"You need something to move that back wheel; that's the Powerplant."

Yaniv's first introduction to two wheeled transport was in his own home growing up. His brothers had vespas they let him ride, and when that wasn't enough, he took his wheels off-road. Yaniv's father had a few dirt bikes at home and this is where he got his thrills. 

At 17, Yaniv dropped out of high school to follow his passion: machines. Yaniv got a job machining for aircrafts and learned everything there is to know about metallurgy. With this knowledge and his skills in machining he was finally ready to start custom work.

Bruns Kustom City in Chatsworth, CA is where Yaniv got started. At Bruns, Yaniv worked on custom hot rods. Everything from the intricacies of the engine to custom body work, until one day he got his hands on a Triumph chopper.

Making use of the tools at Bruns, he chopped it down and rode it around town creating his own buzz until people started coming to him for bikes of their own.

Yaniv stayed busy at Bruns; cars, then bikes, and finally the time came to expand.

In 2003 Powerplant Choppers was born. Located on Melrose in West Hollywood, Yaniv continued to learn and hone his smithing skills under his mentor, aircraft engineer Vince Zine. Yaniv learned with the philosophy that nothing is impossible, and he took that and ran.

Yaniv has a very unique style of designing and building his bikes. Inspired by the steam engine and the smithing practices of industrial era America, Yaniv recreates the look of furnace brazed metal to perfection.

"Everything is rounded. I want to go back to the '40s where everything was pretty."

To achieve this, Yaniv works on restored machines from the '50s. Nothing on his bikes goes untouched. He doesn't like anything to be stock and with him it's all about every piece being one-of-a-kind.

Yaniv's love for his craft can be seen in the detail he puts into his bikes. As long as a bike is in front of him it will get worked on. Everything is handmade and measured by eye. His style harks back to a time where man and machine were at their closest. Yaniv embraces a forgotten style of craft, and we love it as much as he does.

"Each bike, each one, I build them for me."

The Powerplant name has recently expanded to a line of clothing and a line of parts. They buy their own fabric and denim and cut and sew it all right here in L.A.. 

We tip our hats to Powerplant Choppers for bringing something old (that's new again) and refreshing to the motorcycle culture. 

 Check them out here : Powerplant Choppers

 

TP

 

Story :: Trés Poindexter

Photography :: Shaik Ridzwan & Trés Poindexter

Trés is a contributor to The Mighty Motor. We are happy to have him as part of our small team. This is his first story for us and we look forward to many more. 

 Fin.