It’s 4:30 on a Saturday afternoon. The cool California breeze passes through the workshop. Classic jazz flows smoothly

from a dated radio sitting in the corner. Naturally filtered light through the wooden loft above casts careful shadows

upon memories of the past as they cling to the walls.

Within this space old tools,

swap meet finds and a collec-

tion of toolboxes that would

make an aficionado proud find

use at the hands of one of

the world’s most skilled arti-

sans. I humbly find myself on

top of a hand-made wooden

bench nestled in the “nook”

of Chabott Engineering, sit-

ting across from Shinya Kimura

and Ayu, his faithful partner....

What a place to be.

As we sip coffee, conversation is light. Shinya is a man of few words, for not only is he one of a dying breed of

craftsman, he is also extremely modest – attributes lost amongst the sea of acidic paint jobs, fat tires and desires to

please the crowd instead of one’s self. What he does say though, forever changes my personal viewpoint on what it

is to be a true custom motorcycle builder. Of course, that epiphany did not come until much later…

Upon my arrival at Chabott Engineering I was greeted by the friendly wave of Shinya from just inside the work-

shop. I parked my big grey shark and

counted to three before taking a deep

breath and stepping out. A man has to

do that sort of thing when he’s about to

stand at the feet of his idol. You can’t

practice for this sort of thing either, so

you just find yourself gasping for breath

and hoping you don’t say or do some-

thing to offend him. This is tricky busi-

ness - it’s not like interviewing your high

school shop teacher.

As I make my way into the workshop

my senses reach perception overload

almost immediately. A 1915 Indian sits

directly adjacent to “Flash”, the famous

1974 750cc Ducati racer Shinya previ-

ously built in 2008-2009

“I am riding the Indian in the Cannonball run.” Shinya says with a smirk.

“How long is that?” I say with a cantankerous smile.

He responds...”3,000 miles.”

Moving back to the Ducati I am unable to comprehend the metalwork

that makes up “Flash”, let alone the design elements. Then it dawns on me.

It only makes sense that Shinya would be piloting a 1915 Indian on a 3,000

mile journey in one of the most epic rally races in history.

Shinya Kimura“The Silent Warrior”

Words & Photos by: Paul Henry Harrington

At this point, ten minutes into my

visit, despite my efforts to keep my

cool, I break down like a school girl

in the 80’s at a Bon Jovi concert. The

room begins to spin, my eyes get blur-

ry and my heart begins to pound un-

controllably. I’m sure I’m done for...

Here it is, the moment I feared.

Shinya notices this and in an ef-

fort to keep from cleaning me up off

the floor he continues to indulge me,

bringing me further inside Chabott.

As we move through the workshop

Shinya is reserved. He carries him-

self in a centered and peaceful way,

his every move and action reflects

years of wisdom. His modesty, though,

as it pertains to these works of art

in motion, is something that I have

never experienced when talking with

another custom motorcycle builder.

The reason for this becomes evident

in our conversations as the day and

night ensue.

Ayu, Shinya’s devout partner and

other half of the Chabott legacy,

comes into view from the office and

shakes my hand with a soft, yet con-

trolling grip and flaunts a smile that

could sway even the meanest judges

of American Idol. She welcomes me

and immediately joins Shinya in this

fun new game of watching me fumble

and try to keep my wits. It’s a good

time. I’m sure of it.

We make a full pass of the bot-

tom floor in the shop. Antique weld-

ers, buffers the size of small Volk-

swagens and a barrage of hand

tools inside individually labeled

drawers make up only a small por-

tion of the armament Shinya uses to

produce his creations. Interestingly,

I begin to realize that his tools, the

machines, the shop itself – all of the

elements of his surroundings have

an inherent beauty…

I spent the majority of the afternoon trying not

to get in Shinya or Ayu’s way as they both went

about their duties. Ayu noted she is constantly

working on translating the details behind Shin-

ya’s works from Dutch (and a handful of other

obscure languages) to Japanese and back. “He

gets a huge amount of international interest. Some

people cannot even register the bikes on the road

when they get them, but that doesn’t stop them.

They just want his bikes.”

As they should…Creating hand crafted, bor-

derline fanatically ornate details, Shinya lever-

ages his years of experience from running one

of the most successful custom shops in Japan.

He melds steel, aluminum and brass in a way that

completely balances form and function like no

other and the result is simply awe inspiring.

