The Perfect Garage By: various contributors If you've ever rebuilt a pair of forks in the dead cold of winter or had the luck to roll your bike into the kitchen for a valve job, it's hit you. All those little things that would make your garage a place suitable for any project of great length and mastery. A garage with things like a tiled or carpeted floor, huge banks of halogen lights, extension cords and power strips at every possible needed location. Maybe a huge workbench with motor mounts and a vice that could hold an entire frame. A fridge filled with beverage and eats, maybe an espresso machine too.

Lets not forget the bigass roll-away filled with every possible needed tool, a complete assortment of air tools and giant compressor. Maybe you'd want big hooks to hang your two stroke European or Japanese low caliber bikes on. Humongous parts bins with all your extra bits sorted by year, make and model. Let's not forget all the essential wall decoration: Some biker movie posters, maps of where we've been and where we wanna go, maybe an old dealership neon sign, big bulletin boards filled with photos of past rides. Yeah, I think we've all thought about it. Our own personal Batcave, with everything we'd ever need, every true biker has gotta have one. We submitted the idea of "The Perfect Garage" to the members of the UTMC to see what they would dig. Here's what we got back: First let me thank you for the opportunity to take a break from the grind, while still looking like I'm doing something important. Not having a running motorcycle I have given a lot of thought to the perfect working atmosphere, and have come up with a few things. This isn't a comprehensive list obviously, but it's the shit I seem to use a lot. 1) This is Colorado, Space Heater. 2) 3 phase power with at least 5 circuits dedicated to the garage 3) Air Compressor 4) Rolling tool chest 5) All necessary tools 6) Big Ass Box Fan 7) Paint Booth big enough to fit you, a gas tank and the spray gun. 8) Kitty Litter, and carbolic acid for oil slicks 9) 1 HUGE box of rubber gloves 10) A clock, So you can flip out when your engine is in 1000 pieces, and you have to be somewhere NOW! 11) 6 cases of zip-lock bags 12) 20 milk crates 13) Sharpie Marker 14) Simple green 15) 4 cases o' brake cleaner 17) 7 cases of WD 40 18) Scotch-brite pads 19) Butane Torch (for when your just pissed) 20) J.B. Weld & Duct Tape 21) Stereo Good nuf'? Jer :::out::: ------------------------- you jusy gotta have the sexy snap on tool girl calendar preferably outdated by at least ten years rue ------------------------- Fridge with beer Freezer with vodka Microwave Moveable lights - floor, wall, ceiling pit - for working on machines with more than two wheels. chain hoist mounted on a ceiling track boss stereo with 50 CD changer (so I don't have to change CD's often) and an oil-proof remote. Garage door remote mounted on vehicle alarm - four legged variety? Doggy door connected to garage? skylight and south facing door - less shoveling in winter TIM ALLEN's head on a spike! Table saw (I like wood!) Oxygen/Aceteline cutting torch MIG welder and grinder ?What equipment is needed to make and mold fiberglass? old couch Dartboard sink rolling work table - shelves, vice, tool cabinet Photo wall safe containing plans to take over the world heater / exaust fan / shop vac / oil tarps (so the floor don't get to dirty) speaker phone (covered in plastic - so it don't get dirty) enough room to swing a cat swinging cat ("play it Daddy-o") Police scanner Butler named Alfred (Bat Cave reference) At least two vehicles in some state of repair Secret space - to hide stuff from spouse and if it's not attached to the house, at least a covered walk between the house and the garage. :) -G --------------------- THE PERFECT BIKE GARAGE HAS TO HAVE NOTHING ELSE BUT BIKES, BIKE BITS, TOOLS AND BEER! NO KIDS BICYCLES, NO WIFES UNUSED DISHES JUST BIKE STUFF! I ALSO HAVE MINE CARPETED FOR FURTHER COMFORT! AND TUNES! GOOD HARD RAWKIN SOUTHERN FRIED BOOGIE TUNES!!! BIKER TUNES! AND AT LEAST ONE EASY RIDER POSTER!!! MORE LATER LUV NORMAN ------------------ A hydrolic lift A complete set of pneumatic tools (for those times Eric's not around) HEAT oil absorbing/shedding floor covering in a light color so I can easily find my nuts and bolts when I drop them. A giant Lazy Suzan to turn my bike around on so I could drive front first out the garage at all times Ceiling mounted speakers that go to 11. A flat screen computer with tech specks for my bike loaded into the hard drive and a T-1 modem for finding parts on the web. A fifty gallon drum for old oil (or an effecient way to dispose of used oil). A winch to pull my engine out with. An in-shop work sink. A coffee pot and bean grinder. A complete set of metric taps. Tire changer and wheel balancer. Drop down shop lights on retractable chords. End to end Halogyn lighting. A shop vac with adjustable heads for suctioning out small places. A snide manservant named Alfred to bring me sandwiches while I work. An adjustable rolling chair with a nice leather cushion. Gunmetal grey component tool cabinets. A fridge for beer, and an oven for baking paints and finishes onto parts. A spray booth with venting. A spray gun with multiple spray heads. Knowlege end experience using the last two items. That's about all I can think of right now. ----Ames ------------------ oh, and for your garage thingy, its gotta be heated, and have overhead beams for attaching straps to for when you pull both wheels off of the bike, you can hang it from the ceiling. -Analog ---------------- After giving this a little thought, I would like to have the following: -Music is a must (with remote even better!) -phone with a speaker (because someone always calls when your hands are covered in some substance or other) -hydraulic lift -locktight -magnetic screwdrivers -extendable magnet to get the ones (screws, dammit clips, etc.) you drop! -that orange pumice hand cleaner stuff (can't recall the exact name) -bike that runs that you can take out riding while the other one is up on the lift waiting on parts! -wheely stool -pictures of your dream machines and the good-looking racers that ride them (ooh, those Hayden boys are tasty, aren't they?!, okay, and Angelle the drag racer is pretty, too) -pictures of you and your buddies and your bikes to remind you of the good times! -space heater (for year-'round wrenching!) -ashtrays and extra lighters Okay, so this stuff is pretty typical. I guess I hadn't thought much about it since having my own garage is so far away I sort of put it out of my mind (so as not to drive me crazy in the meantime!). Danelle ---------- Now this guy makes us all look like a bunch of hopeful fools: I found your website recently...it's very well done and well written. I especially enjoyed your "The Truth About Motorcycle Accidents", as I went through a similar learning experience in '99. Mine was less traumatic, and I ended up only slightly injured and came out reasonably well financially...I guess I was lucky. You had a call for "dream bikey garage stuff". We recently moved to a new (to us) home, which included a "Granny unit" downstairs, next to the garage. I knew as soon as I saw it, it would be my motorcycle room. I keep my motorcycles, tools, luggage and riding gear in there, along with my motorcycle collectible stuff. The room is carpeted and heated. I installed shelves, drawers, cupboards, and workbench and I had a special 42 inch door installed to handle bike traffic. Also, there is a full kitchen and full bath next to it. It also has a covered, paved driveway down the side of the house. I also have a 2-car garage in which I put...2 cars. There is a separate workshop where I have my heavy duty tools, drill press, grinder, belt sander, vise, etc. While my motorcycle room isn't technically a garage, I thought you'd appreciate it. Pictures enclosed. Cheers, Michael Byrne Wow, This is too much! WE ARE NOT WORTHY!!!! We all need a room like this, heating, carpeting, workspace, the extra big door! WOW! The only garage that I've seen that rivals this is Papa Louis 'Batcave', but seeing as that's a mucho classified project I can't get photos of it. Thanks to everyone for your contributions, great stuff!