.
Open since September 2006, Halcott got the
building in May of '06 and immediately began building the shop out.
Nearly everything in the shop has been built by Ian and his small
crew of mechanics/fabricators. Racks for storing bike parts had to
be built out of 2x4s while other benches and tables were scrapped
together. Bike lifts were nowhere to be found in the early days,
and work had to be done wherever room could be found. Since then
multiple bike lifts have been added, a dyno was recently
installed and a paint booth
is being planned.
 The summer of 2007 brought along the
introduction of the service department at Twinline Motorcycles. With
1960s and 70s bikes not always arriving in the best shape, Halcott
and his crew have had to alter the perception of a normal service
shop, due to vintage bikes continually arriving with issues that can
possibly endanger the life of the rider. Bringing together
restoration type work and service of the known issues has become
part of the everyday job at Twinline. Halcott regularly has to point
out to customers that their vintage bike is a little worse off than
what they thought. More often than not ,
bikes brought in for simple
brake jobs or small repairs end up receiving a much more in-depth
restoration in the name of safety.
Above - Shop tech, Ian Siegl, prepares
to install a new chain on an anything-but-stock Yamaha RD350 project
bike.
Although service has become a big part of
Twinline’s daily routine, Halcott and crew will tell you that their
true passion is fabrication. True to form when a customer brings a
bike in with very few guidelines for what he/she wants, Twinline’s
fabrication side gets to come out. With the opportunity for complete
control over the bike 's final outcome, imagination must be the only
limiting factor. Although some of the work is outsourced to other
businesses, Twinline is working toward becoming an in-house
fabrication shop.
 Twinline Motorcycles is fast on its way to
becoming one of the premiere motorcycle fabricators in the area. The
market for vintage Japanese and European motorcycles is continually
growing, and Twinline Motorcycles may have turned a onetime passion
into one productive company with a
future in the Northwest.
At left - Twinline tech, Brandon Gillam, performs a
basic oil change on a customers commuter CB750.
Tim Pizzino/Spring 08 |
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