Interested to see and hear about some of your non-ideal garage setups!
There's something beautiful about the desire to ride and race when the situation is stacked against you, true grit.
Here's my contribution:
18 - 20 years old, using the kitchen of my duplex apartment as a garage.
The fan was crucial because it's NC and I didn't have air conditioning. Not sure exactly what's happening here, but the phone book was for protecting the floor from my sprocket during tire changes.
I still have that toolbox.
Banana for scale.
Years later I ended up working in a shed. I liked there was more space and it was easier to get the bike in/out, although it had a dirt floor and no electric. I got some battery powered lights and made it work. The mosquitos were bad but the cricket colony in the shed was kind of neat. They would be all over everything and scatter when I opened the door. They stayed away while I was there so I wasn't too bothered by them, but I was careful not to bring any with me when I moved out.
Core.
I think my worst was I had a 4x9 storage unit on the opposite side of town. I’d have to drive 20 minutes to go get my bike, go ride, then go to a car wash after then back across town to put everything away. It was a grind
When I first moved out to my own apartment at 19 I did the same thing, rented a 5x7 storage unit. It was not ideal in anyway what so ever.
I had mine in the 2nd bedroom of my college apartment.
I hv the same setup now the unit is 10x20+ no room to work on bikes . I hv to work on bikes outside which I like but this summer I got rained out 30 times . 2 days in a row it was 93 with 78% dew point working on blacktop add 60 degrees . Did that 2 days in a row I didn’t urinate for 8 hrs & stopped sweating for 6 hrs . I drank 6 gal of water . I got brain fade bleeding my rear brake 99% done. I ran 5 resivor dry. I was so bonked I didn’t think of adding fluid & heard air sucking bumping the pedal . Then I had to start ovr but I got a ton of air in the system & it wouldn’t bleed. Rent a tiny shop is 3,500 a month even tho there’s hundreds sitting empty . . I,m pretty much burnt out on doing that . My mod bike will never get together cases split trans all apart . The drive across town is getting real old . Or it’s real windy like today it’s near the bay . May& June cotton wood puffy things flying it looks like a bad snow storm . That crap gets in everywhere.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
I,d Love to hv that huge shop on top . That would be 2,500 a month here. Not kidding rent here is crazy high . How many hrs do you think to build a bike Cases split trans all apart ?
Ever notice the gatorade bottles look like a penis? Thought you would think this is funny. Maybe use it as a joke to break the ice with all those hot euro chicks that keep following you around? *Edit: they probably don't do circumcision where they are from, so you'll have to give more details for them to get the joke.
When I was racing pro - long time ago - I was living in all sorts of bizarre situations so my “workshop” was in the open air out the back of my van. Can remember more than once doing a full top end rebuild when it started pissing down rain ( this was England ) and having to try and haul everything back in to the van before it all drowned .
So I guess my “ Worst Garage Set up “ would have been a farmyard. In the UK. In winter. In the pissing rain.
I don't have many of mine, but it was when my wife and I were still living in an apartment, 2017~2020. It was a single room, with no storage.
With that, my Non-ideal set up was a 5×10 enclosed trailer on my brother's property. We had a KX250, RM125, TTR125, my tools, the awning you see in the photos, and all of our storage in that trailer. It was packed tight. It would normally take 30min to unload, then another 30min just to load.
On days we would ride we had to unload the trailer, load bikes, reload trailer. After riding we had to drive an additional 25 minutes from the track to wash the bikes, then add 25 minutes on top of our drive time back to the property. All on top of unload trailer, bikes, then reload bikes and storage into the trailer.
Major pia And I don't miss those days at all.
96 red Bud all the riders but the factory riders . Worked on there bikes in the parking lot at the Holliday inn . Like Brian Deegan & team manager Larry Brooks . At Gainesville too I helped Dag Boyseen,s mechanic a little bit change frames in the parking lot . He got a Larocco frame from Roger . I think Roger and Dag,s dad where pals. If the weather is decent is perfect working outside because you hv good light .
Rebuilt a bike in a 6x4 shed, in the winter, with a space heater. Oh to be young again
Here’s mine. It’s a work in progress.
