Interview: Jeff from Twinline Motorcycles

Twinline Motorcycles is a custom shop in Seattle Washington who have been building and restoring loads of beautiful cafe racers and vintage bikes. Last year Jeff (Tower) Pochodowicz took over the running of the shop and he hasn't looked back. He managed to put the wrench down and answer a few questions for us.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and Twinline?

My name is Jeff (aka. Tower). I took over the management and operations at Twinline Motorcycles in September 2011. I grew up spending most my days riding a bmx bike and at one point my dad bought a Suzuki 125 quad, I loved that machine. I rode the hell out of that bike, breaking tons of parts along the way. Eventually he sold it and my sights turned to skateboarding. On May 25th 2007, my 30th birthday, I bought a Gpz550 off my friend and really that's were my motorcycle career started, bang. I had no idea that buying that bike would change the course of my life and direct me to where I am today. I moved to Seattle in 2008 and was introduced to Ian and the guys at the shop. My buddy said "maybe these guys will help you get that piece of shit running right." For a half rack of PBR and 80 bucks i was rolling. I thought the place was cool so I hung around soaking up as much knowledge as I could. In January 2009 i was interning at the shop full time. We changed locations to a larger, better workspace and I worked hard on honing my skills in problem solving, motor builds, fabrication and customization. During the summer of 2011 Ian had the itch to move to California with his family so i decided that taking over the shop was the best way for me to continue doing what I love to do while keeping the shop as a creative hub for the motorcycle community.  

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Honda CB360T - 'Cherry Bomb'

Forty years ago Mark Brelsford was crowned the 1972 AMA Grand National Champion, riding his Harley-Davidson XR750 to victory. Many years later Simon Whittaker from Canberra Australia was flicking through some old motorcycle magazines and stopped on an article. It was a story about the legendary Mark Brelsford and featured some photographs of his Flat Track XR750 in all its glory. Simon had just acquired an old Honda CB360 from an old lady's back yard and was wondering what to do with his first ground up rebuild. It was a light bulb moment. "I decided to build a XR750 inspired flat tracker" said Simon. "This is the bike that started my 70's Honda twin obsession". As the old saying goes, you always remember your first...

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Honda NX650 - Deus 'Dominari'

Bali is one of the most famous islands in Indonesia. Famous for it's amazing surf breaks, tough drug laws and strict low displacement bike laws. So when we recently received some photos from the guys at Deus Bali, we just guessed it would be another sweet little Yamaha Scorpio they do so well. But when we opened up the photos of their latest project we were pleasantly surprised to see a completely unrecognizable Honda NX650 Dominator. To say this size bike is rare in Bali would be a huge understatement — there's only one other 650cc bike and it also happens to be a NX650. So someone at some stage has paid 'the right people' to get it on the island and on the road. Anyway, this is not a story about how it got there, we're just glad it did. To tell us the tale of how this Dominator transformed into the 'Dominari', I'll pass you over to Tom from Deus...

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1998 Honda VTR 1000F - ‘Christine’

Every time we post a bike, Scott and I sweat over a good "angle" to open the piece with. Something unique about the bike that will grab a reader's attention and help them get into the story. Sometimes it's to do with the owner's job or a neat little ditty about the bike itself; where it was found or maybe something to do with a tasteless mod a previous owner had done. Most of the time it's pretty slim pickings, whether it's lack of time on our behalf or stories that just aren't that wacky we often end up pulling stuff out of some pretty damn thin air. Then there's bikes like Tyler Mill's Honda VTR. This bike has more angles than a cubist painting; it killed its first owner when only a few days old. Then it was repaired and ridden by Honda salesmen. Then it was customised in what I can only describe as a "zombie killer" style. Then it was plumbed with nitrous. If you told us aliens had done a burnout on it while riding it across Roswell with a young JFK looking on in a giant octopus costume, we'd just about believe you. Hello Christine you strange, strange woman.

