Can These Guys Revive A Pair Of Salvage Bikes In 48 Hours And Ride Away?

Is it a bad bike idea or a mad bike idea? That all depends on if they pull it off.

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Apr 26, 2024 at 11:21am ET

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Bonkers motorcycle ideas are fun to watch, and even more fun to live. But if you're living them, they're obviously best of all if you have at least one like-minded friend along for the ride.

It's been a minute since we checked in with Brick House Builds, but in their latest video, BJ and Seth not only shared updates on several project bikes at the shop; they also let us in on their latest project. Like any good vintage motorcycle maniacs, they in no way know when to stop piling projects on their plates. (It's just how it goes. We know it and you know it.)

BHB is located in Missouri, not too far away from Archway International Motorcycle Salvage. Unfortunately for the enthusiasts who have frequented that salvage facility over the years, the business is closing for good at the end of April 2024.

But out of the ashes of this mega moto salvage yard came a mad plan for BHB. Since the last thing the guys need is more vintage bike projects, the salvage yard's closing gave them a wonderful, terrible idea.

What if they were to do a 48-hour salvage bike revival challenge? And then, assuming that they succeed in reviving the bikes that they've selected, what if they then ride 100 miles to get some ice cream to complete the challenge?

What could possibly go wrong?

The Plan

First, the bad news: BHB says they're not planning to livestream the build on YouTube. They will be recording it and editing it into at least one video afterward, though.

What they will be doing is showing up to Archway bright and early on Saturday, April 27, 2024. As soon as they get there, the 48-hour timer will officially start. Both BJ and Seth will then each pick out a bike that they think they can successfully revive in the time allotted. If they can find used tires that seem like they're in better shape than the many used tires they already have back at the shop, they'll grab some of those as well.

And then, they'll haul their two new-to-them project bikes back to the shop as quickly as possible and get to work.

To be clear, they did a little bit of recon ahead of time, which mainly involved visiting the salvage yard a couple of weeks ago just to see if this idea is even feasible. If the only bikes there were basically just frames, and there were no complete or mostly-complete machines on site, the chances of actually succeeding would obviously be a whole lot smaller.

Luckily, though, the recon mission showed that if they choose well, given their various levels of experience in vintage air-cooled Japanese bike restoration, this idea just might work.

What do you think?

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Although BHB won't be livestreaming, BJ says they will be keeping their social media updated pretty regularly throughout the course of the 48-hour journey.

So if you're not already following BHB on Instagram, you might want to start just to see how it goes.