Kalamazoo Choppers

June 24th Open House

kevin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:32:50 +0000

In May of 2003 Andy Boersma began to realize his dream, he opened a little shop on Lovers Lane behind Fawley Door. He changed oil and tires, and did service work for people tired of the stealership. That little corner shop was quickly out grown and he moved to the other side of the building and added another hand to keep up with demand. That too was soon not enough and he not only brought in another employee, he busted down a wall and took on a double lot with a showroom. Their he found his groove and built many custom bikes, and one hell of a motorcycle shop, Kalamazoo Choppers. Every year the last Sunday in June we open the shop to you our valued customers and enjoy the day. Good music, good food, and good company. This year is special for two reasons first we are now in our new location at 9820 Portage Road and second it is our 10 year milestone. We are very excited to show off all the hard work we put into the new shop. We are looking forward to seeing all of you that have made Kalamazoo Choppers what it is today. So join us Sunday June 24th from 11am to 4pm at 9820 Portage Rd. Ten years wow that’s worth celebrating, nice work Andy. Here’s to 10 more.

Public Act 98 of 2012

kevin — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 17:05:41 +0000

Yesterday, April 13th, Gov. Snyder signed into law public act 98 of 2012 which gives motorcycle riders 21 and older the choice to wear or not wear D.O.T approved helmet. There are some stipulations to choose not, but that choice is now yours. It seems rare these days for government to let the people take care of there own safety, so hats off (or helmets off in this case) to Gov. Snyder for freedom of choice once again. A detailed description of the law can be found at www.legislature.mi.gov Thank you, ride free and ride safe.

Free Motorcycle Inspection

kevin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:05:59 +0000

Kalamazoo Choppers offers a free 10 point motorcycle inspection to all of their customers. This is a service that only takes about 15 minutes. Below are all of the parts of your bike that they check to make sure you are safe for the riding season.

Air Filter
Battery Connections
Charging system
Lights
Brake Pads
Oil Levels
Clutch
Sparkplugs
Cables
Put Air in Tires

Let’s go back to the shop

kevin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:50:28 +0000

At Kalamazoo Choppers we believe in old fashion customer service, not always with a smile but always with every ounce of our heart and ability. We understand that motorcycles are common and sometimes simple, but people are all different and often complex. All with different wants and needs. For some, riding is a way of life, some an adventure and some just a hobby. We want to help all to achieve a safe and satisfying riding experience. We do not want to ‘just sell you something’ as cheap as possible with free shipping, or offer the best value to the highest bidder. We are much more then keystrokes and mouse clicks. We are YOUR bike shop, we are here for YOU. So the next time you need parts, service or just need to talk shop, remember we live and love this. So power down your pc and power up your motorcycle experience. Let’s go back to the shop.

Everyone’s Invited

kevin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:09:14 +0000

Kalamazoo Choppers has changed locations and you are all invited to check out our new digs! We have moved to 9820 Portage Road, between Blanchard Paint & Auto Body and Earthworks. The last couple of months we have been busy with construction, electrical work, plumbing and just plain moving and organizing. It has all paid off and our new place has become an even more amazing bike shop!

We want to thank everyone for all their patience as we transition and want to extend an open invitation to come see our new place. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get a true open house together just yet, but we are very excited for everybody to see what we have been doing. We even have an all new customer lounge fully equipped with television, coffee, popcorn and pop machines. So come on down and take a tour, then kick back in the comfy lounge before riding home. (Or you can leave your bike there and have it stored over the winter!)

For people that might not be familiar with the location here are some directions that will hopefully help you out. In relation to the old shop on Lovers Lane, you would want to travel south on Lovers Lane until you come to Centre Ave, make a left (east) and take that until Portage Rd. Make a right (south) on Portage Rd. and follow road around West Lake until you arrive at 9820 Portage Road. Shop will be on your right hand side. It is approximately 2 miles south of Centre Ave. If you’re coming from the south and heading north on Portage, the shop will be shortly after Bacon Rd. on your left hand side.

For further directions feel free to call the shop. Our hours have changed this winter, and starting Monday, October 24th we will be open 10am – 6pm Monday through Friday. Hope to see everyone soon!

New Shop

kevin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:46:43 +0000

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, Kalamazoo Choppers is moving locations. Starting October 1st of this year we will be located at 9820 Portage Rd, Portage, MI. We will be next door neighbors with Blanchard Paint and Auto Body. So that will be pretty cool to have a painter next door.

Things are getting hectic around here trying to coordinate all the remodelers, electricians, computer infrastructure and how we’re going to set up this new shop. But the more things that come together, the more excited I get. If you guys think our shop was bad ass before, wait until you see this new one.