I pass by “Spike,” the infamous 1946 Knuckle powered Harley Davidson no-frills speed bike Shinya has been seen piloting to “the-ton” countless times at both El Mirage and Bonneville. I stop for a moment and with a quiet murmur I note to myself, as if I needed to, “I’ll be back for you later.” I told you, this line of work isn’t meant for every man.

You could spend countless hours circling one of his

pieces only to find five more things you did not notice

the first twenty five times you went around it. Subtle yet

pronounced, like he himself, Shinya Kimuras’ creations

are Silent Warriors forged from years of passion, patience

and perseverance waging a war on time. He truly is one of

the last of his kind.

With a tired shutter finger and an even more exhausted mind I make my way up the stairs into the loft where at the back

I find “Needle”, a 1957 Triumph - another one of Shinya’s “built for speed” creations. The lines are low slung and raw. The

raked front end, brass work and creative use of space to house vital fluids provides for an extremely poignant presence.

I would imagine it takes over the road (or salt) with the greatest of ease and commands anything else within proxim-

ity. That is, of course, with Shinya calling the shots. Let us not forget that this man lives for feeling the wind against

his leathers and stops at nothing to attain that visceral experience time and time again.

Towards the front of the loft,

no taller than my thigh sits “Excel-

sior”, a 1914 Excelsior twin cylin-

der. Steam-punk meets salt-racer;

Excelsior makes contact with the

ground care of new old stock 1920

Olympic tires Shinya handpicked

from Japan. The engine detail, the

ornate fuel tank work and the Moto

Guzzi damper take you back…It

is evident that Shinya builds his

motorcycles to be pushed to the

edge both aesthetically and me-

chanically, the traces of dust and

salt left behind from past exploits

are proof.

After a quiet dinner we make our

way back to the workshop in Ayu’s

Plymouth Duster. Shinya sits in the

back with his arms crossed on the

seat back behind Ayu, and we dis-

cuss everything from our favorite authors and movies to why Facebook will be the demise of future generations. Relish-

ing in each others favorites Shinya gathers a big smile when Ayu mentions “Grand Prix” and he replies with a strategic

“Gumball” as I smile in return. The mood is relaxed now. We have had a chance to get to know one another a little more,

and the tension I created in my own head no longer exists. We are left with a common bond; the love of “the art” found

in motorcycles.

Back at Chabott we move past all the old souls back to the “nook.” Ayu disappears into another recess in the shop

I have not yet explored and comes back with a smile and small sake glasses. We toast to friendship and spend the

night talking about Shinya and Ayu’s desires for the future.

Through Chabott Engineering Shinya and Ayu work as a team, carefully creating some of the highest quality

functional art I have ever had the fortune to see. They produce two, maybe three bikes per year and truly do nothing

but live and breathe their passion.

When I asked Shinya what is currently on the plate he pointed to the 1974 Moto Guzzi sitting on his main operating

table. A completely custom aluminum tank, fairing and seat are only the beginning of what will undoubtedly shape

up to be yet another timeless creation. I am surrounded by authenticity...

We talked a great deal about racing. It’s no

surprise that Shinya’s obsession with speed

led him to follow and collect a multitude of

racing magazines, rare printed books and

works of art as it pertains to the industry.

He shared with me some of his most rare

printings and we both looked upon the

pages together, he on one side of the

bench and I on the other gasping and

pointing and trading facts. Truly a connois-

seur, he has an intense appreciation for the

mechanics it requires to move a man on

this earth. The old way that is…with petrol

and pistons.

I asked him at one point, “If you could meet

anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?” Within

what seemed to be a fraction of second he

said, “Yoshimura.” And with that a satisfied

look came over his face almost as if he had

the conversation rehearsed in his mind. What a moment that would be…speed and art coming together.

Shinya made the decision to pursue his creativity and art through Chabott, here, in America. As I sat back

and listened to him I looked around at my surroundings and I was simply taken aback at not just the shear

amount of “stuff” he had acquired, but rather the fact that every single possession had a purpose and had

become part of a man truly pursuing his dream…a man existing with unwavering character and with such

passion that he would forgo all the conveniences and luxuries of life and leave behind all he knows to create

simply for the sake of creating.

I arrived nervous to meet my idol –

I left humbled by a man who sees

beauty in his surroundings, loves his

work, and treated me as an equal…

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