wolverinehusky
Well-known member
Long time lurker here and I have to start out by noting that the community here is great and I have learned a ton from just reading the posts on this site in my spare time.
So here is my humble submission to the garage gallery. Nothing fancy and just pales in comparison to what I see on this forum. But the place makes me happy and already enjoying the new shop.
About me:
48 years old and live in metro Seattle, home of overpriced homes, hipsters, small lots and even smaller garages (not living in suburb, actually in the city). Drive a 12 Ram 2500 and 18 Harley Road Glide Ultra (the Harley is the daily driver). Warranty just expired on the bike so I'm now doing most of the maintenance and upgrades. I'll probably need to start working on the Ram but only 55K miles with a Cummins 6.7 so has been fine to date. Home projects usually "everyday man" type stuff, shelves, fixing the deck and cabinets, etc. Love firearms and building PCs. Part city slicker, part rural guy, part nerd.
About the house and garage.
Bought the house 10 years ago. House is 110 years old (built in 1910). True craftsman and I love the house as it has character and nice views of Lake Washington and the city. Detached concrete garage built sometime in the 1950s or 60s. Garage was in laughable condition when I bought it as the inspector laughed when he managed to open the broken garage door to see the pathetic “garage.” He advised me to not use it. Filthy, mold and moisture everywhere and no electricity. Surprised no dead bodies. It was basically a rust bucket for 8 years. Only stuff that went in there was garbage or broken yard equipment that I was gonna take to the dump. Super tiny – maybe 20x12 with low ceilings. Can barely fit a small modern car in there so not practical for even that.
Why the makeover?
I bought a Harley.
Though dad has been riding for 40+ years, I never got the bike bug until recently. 2 years ago picked up a road glide ultra. My garage was so bad I wouldn’t even put the bike in it (kept at friend’s house). Also my tools and shop equipment were basically buried in my disaster of a basement. I had to do something.
Phase 1
I realized the ridiculousness of having a motorcycle that is sheltered miles away at a friend's house. Moreover, I had huge gaps in “necessary everyday man tools” and even if I had them, I couldn’t find them as they were scattered throughout the house and basement. I was wasting a bunch of time searching for tools, and I finally decided “enough is enough” time to get my @#$@ together. So I decided to get my garage in decent enough shape to at least park my bike in it. I asked my dad, a no-nonsense Texan who knows his stuff, whether the garage was even salvageable. He replied, “it’s fine, just put in the work to make it yours.” So I pressure washed, cleaned, added electric, added a garage door and worked on moisture control (e.g., cut vents into garage door, drylock, weathering material above, etc.). Still a pretty weak garage, but at least functional. Basically, was in the following condition for the past 2 years. Year 1:
Year 2 (not much difference ha)
Getting it to "fully functional" shop/garage.
The garages on this forum are straight out of MTV Cribs, so I’m almost embarrassed to show my meager bike shop. But I’m happy with it, and I feel like I made something functional considering I have a tiny garage in a large metropolis. The Covid madness gave me the “home time” to work on it and get it to where it is today. Honestly didn’t need to spend much $$ to make it a functional motorcycle shop. Key additions to the tools and equipment:
- Handy S.A.M. 1200 Motorcyle Lift. American made a beast.
- Husky 72” 18 drawer combo toolbox and workbench
- Craftsman shelving (x2)
- Makita HR2811F Rotary Hammer – Wow, just made my life so much easier. Before I dreaded drilling through concrete as it meant sweating hard, ruining bits, and getting frustrated. The rotary hammer cut the concrete like butter.
- Beer fridge (well of course). hOmeLabs Beverage Refrigerator and Cooler off of Amazon.
- Racedeck Flooring. Easy to install and can handle what I throw at it.
- Wall Control peg boards from Amazon. Good enough steel and works like a charm.
- Random quality tools and equipment: Snap On creeper, MAC ¼ pear ratchet, Snap On pick set, ratcheting screwdriver, and o ring removers, CDI ¼ electronic torque wrench, Kobalt 3/8 electronic torque wrench (I don’t have many “big baller” tools mostly dewalt, craftsman and Kobalt)
- Decent stuff gathering dust in my basement that I found use for in my shop, e.g., an old B&K receiver amplifier, Vienna Accoustic steel speakers, wi fi router and an old laptop
Past month got it to where I want it (though of course can always improve). Nothing special but I’m happy with it and have already put the shop to good use. Even a city slicker can have a functional bike shop. Welcome tips and suggestions.
