Members of the Motorcycle & Powersports News team recently made the trip to Milwaukee to take in the action at the 2021 Mama Tried motorcycle show. We came across Walter Gemeinhardt and his custom rendition of a 1973 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead, and knew it would make for a great Ride of the Week feature, sponsored by CanDo International.
Walter and his shop, Kickstart Cycle Supply, located in South Hackensack, NJ, not only build beautiful bikes, but is also in charge of a handful of East Coast-based motorcycle events, including Cheap Thrills and Gypsy Run.
“Cheap Thrills is a show my partner Dusty and I have been doing for about 8 years now,” Gemeinhardt says “We’ve done it in Asbury Park. We did it in Seaside Heights this year and we’re going to start moving it around to different parts of New Jersey and New York and up and down the East Coast. We get a really great mix of bikes. It’s not just choppers. It’s not just race. It’s everything. That’s one of the best parts of the show is the variety of bikes.”
Speaking of a variety of bikes, that’s also what Mama Tried has become known for, and Walter’s custom 1973 Harley-Davidson Shovelhead was built for his life-long friend Spike. Spike has owned this bike since the two were kids, and he gave it to Walter to freshen up.
“I did a little bit of engine work, cleaned it up and this is what happened,” Gemeinhardt humbly told us.
Walter’s friend Jen did the beautiful, intricate, custom paint job on the bike, which stands out due to subtle blue and the wolf artwork.
“Jen has such a great style,” Gemeinhardt says. “She’s done some prints for me in the past and some murals at my shop (Kickstart Cycle). The side of the bike has a whole family wolf theme thing, which sounds very weird, but I think she pulled it off.”
The bike is a total head turner and eye catcher, which is exactly why we wanted to find out more about the custom Harley.
If you have a motorcycle, ATV, UTV, snowmobile or jet ski you’d like to feature in MPN’s Ride of the Week series, sponsored by CanDo International, please email MPN Content Director Greg Jones at [email protected].
