Staff Spotlight: The Backyard Mechanic

Alex grew up at the lake with family, spending days on the water or on his dirt bike. As an adult, he hadn’t spent much time on the bike, that is, until a couple of years ago. He picked up a dirt bike to see if he still enjoyed it, and now riding is his preferred form of exercise once again. On nice weather days, you’ll find him on the bike or his boat.
 

“Having the confidence to hit 75+ foot jumps and achieving faster lap times around the track is hard to beat,” Alex exclaimed. “Even though I may be a bit past my prime, I still enjoy competing in motocross races locally and in surrounding states.”

At the same time Alex was getting back into old hobbies, he was also running a side hustle restoring and flipping recreational vehicles. Although he admitted most stuff ends up being too cool to let go! His primary focus is two-stroke powered dirt bikes, motorcycles, and watercraft. Alex’s enjoyment comes from repairing and restoring things that others wouldn’t take the time or energy to fix.

Alex approaches restoring bikes and boats with curiosity. Being mostly self-taught by YouTube and the like, he started buying tools and got to work figuring each project out as he went. It’s the work that’s most fun for him. Even if a project doesn’t pan out as he planned or hoped, getting to work on unique pieces is what drives his hobby.
 

“My 1194 Sea-Doo SPX is probably my favorite project to date. It was a 650cc leisure vessel that blew up on the second ride,” Alex explained. “I swapped in a Kawasaki 1100cc triple, doubling the horsepower. The result is a wicked fast riding experience.”

Alex’s passion for restoring and modifying rec vehicles is obvious when you talk to him. He excitedly told us about his recent project restoring an old 90s carbon-fiber Sea-Doo racecraft. It’s a diamond in the rough that’s extremely rare to find in the Midwest, where racing leagues are pretty uncommon. Alex’s current challenge is finding extremely rare parts, but just working on them has been a real treat for him.
 

“I like to make the cool instead of buying it,” Alex shared with a smile.