Original publication: BikerTrash.com
Original byline: Not confirmed
American IronHorse Factory
The People Behind The Bikes
Photo Album
The reflection of the sun glistened across the gas tank of the Texas Chopper. It seemed as if I could see deep into the paint. A touch of glitter here, a perfect color gradient from green to yellow to red there and it was all perfectly and meticulously framed by an artist with a pinstripe brush.
The roar of the S & S motor became just a steady rumble as my speed leveled off.
The chrome parts reflected sunlight in a hundred different directions at once.
The leather seat was comfortable and fit just right – it would be a “good fit” on a long haul trip.
In many years of riding I had never given any thought to the people who actually work in the manufacturing plants and build the motorcycles. Now I began to wonder who are the people who built this bike? what are they like? do they enjoy their jobs? do they ride? do they care?
In that moment I decided to visit a motorcycle assembly plant and find out who are the people behind the product.
A phone call to Oné Musel-Gilley at the American IronHorse plant in Fort Worth and the arrangements were made. I would “backtrack” the history of this show-quality Texas Chopper and find out about the people who made it.
This trip would make it necessary to be on the road for two days riding my motorcycle instead of being in the office – but no sacrifice is too great for our readers.
The night before the trip I mentioned it to a friend, “Shell Ed” at Gilbert’s County Line Ice House and asked if he would like to ride along with me. After some arm-twisting and checking his workload he decided he could take the time off.
Texas. June. Summer. Hot! A short description of the road portion of the trip.
American IronHorse has a brief, but fascinating history. Founded just a short eight years ago their growth has been amazing.
Oné escorted Ed and I out to the factory and introduced us to Jeff Long who was to conduct the tour. Jeff (Vice-President of Creative Services) is one of five core people who have been with AIH from the very start – now just a few year later there are over 365 employees. I was even more excited when I found out Jeff was the guru over those awesome graphics and paint schemes that adorn almost every IronHorse bike leaving the plant. (A few are shipped “plain” at the dealer or customer’s request)
Paint has always fascinated me and the sheer artistry facing me from the group of “ready” bikes made it even better. How do they do that that?
AIH shipped 1800 bikes last year. This year they expect to ship 3,000 and the growth prospects for the future are very bright. The plant recently expanded to 224,000 square feet and they use every bit of it. Even so, they are running three shifts just to keep up with the demand.
Over 300 parts for the IronHorse line are made in-house. For the engines they rely on a product proven over many years – S&S.
The area where the wheels and other aluminum components are cut and polished was amazing – to see transformation as a dull block of aluminum became the housing for the AIH signature instrument housing.
Just a few feet away adhesive was being applied to preformed seat bases as seamstresses whirred away on their machines sewing the leather for the seat.
In the metal working area skilled workers were busy cutting the multiple pieces required to fit together the unusual shape of the gas tank on the Texas Chopper. Once these “quilt pieces” are cut the welders take over and create the tank from this pile of odd looking shapes. More grinding, sanding, polishing and priming and finally the sheet metal is ready to go to the paint department.
This is where the real metamorphosis takes place as the dull grey pieces come alive in the hands of these craftsmen. A spec sheet posted for each bike shows the paint design, colors and sequence in sort of a shorthand code. The surprise here was that the main or background color of the piece is frequently not the first portion of the paint to be applied. For example a pinstripe that fades through several different colors might start life as a general undercoat of the color gradients. This will be followed by masking the pinstripe with fineline masking tape and then spraying on the main color. Remove the pinstripe masking tape and, voila!, there is the pinstripe!
The paint process can take up to 4 or 5 days to complete and be ready for putting on the bike.
At every step along the way the components – and later the assembled bikes – are checked and rechecked to make sure the quality meets the IronHorse standards. One of the final processes is to put each bike on a dyno and “ride” it for about 20 miles to road test it.
There are so many peope who are part of the team at American IronHose that it would be impossible to profile every one of them. Instead I have selected several people during the tour that I wanted to interview. These three represent all of the people at AIH.
There were a couple of things Ed and I noticed as we wandered about the plant – the people were happy, upbeat and friendly. You could tell that they enjoyed working here. If there were any grouches in that crew they must have hidden them for the day because we met a great bunch of people.
In the warehouse we found Arlene Burtt in “the cage”. Before you feel sorry for Arlene understand that “the cage” was probably 50,000 square feet. Behind Arlene were scores of wheeled racks that would be stocked with the smaller components that the assemblers would need to complete each bike.
Arlene, has been with AIH for 2 years. Married for 30 years Arlene has 4 children and 10 grandchildren. Arlene said that when she came to work at IronHorse she knew what a sparkplug was but that was about the extent of her knowledge of things mechanical.
Well, Arlene has learned a lot and now she barely has to look at the parts list to compile the pieces needed for any specific model. A quick glance at the model name and she is off with the rack, snatching parts from the bins and loading the rack.
“The best thing about working here is that the people are family. Willing to help each other and willing to listen.”
The IronHorse plant is not laid out in an assembly line. Instead there are three “cells” that are workgroups who assemble the bikes as a team. The product line offers a lot of choices, there is the Texas Chopper, The Slammer, The Stalker, The Tejas, The Legend, The Outlaw, The Ranger T, The Signature Series, The Firefighter and the (would you believe a 145 cu. in.) Sniper.
Danny Wimberly gave me a tour of the cell that he manages. Danny was the 6th employee hired by AIH and has been amazed by the growth of the company. Danny’s pride in being involved with such rapid growth shows through in his conversation and attitude. He is part of a team that builds a great product and he is proud of it. He is especially proud when he is out riding and sees one of “his” bikes.
Danny has ridden since 1984 and currently has a Lowrider. Yes, ladies, Danny is single!
A superb paint job on a bike will make me think of Kevin Howard and the other guys in the paint department. They represent a wide range of skill levels, training, backgrounds and experience. From the very experienced who have run their own shops to the newer people who just discovered that they have a real steady hand and can get just exactly the right curve on a pinstripe or use a razor blade to trim the excess masking away from a delicate fine line.
AIH is a company that gives the employees every opportunity to grow. When one of the workers in sheet metal mentioned that he used to airbrush T-shirts back home in Mexico Jeff gave him a shot in the paint department – and gained another very talented worker.
Kevin Howard is 23. He is proud of his 7 month old daughter Jaidyn – you can tell by the number of photos that surround his work area. Kevin not only takes pride in his daughter he also takes a lot of pride in his work. Kevin got his start painting T-shirts and helmets. Kevin connected with Jeff who recognized his talent and gave Kevin the opportunity to paint motorcycles.
“I like painting and I like the job, the way everything just sort of flows together. A new model year brings new designs and that keeps this interesting. It is sort of like adding to your family.”
Kevin, as does many of the other employees, puts in a lot of hours, a lot of overtime. It has been necessary to do it just for the company to be able to keep up with demand. The demands of the job and Kevin’s family keep him from riding but not from his love of bikes.
Kevin gives the job his very best – but at American IronHorse that doesn’t make him to different – all the employees at American IronHorse give their very best.
The next time I see the sun glistening on the tank, hear the purr of the engine, watch the chrome sparkle or enjoy the comfort of a well-made seat I will think of Arlene, Danny, Jeff, Kevin, Oné, Chuck, Rick and the hundreds of other individuals who are a part of building these machines.
These bikes from American IronHorse are built with pride, skill, craftmenship and quality by a team of people who love their jobs and take pride in their motorcycles.
If you look at the “specs” on an American IronHorse Motorcycle they don’t list “love” as one of the standard features.
Maybe they should!
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