So here is my humble submission to the garage gallery. Nothing fancy and just pales in comparison to what I see on this forum. But the place makes me happy and already enjoying the new shop.
About me:
48 years old and live in metro Seattle, home of overpriced homes, hipsters, small lots and even smaller garages (not living in suburb, actually in the city). Drive a 12 Ram 2500 and 18 Harley Road Glide Ultra (the Harley is the daily driver). Warranty just expired on the bike so I'm now doing most of the maintenance and upgrades. I'll probably need to start working on the Ram but only 55K miles with a Cummins 6.7 so has been fine to date. Home projects usually "everyday man" type stuff, shelves, fixing the deck and cabinets, etc. Love firearms and building PCs. Part city slicker, part rural guy, part nerd.
About the house and garage.
Bought the house 10 years ago. House is 110 years old (built in 1910). True craftsman and I love the house as it has character and nice views of Lake Washington and the city. Detached concrete garage built sometime in the 1950s or 60s. Garage was in laughable condition when I bought it as the inspector laughed when he managed to open the broken garage door to see the pathetic “garage.” He advised me to not use it. Filthy, mold and moisture everywhere and no electricity. Surprised no dead bodies. It was basically a rust bucket for 8 years. Only stuff that went in there was garbage or broken yard equipment that I was gonna take to the dump. Super tiny – maybe 20x12 with low ceilings. Can barely fit a small modern car in there so not practical for even that.
Why the makeover?
I bought a Harley.
Though dad has been riding for 40+ years, I never got the bike bug until recently. 2 years ago picked up a road glide ultra. My garage was so bad I wouldn’t even put the bike in it (kept at friend’s house). Also my tools and shop equipment were basically buried in my disaster of a basement. I had to do something.
Phase 1
I realized the ridiculousness of having a motorcycle that is sheltered miles away at a friend's house. Moreover, I had huge gaps in “necessary everyday man tools” and even if I had them, I couldn’t find them as they were scattered throughout the house and basement. I was wasting a bunch of time searching for tools, and I finally decided “enough is enough” time to get my @#$@ together. So I decided to get my garage in decent enough shape to at least park my bike in it. I asked my dad, a no-nonsense Texan who knows his stuff, whether the garage was even salvageable. He replied, “it’s fine, just put in the work to make it yours.” So I pressure washed, cleaned, added electric, added a garage door and worked on moisture control (e.g., cut vents into garage door, drylock, weathering material above, etc.). Still a pretty weak garage, but at least functional. Basically, was in the following condition for the past 2 years. Year 1:
Year 2 (not much difference ha)
Getting it to "fully functional" shop/garage.
The garages on this forum are straight out of MTV Cribs, so I’m almost embarrassed to show my meager bike shop. But I’m happy with it, and I feel like I made something functional considering I have a tiny garage in a large metropolis. The Covid madness gave me the “home time” to work on it and get it to where it is today. Honestly didn’t need to spend much $$ to make it a functional motorcycle shop. Key additions to the tools and equipment:
- Handy S.A.M. 1200 Motorcyle Lift. American made a beast.
- Husky 72” 18 drawer combo toolbox and workbench
- Craftsman shelving (x2)
- Makita HR2811F Rotary Hammer – Wow, just made my life so much easier. Before I dreaded drilling through concrete as it meant sweating hard, ruining bits, and getting frustrated. The rotary hammer cut the concrete like butter.
- Beer fridge (well of course). hOmeLabs Beverage Refrigerator and Cooler off of Amazon.
- Racedeck Flooring. Easy to install and can handle what I throw at it.
- Wall Control peg boards from Amazon. Good enough steel and works like a charm.
- Random quality tools and equipment: Snap On creeper, MAC ¼ pear ratchet, Snap On pick set, ratcheting screwdriver, and o ring removers, CDI ¼ electronic torque wrench, Kobalt 3/8 electronic torque wrench (I don’t have many “big baller” tools mostly dewalt, craftsman and Kobalt)
- Decent stuff gathering dust in my basement that I found use for in my shop, e.g., an old B&K receiver amplifier, Vienna Accoustic steel speakers, wi fi router and an old laptop
Past month got it to where I want it (though of course can always improve). Nothing special but I’m happy with it and have already put the shop to good use. Even a city slicker can have a functional bike shop. Welcome tips and suggestions.
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