McALISTERVILLE - After adding a new unit to their motorcycle service shop, owners Andy and Seth Zendt are able to offer customers something they may not be able to find anywhere else locally.
This past winter, the Zendts added a performance center to their McAlisterville business. The performance center includes a mobile dynamometer unit which is a full diagnostic machine stored in a trailer, Andy Zendt said.
It is able to check the horsepower and torque of motorcycles for shows. And in the shop, it is used as a diagnostic tool. It can tune the fuel injection of carburated bikes and pinpoint problems.
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Andy Zendt, left, and his brother Seth, co-owners of North Ridge Custom Cycles in McAlisterville, perform a demonstration using their new mobile dynamometer unit, which they added to their motorcycle shop last winter. The unit is a diagnostic machine and is used both in the shop and on the road.
"We diagnose the problems with the fuel injection system ... (and) carburator system," he said.
The tool is also used for mobile builds, engine development and performance upgrades with even small things - such as a loose belt, or transmission and electrical issues - can be pinpointed by the unit, Zendt said.
Air-to-fuel ratios, which show how lean or rich a motorcycle's motor is, are also measured by the unit, Zendt said.
"Air-to-fuel ratios are the most important information for us to properly tune one of our motor builds, changing to an after-market exhaust or air filter, or tuning a bike with fuel injection or carburation issues," he said.
Although the performance center is a part of the shop, it is run as a separate business and is brought to shows two to three weekends per month, Zendt said.
"It allows us to take it on the road and we get more use out of it," he said.
Andy said he and Seth got the idea to add the performance center to their business because there are no other mobile dyna units in the area. Theirs is the only one of which they are aware, besides those at Harley Davidson shops. The next-closest one is in Maryland, Zendt said.
The Zendts purchased the unit, Andy said, because it is the only way to successfully tune a fuel-injected bike.
"That has allowed us to open more doors for our motor jobs as well as the tuning aspect," Zendt said. "Since carburated bikes were no longer being produced around 2006 for v-twin bikes, we felt it was necessary to have this tool at our fingertips."
He also says how that North Ridge Custom Cycles offers the mobile dyna unit, its customer base has changed.
"We knew we built great motors, but having the dyna now gives us hard data (to) show our customers the potential they could have," Zendt said.
Zendt also says that besides the development of the customer base, the unit also has solidified the businesses' motor builds.
"It has expanded the performance aspect of re-building motors," he said.
North Ridge Custom Cycles is a full-service shop. It specializes in motor builds for v-twin motorcycles and bike repairs, and offers services and maintenance parts, accessories and tires for any bike.
Andy, co-owner of North Ridge Custom Cycles, said his brother Seth started the business in 2005 as a part-time operation. Then, in 2008, the company became full-time and just last year, Andy joined as co-owner, he said.
