WA’s distinctive classic bike mudguard enterprise is a steal at any worth | USAEMALL.com

There’s much more to Western Australia’s town of Donnybrook than quality apple and stone fruit production. In one of the town’s old, converted fruit sheds you will find a one-of-a-kind business, Vintage Steel.

For former Tammin farmer Andrew Repton and ex-Australian navy Lieutenant Commander Michael Rock have been creating a world-renowned vintage motorcycle mudguard business since 2016 in the “apple capital of the west”, 200km south of Perth.

Their interest in manufacturing replacement mudguards for early handcrafted motorcycles was twofold, combining their vintage mechanical appreciation and by chance discovering a pre-World War II lost metal rolling machine that had been re-created in Victoria.

Mr Rock said a metal-shaping hobbyist in Victoria, Adam Higgins, found inspiration from US author Timothy Paul Barton who published Metalshaping: The Lost Sheet Metal Machines volume 2 in 2010.

Mr Barton was one of the handful of men to build complete steel-bodied vehicles in the US in the post-WWII era.

Inside his 214-page paperback, which contains information on early fender smoothers, is an image of an original pre-war rolling machine that Mr Higgins re-created, his version thought to be a one-of-a-kind bit of gear.

All of Europe’s first machines (thought to be only a few) were destroyed by the end of the war and replaced by cost-effective modern press forming methods.

Without Mr Barton’s research and Mr Higgins’ inspiration, a versatile rolling machine able to form many different makes of original steel early mudguard copies may have been lost forever.

This would have left vintage motorcycle enthusiasts in the dust to find replacement mudguards or at least by means of expensive hand-formed construction.

It was the genius of the Victorian hobbyist to construct a near copy of the rolling machine, and he put it to good use by converting flat steel sheets into vintage mudguards.

A sporting injury got Mr Higgins thinking that his start-up mudguard business needed to rise to the next level — internet marketing for global sales — so he offered his intellectual property up for sale.

Mr Repton and Mr Rock were certainly the right buyers, keen to revive the traditional handmade methods of their metal-shaping craft of yesterday with the unlimited potential of the versatile rolling machine.

“It is the heartbeat of our Vintage Steel business and allows us to market quality mudguards throughout the world at a reasonable average price of $800 each,” Mr Repton said.

Mr Rock, who co-manages the online marketing, said for every vintage motorcycle on the road, there were at least five lying in sheds waiting for restoration — “that’s a figure globally in the millions”.

WORLDWIDE SALES

Using the rolling machine and its acceptance of custom-made rollers (costing up to $5000 for a set) to suit different mudguard brands, they are typically making about 400 sets of mudguards each year for a worldwide client base.

“We have 70 sets of rollers, able to form early 1900s narrow European guards right though to big 1920s Bentley car fenders,” Mr Repton said.

“We’re making guards for some of the most exotic and forgotten marques in the world including the Pierce-Arrow, Yale, Pope, Henderson, Excelsior and the detailed Indian 101 Scout.”

Mr Repton said while the basic rolling form of each mudguard was achieved through the roller machine using adaptive rollers and methodology, most finished mudguards also required extra detailed metalwork.

“We press brackets and can add on some custom finishing work,” he said.

“The most detailed mudguards, costed at about $2000 each, have intricate shapes and we have the largest library of valance patterns (285) to make sure our measurements are exact.

“We have more than 700 guards on our website and with increased demand, we had to recently increase our prices to shorten the 10-week lead times as much as possible, but that didn’t deter the orders coming through.”

With Mr Rock’s organisational skills combined with Mr Repton’s mechanical intuitiveness, the pair have created a unique business profile with unlimited potential and are gaining online followers such as US reality TV star and American Pickers founder Mike Wolfe.

With nearly 10 years under their belt (25 years in total including Mr Higgins’ involvement), the Vintage Steel bosses have announced the entire ongoing business concern is up for sale.

“We are both wanting to pass on our knowledge to anyone who may have a similar passion,” Mr Repton said.

“We have had our time and want to go on long vintage motorcycle rallies and enjoy our retirement.

“This business to the right people can flourish and we are keen to provide training to the new owners, be it in WA or overseas, but hopefully it remains in Australia.”

To find out more, visit vintagesteel.com.au.