Every weekend I had to work on the last truck & the trailer some , old junk. Pulling yourself forward you get snow down your pants , your hands are numb . After 3-4 months I got tired of that shit. I was trying to get acclimated to the weather by working outside all day on stuff . I did a couple brake jobs for women too. So Mon to Sunday at Deschambault race in Quebec would be easy in a van . It rained alot when it was supposed to be sunny . Screwed that race up & Xmas I was the only rider to miss Fri practice at Xmas . You hv to ride this track to get used to the wettest loamy tacky sand . Otherwise you knife the frontend non stop 2 laps feels like 200 . Way ovr watered enter the woods it had skinny deep ruts like sand swamp muck 35 yards long . Rt comer it grabbed my forks & bam it buried my bike in 18 inches of mush. A couple tiny hills & a few turns in the woods area . I did it again charging. Both times pegs wouldn’t go down , kick the bike 10-12 times because it took 1 1/2- 2 minutes to get going both times on 2nd lap . Then charge & crash again on 3rd lap . I was going to pull off but I didn’t want to quit . So I just cruised it in & saw the top 6 125,s where coming so I timed it where I wouldn’t get in there way . I,m glad I did they where battling . I was in vet practice then 85,s 50 on diff track the 125,s r on the gate then I just get to my pit long story but I,m late to the gate No gate prep no hole shot device 14-15th yet of 25 . I got passed once but I passed 3 on the 1st lap . Doing ok there s 4 states & Canadians . I never hated a track so bad & my bike is kicking real quick left& rt too. I hv a deep bruise crotch to my knee still bruised from 2 weeks ago . Sun 125 riders finished 2-12 if you can get into the top 15 at this race your hauling . No garage makes you so disorganized at a race . It cost a lot of positions
Currently have my 3 bikes in a 5x8 shed at my parents house 5 miles from my apartment. Can't wait to be back in a house so I can work on and wash my bikes at home. I'm very grateful to be able to keep them there though, I also get to say hi to my parents more often than I probably would otherwise.
I know of a respectable machine shop that looks exactly like that but with less dust. It's so bad they will buy new tools rather than spend the time looking for what they need.
No rain in the forecast & this again for the 45th time this summer. It didn’t rain much for 2 weeks but the wild fire smoke from Canada got you sick real bad. RC lived in a rv for yrs his dad probably worked on bikes in a enclosed trailer . And that’s all you really.
You had 2 bedrooms in college?!
As long as my mom has the space, my bike stays at her place for this exact reason. If I had a 5000 square foot garage I’d still keep it there. I love that woman.
Reminds me of tearing down my old yz450f on the walkway in front of my house using a stump as a bike stand. Surprised it ran after that in hindsight
Pit Row
I assure you it was a crappy little place in San Marcos, Texas. $430 a month rent in 1999. And yes, my parents paid for it, thank god.
I couldn't get my deposit back because I got oil on the carpet
I busted out laughing when I read your post . Reminded me off my land lord I didn’t get all my deposit back. He said the same thing . This guy was a trip he and his son installed a suspended ceiling . The dad would rick rick rick Ricky your doing it wrong , every few minutes. 1990 2 bedroom lower with a extra small room I kept the bike in . My pal Roby aka Pig was my room mate 260 heat included we or I had parties when I was home from traveling const. We had the heat blasting that whether put that ceiling in . Rt above the bike room was some old guy living in a tiny studio. I had my 87 cr125 NSR operated for hill climbs& a DG pipe . That thing was loud I had that thing screaming house full of people yelling . I rode it around inside burning the back tire Haha . That blonde chic I posted on here oh man . We had sex 24+ hrs she Loved sex hoho you hv no idea . We had neighbors calling the police different times . Not going into details but she got off like she was getting electrocuted. Oh Yeah Wow . She had a funny joke too. See the mouse running down my leg ? I say no. That’s because my pussy just ate it . Haha Smart girl she knew what she had there
I’m willing to bet you cleaned the air filters in the sink, didn’t you? I had a buddy who did that along with keeping his rm125 in the living room of their apartment. The roommate didn’t ride, so he just had to live with it.
My worst was probably at a flea bag hotel in Munster TX.
Rainy weekend so I didn't camp out for the best cross country of the year. Felt like a ring was hanging up so I decided to re-ring it in the room.
Got a knock at the door about 1/2 way through with the guy asking if I was smelling gasoline or chemicals.
"No, why"? He said, "Damn man, you can't smell that?"
Hahahaha!
I lived in an apartment building during University so I just kept my bike, tools, gear and everything I needed in my van. No theft, thank gosh but it was an Astro van so compressing the forks all day long was not ideal. Bike cornered well though 😉
I definitely did that
The last house I was in, I was renting. One week after we moved in, I had to move my in-laws in because they couldn't take care of themselves. We had a 3-car garage and I could barely fit my bikes and gear into one bay, because all their worldly belongings were stacked in boxes to the rafters in both the other two.
Post a reply to: Worst Garage Setup