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TV show. This is not the case. Although revered in motorcycle circles, Goldammer is virtually unknown in mainstream North America. Even in his hometown of Kelowna, the 43-year-old bike-building maverick is something of a mystery figure. "A lot of people think I just make bikes and sit here and count my money," he says. "But I'm always struggling with that classic balance between being an artist and trying to pay the bills." Which is why, to support his ambitious personal projects, he produces a selection of top-shelf motorcycle components through his company Goldammer Cycle Works. Goldammer once worked out of downtown Kelowna. Then a few years ago he moved operations to his 2.8-hectare property above Okanagan Lake, where he could toil without distractions. Remaining in the region has disadvantages, though. A California or Arizona city as home base would mean an active motorcycle-building community to feed off and a large and wealthy local clientele. But working in isolation has forced him to be self-reliant, and out of necessity he has had to teach himself all facets of bikebuilding – which helps spur creativity. "You're really unrestricted when building everything from scratch," he notes. Born and raised in Vancouver, Goldammer discovered as a child that he had an aptitude for all things mechanical while helping his architect father restore a vintage Jaguar. But his focus soon switched to machines he could ride: dirt bikes and motorcycles. After finishing high school in Kelowna, he worked in an auto machine shop for eight years and tinkered with bikes on the side. Then in 1993, he relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, immersing himself in the world of V-twin engines and crankshafts by attending the Harley-sponsored Motorcycle Mechanics Institute by day and working in bike shops at night. "I'd escape from school, go to work and get home around 11:30 at night," he recalls. After graduating, he returned to B.C. and began building high-performance engines Courtesy Roger Goldammer p22-25,44_Profile.indd 25 and customized motorcycles for upscale clients. The work helped sharpen his skills, yet Goldammer yearned to build the bikes zipping around inside his head – none of which resembled the merchandise at custom bike shows, where the shock factor ruled. "It was all longer, heavier, lower, wider, crazier, pointier, with treadmills for belt drives or tires a foot and a half wide – overfed barges you couldn't turn on a city block." In response, the designer turned to the past, devising a lean, cherry-red model with turn-down handlebars inspired by the boardtrack racing bikes of the 1920s and featuring cool innovations such as an oil tank built into the frame and hidden suspension for the rear swing-arm. BRT#3, as he called it, took first place at the Artistry in Iron Master Builders' Championship at the 2004 Las Vegas Bike Fest, then first place at the prestigious World Championship of Custom Bike Building in Sturgis, South Dakota. The following year, Goldammer was again named world champion in Sturgis, with Trouble, a single-cylinder machine sporting clean, fluid lines and a praying-mantis-like front end that was the antithesis of the overblown choppers being produced at the time by America's most celebrated custom shops. Rather than enter the 2006 World Championships, though, Goldammer opted to participate in the reality TV show Biker Build-Off, competing against BBO reigning champion Matt Hotch of California. Both had to construct a bike in 10 days and then ride their creations 1,450 kilometres – from the Okanagan to Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats – to race against the clock for the trophy. Hotch designed a hi-tech version of a post-war Vincent Black Shadow. Goldammer based his bike, "ExperiMental," on a modified Honda CR 250 dirt-bike frame fitted with dual superkart motors. He then raced the two-stroke at a top speed of 128.7 mph, 29 mph faster than Hotch's, to take the trophy. While the experience did not inflame Continued on page 44 WESTWORLD >> W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 25 10/25/11 11:56:43 AM

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