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'78 Honda Goldwing Cafe Racer - ‘Vyper’

It's funny how some types of bikes just get under your skin. And I know I speak for both Scott and myself when I say that Honda Goldwings are definitely one of them. Along with the CX500s, Goldwings seem to be dripping with that inexplicable coolness that gives any custom build a killer cool factor even before the first spanner has even touched the WD-40 drenched rusty bolt. But what exactly is it? I'm not really sure - but Jah knows the flat four, solid silhouette and chunky build don't hurt. And the in-tank beer storage compartment? Japanese genius. I can see Honda-san sinking a few tininess with the designers after hours and giving them a well earnt slap on the back in between burn-outs and practical jokes involving no-pants-sushi-balancing races. Richard "Sunnbobb" Matrass is similarly down with this whole Goldwing thing. Despite a bad first date, it was still love at first sight. And the marriage? Well just look at these shots and take a read of what Richard has to say...

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1975 Honda CB500 Café Racer

It might not be the superbike he is used to, but wouldn't you love to see the World Champion Casey Stoner ride this Team Repsol inspired 1975 Honda CB500 around Phillip Island for some timed laps? Sure, he might not get close to his usual times but he would sure strike a more dashing figure. This immaculate CB was built by 24 year old Josue Alvarez (or Josh to friends) from the central valley in California. It was recently crowned Do The Ton Bike of the Month, up against a couple of great little motorcycles and a bucket of parts. Yes, you read that correctly. "It's been more than a years work," says Josh. "I always keep finding something I can upgrade. The bike is my interpretation of the team Honda Repsol Superbike – a vintage interpretation."

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1974 Honda CB360 - Relic Kustoms

Yes I'll admit it, I have a serious soft spot for Honda CB360 cafe racers. To this day, one of my favorite bikes posted on Pipeburn was Peter Cabral's CB360. So when Jeremy Pederson from Relic Kustoms sent me pics of his metal flake painted CB360, I just had to post it. Jeremy Pedersen is a talented young pinstriper from Austin, Minnesota who paints hot rods, helmets and motorcycles. "I started Relic Kustoms back in 2005-2006 mainly doing pinstriping," says Jeremy. "Since then, I have gotten into more airbrushing, metal flake and kandy work. I also do graphic design and screen printing. My brother Nick does the majority of the metal work and custom upholstery". So together, the Pedersen brothers form the perfect team when it comes to restoring motorbikes and cars, and here's the evidence to prove it.

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1975 Honda Goldwing Rat - ‘El Guapo’

If we kept a list of "bikes we damn well should post more of" on the wall of the Pipeburn dumpster office, I have little doubt that rat bikes would be at the top of the list. Now this might polarise some of you reader types out there, but rat bikes really push our buttons. There's just something so amazing about a bike with its original pretenses of polish, prettiness and good looks stripped away to reveal the beautiful ferrous reality of all that metal, rubber, benzene and greased-out muck - like some subterranean-dwelling Nordic earth god has summoned the elemental forces at his disposal to create a means of transport that will simultaneously anger the other gods with its brutality and make them so green with envy they are likely to smite us humans just to relieve their frustrations. This bike does just that. Feast your puny, mortal peepers on Paul Dutra's supernaturally cool Honda Goldwing Rat, "El Guapo".

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Honda NX650 Dominator

Humans are addicted to all kinds of things. The usual suspects are cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs. Then you have people who are addicted to objects like motorcycles - you tend to find a lot of them here at 'Pipeburn Anonymous'. They collect all kinds of bikes and they crave anything motorcycle. Then you have people who are obsessed with certain brands of bikes. They will only ride a Harley, buy Harley boxer shorts and even tattoo their skin with their beloved logo. And then you have people like Andrew Greenland from Wales who is addicted to one model of bike - the Honda NX650 Dominator. It's probably not the coolest bike on the block, at least not when he finds them, but they usually are when he's finished. This is the fifth Dominator Andrew has built in 18 months and we think this could be his finest work yet. "I was wondering what one of these bikes would look like in military style and decided the only way to find out was to build it, so here it is..." says Andrew.

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