AMD 258 January 2021 American Motorcycle Dealer 258 Jan 2021 | Page 34

did so at the peak of the market - in the days of wait lists and inventory shortages , with riders buying whatever inventory was available , at almost whatever price a dealer wanted to charge - not that Thunderbike played that game . These were the days when the Harley share price was around the $ 75.00 mark and it seemed as if buying a Harley or riding a custom bike was set to become mandatory ! However , we all know what happened next in that story , don ' t we … within thirty months the Harley share price had crashed to as low as around $ 8.00 , and it seemed as if Harley couldn ' t give a bike away . But it wasn ' t like that at Thunderbike . Oh no sir ! Remember how ' unusual ' I said Andreas Bergerforth and the business he ' s built is ? Rather than locking the doors and walking away , having lost his capital , hopes and dreams , Thunderbike boomed , but it certainly wasn ' t giving bikes away . Sure , business might not have been as strong as he ' s seen it being - or seen it appearing to be while looking in from the outside from the position of being a Suzuki dealer - but he brought a passion , enthusiasm , talent and determinedly positive attitude to the market he was tapping into , and before long he had built a reputation as one of the most popular and successful Harley dealers throughout Germany and , before long , throughout Europe . Indeed , so counterintuitive was the timing and scale of his success that within four years he had become one of only six people to have won the AMD World Championship at that stage and the first ever Harley dealer to win . He did so with a ( albeit heavily modified ) factory engine in 2012 , at Sturgis , with ' PainTTless ', a deceptively clean , simple , flawless and utterly gorgeous Ironhead Sportster that was a classic of its kind - a meeting of craftsmanship , old school and innovation . Fast forward to 2020 , and the eye for detail , the quintessentially good taste and fundamental understanding of how less really can be more are all still there to see in Thunderbike ' s 35th Anniversary Chopper , based on an exquisite 74 " Panhead style replica by Motortechnic Mfg . of Wernberg , Germany ( www . motortechnic-mfg . com ). Thunderbike made the air filter ( Dell ' Orto carb ) and 2-into-1 exhaust , modified the Harley frame ( 42 degrees rake ), and made the 2-degree rake Springer fork and steel top / aluminum bottom triple clamps . The transmission is a Baker 4-speed , the clutch is a hydraulic Baker / K-Tech unit , with a BDL primary and chain final drive . The front wheel is a Thunderbike 5-spoke star rim (' Clincher ' 1.85 x 23 ") with a 2.15 x 19 " front from a H-D Rocker as the rear . The oil tank , steel fenders , footrests and controls

( including levers ), headlight , brakes , handlebars , sissy bar , seat shell , side stand , electrics , engine brackets and detail accessories are all Thunderbike designs and made in-house specifically for this project . After 35 years of growth and development , Thunderbike is now more than just a dealership , it is a campus - with showroom , machine hall , service , parts and apparel departments , custom studio and workshops and even a 300 seat ' Roadhouse ' yearround entertainment complex . The company makes its own parts - some 2,500 items - as well as selling mountains of Screamin ' Eagle and selected third party parts and accessory brands , and publishes a 1,500 page annual catalog . Its top selling accessories are replacement custom turn signals , handlebars and license plate holders , and the huge investment in wheel making machinery that is evident in the pictures here ? Thunderbike sells around 200 of its own design and made wheels a year - plus much else besides . Thunderbike builds 20-30 heavily customized Harleys each year , but as Andreas told us , pretty much every motorcycle they sell is customized to a greater or lesser extent . There are around 100 employees working at Thunderbike , and the ' Roadhouse ' adds another 40 or so to that when it is busy - which is most weekends . Andreas has always paid tribute to the team he has around him , describing them as one of the secrets of Thunderbike ' s success , and has invested heavily in both people and technical equipment . He has built up a talented and experienced team of custom bike designers , techs and engineers over the 35 years , with most of the people he trains staying with him for a long time . The total indoor space is around 3,000 sq m ( approx . 30,000 sq ft ) of which 700 sq m / 7,000 sq ft is showroom with 1,000 sq m ( 10,000 sq ft ) of workshops and about the same again of warehousing . Not your ' usual ' Harley-Davidson dealer !

34 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2021