4 minute read
My Garage - Jeremy Maddrill
Jeremy Maddrill's Jeremy Maddrill's
The mural above started out as a simple sketch by my girlfriend Chloe and turned into an amazing birthday present.
A humble exterior conceals the colorful, fun inside
All Photos by: Chloe Peterson
Growing up in the garage with a father who’s a jack-ofall-trades and an older brother, I became very mechanically inclined from an early age. The garage my Dad had would be the envy of Bob Villa. I had access to almost every possible tool, but I had to deal with my perfectionist father (which rubbed off on me). Having my own shop/garage was a major goal of mine. I wanted to make sure I could try and fix anything myself or help friends.
When I was a teenager, my buddy taught me how to ride his enduro. At that time, my brother had a CB350-4 and there was a great temptation to ride it often without permission. One time I pushed it out of the garage to work on my car. It fell over and broke off the end the shift lever. I was able to affix it back into the rubber coating. Later that day, he let me ride it around the block. Days later, the neighbor kid came by with the broken shift lever in hand, asking my brother if it was off his bike. I had to eat my words and I was never allowed to ride that bike again. At this point, the spark to ride more was ignited.
My first exposure to AHRMA, was at Road America through some friends who race. I was very drawn to the vintage atmosphere. Within a year, I bought a ’69 CL350, which eventually was my first AHRMA build. My recently purchased home did not have a garage, so I built this bike in my basement. Since I was more interested in the building aspect, I let a friend race the bike. We almost completed one race lap—quite the learning experience.
I was longing for my own garage, so my carpenter skills came into play and I built one as big as I was allowed. Yeah, it’s still too small. As for the ever-changing layout of my garage, I started with basic shop tools, a welding machine and an air compressor. I am a pipefitter/welder by trade, so metal working is second nature. Other tools in my garage are a blast cabinet, parts washer, ultrasonic cleaner, pneumatic lift, truing stand and an ever-growing amount of homemade tools. During the beginning of the COVID quarantine, I invested in my shop and bought myself a mill and a lathe to take advantage of my free time. I taught myself how to use these tools.
Charleigh oversees all garage projects
My storage consists of the attic above my garage, which is decent for smaller stuff. I recently rebuilt my shed, and of course, added more space. I have exterior Cb175 on the table getting belly pan mounts tacked on. access to my basement where I store parts and sometimes motorcycles. Besides the garage being a workspace, it is also the main hangout spot for myself, friends and family. I spend more waking hours in the garage than the house. It’s equipped with a TV, Wi-Fi, stereo system, record player and a fridge. Add a bed and a bathroom, and I would never need to leave. A close friend of mine, Nick Desautels, lost a great family friend who wanted to see him race a stock KZ650. Nick and I collaborated on building one with the help and donations from friends and family. This was the bike that gave me the biggest influence to race in AHRMA. I thank Nick for leading me down the rabbit hole of the racing world. Nick raced the KZ in 2019 at Road America. We learned a lot and I was next in the seat to race. The other big influence in road course motorcycle riding is my girlfriend, Chloe. She rode modern sportbikes on the track years before we met on some random lake, far north in Wisconsin, riding ice. The crazy thing is, we were hours away from home, only to find out we lived in the same town but didn’t know each other. Besides riding motorcycles together on the street, track and dirt, we enjoy creating art. I like to fabricate metal art in the garage. Recently, Chloe designed a mural for the garage, that we painted together. I got my license and raced last year at Gingerman on the KZ650. Chloe wanted to have some fun too, so she got her sidecar co-pilot license. This year I am returning with the KZ and a newly built CB175. Chloe recently purchased an RC390, so she could join in on the racing too. I enjoy the puzzle and challenge of a vintage race bike build, from researching on the great interwebs to finding a dusty shop manual at a garage sale or chatting in the paddock with fellow racers. We're looking forward to getting back on the track this year and befriending even