I’m still trying to come up with ideas on how I’m going to utilize all of the extra space that I have over at the new place. This parking lot is so huge that I guess I’m going to have a lot more events. This new shop will also have a lounge for guests to relax while they are waiting for their service. I’m also excited about being next to the road. For so long now we’ve been stuck back behind everybody, it will be nice for people to be able to notice us from the road.

Probably the thing I’m most excited about is that I’m going to have my own fab shop, separate from the store and service garage. So this will allow me to spend more time away from the business and focus on being creative which will lead to many more blogs and projects.

Carburetors vs. Fuel Injection

kevin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:12:48 +0000

First of all let me start out by saying I HATE fuel injection. Yes, there are a lot of benefits to fuel injection. For instance, lately here in Michigan it has been 100 degrees and 90 plus humidity. Fuel injection can compensate for these conditions. Also it can compensate for elevation levels, which are pretty much the same thing. High humidity and high elevation both mean less oxygen in the air. If you want to spend a lot of money, you can tune fuel injection very specifically for the conditions in which you live and ride.

However, I am a motorcycle builder. I like to keep things simple, especially when wiring a motorcycle. Fuel Injection not only costs a lot of money to tune, when you want to change exhausts or when you want to modify your engine, it requires an extremely bulky wiring harness. It’s ironic that you are reading this on my website, because not only do I hate fuel injection I also hate computers. And that’s what fuel injection is, a computer that also requires a computer to tune it.

I guess you can call me old fashioned, but I like to be able to physically modify the carburetor to suit my needs with tools like a screwdriver and my hands. There are no wires involved with a carburetor, and overall you can make a bike run great with a nice carburetor for about $500.

What is the first thing that people want to do when buying a new bike? They want to change their exhaust. There are hundreds of styles of pipes and retuning can be very expensive for fuel injection. For a carburetor it is simply a little bit of time and a few dollars in jets. I personally think that carburetors also bring you closer to the motor. You pay more attention to how your bike reacts to the environment (temperature and humidity) and how it affects the performance of the motorcycle, allowing you to become one with the bike and its surroundings. Basically, carburetors have quicker throttle response and perform better than fuel injection.

Unfortunately, fuel injection is probably here to stay. Everyone always complains about government intrusion and the way I look at it, fuel injection is just the government’s (EPA) way of controlling emissions. But rest assured, there will always be a way to rebel and override the man, and make your Harley run as good as it can. Even though it doesn’t have a carburetor on it.

Charity Ride for Deke Coopes

kevin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:56:01 +0000

A charity ride and pig roast is being held for Deke Coopes and family on July 9, 2011. Deke was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer last November. Supporting him are his wife and three children. Deke’s strength persists, but he needs our help.

On Saturday, July 9th at 11:00am we will meet at Kalamazoo Choppers, 6740 Lovers Lane, Portage, MI, 49002. Cost to ride is $20 per person. Ride will go through Portage and surrounding areas, ending up at Playtime Billiards, located at 7141 South Westnedge, Portage, MI 49002. After arriving at Playtime, we will have a pig roast along with great music and raffle prizes.

Any questions or for more information on how to donate to the family, please contact Kalamazoo Choppers at (269) 321-0257.

Open House 2011

kevin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:17:40 +0000

Yesterday was our 8th Annual Open House here at Kalamazoo Choppers and it was a great success! Thanks to all that made it out to the shop and took advantage of our rock bottom deals. Most people left with new $5 shirts on their backs, along with never seen prices of 10% below our cost on most in stock items.

In addition to great deals, we had great food and music. Hot dogs, hamburgers and drinks were free to all that came in. Live music was performed by Cullen Anderson.

The open house is always our way to say thank you to all of our loyal customers that come in throughout the year. But, even if you have never been to the shop, it is the perfect time to check everything out and have a great time in the process!

If you missed the open house this year, don’t worry. Kalamazoo Choppers is moving locations this fall to 9820 Portage Rd, Portage, MI 49002, and we will need your help to celebrate once we’re settled in. We plan to be up and running in the new facilities October 1, 2011. Stay tuned for details!

Stretched Chopper Frames

kevin — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:06:21 +0000

I have ridden every kind of bike Harley Davidson makes. I am 6’1″ and I feel too big for all of their bikes, even the ultra. Seat position and handle bars help a little, but not enough. It just cracks me up to see some guy thats too big for his bike. Like a big fat clown on a moped. Big guys need a big bike.

This is my passion, building frames. The frame is th skeleton of the bike that everything else revolves around. I love to build frames that make the engine the centerpiece and will make the rider feel comfortable. All frames must be stretched and modified as a minimal requirement to be cool!