I first came across Kyle AKA 'Crazy Apes Kyle' or actually his bike when I was at Born Free 2014. At the time I had taken a few photos of his Shovelhead that really caught my eye. Fast forward 7 years and Kyle is now in the final six for Biltwell People's Champ Builder at Born Free 12. If you haven't checked out his build yet, you should over to his page now.
Name: Kyle Sonneborn
Age: 35
Location: Edgewood, Maryland USA
Day job: Heavy equipment rigging and install
Current Bikes: 1966 HD Generator Shovel
1952 HD Panhead
When did you get into bikes and why?
I got into bikes around 2004 or 2005. I always watched the Biker Build Off stuff around then which was super popular. Long story short after I returned from the military my stepfather took me out and bought my my first motorcycle, a barn find 1973 Triumph Chopper. I've been obsessed and building 60's style choppers since.
First Road Bike?
My first bike was that 1973 barn find Triumph Chopper. It had a rigid frame, king & queen seat, trident sissy bar, drag bars, chrome fender, orange paint and a joe hunt magneto. The original owner actually saw me riding down the road in Pennsylvania and stopped to say that's just the way he had it since the 70's before he sold it to the guy I bought it from. It taught me a lot but rarely, if ever left me on the side of the road. I hear it's in Australia somewhere now.
How do you approach building bikes? What is your process?
When I build a bike you can tell I have one certain style I never get bored of. If you look at any movie like the Devil's Angels, The Wild Angels, Hell's Angels on Wheels; there's a certain type of bike that I'm pretty obsessed with and it comes out when I build. Peanut tank and ribbed fender, but always big ape hangers or at least medium sized ones. Springer is preferred, but I'm definitely not opposed to running a wide glide. Mostly they are stock length bikes as I live on the East Coast with city riding, but still a bit of country riding as well.
Well as far as my process goes I guess it's just that I watch those old chopper movies all the time and I never get bored. But I take a lot of inspiration from people in America and Australia building traditional style 60's choppers, some with a twist. You could definitely say that it's an East Coast style with big ape hangers. I grew up around it, you see it in Jersey Philadelphia and so on which is where I spend a lot of my time besides home.
Where did you learn to work on bikes?
This is a long story. I stopped in to a used motorcycle shop in Coatesville, Pennsylvania and got talking to the owner who found out that I like working on old bikes. He offered me a job on the spot, I had no experience and barely had any tools. A man named Russ Danley worked there. He really took me under his wing and taught me all about working on Harley motors and even doing simple service things and it definitely gave me my start.
After that I moved back to Maryland and would ride around on my Ironhead and Triumph. I met up with a lot of people from Baltimore, one in particular was my friend Sean Murphy who worked at a shop called Mobtown Cycle and owned by Tim Sneed. One day I was riding when the transmission blew out of the back of my Ironhead as a lot of them do. I was feeling at a loss because this was way beyond my skill level at the time. Tim invited my to bring my bike in and rebuild it inside and out. I built 2 bikes there. They taught me a ton. Their shop was down the street from where I worked so everyday after work I would go straight to Mobtown Cycle and start working on my bike. I would be asking questions, reading manuals, learning things and building bikes. It was a lucky experience to say the least.
How would you define your style?
My style is definitely a 60's movie style chopper, comparable to movies like The Devil's Angels.
What's your workshop setup like?
My shop is fairly simple half of it is for leather work, but the other half of it, if not more is dedicated to motorcycles. I don't have a lot of fancy tools; a friend's welder I borrow, an oxy-acetylene torch and a toolbox full of good tools which come in handy. I have friends that have Mills and Lathes who let me come over and use their tools or just will just make something for me if it's specific.
You're currently building a bike for People's Champ. How did that come about? What's it like building a bike for the comp?
Yes, I'm building a bike for the People's Champ. My buddy told me laughingly I should enter because I build a pretty clean bike so I did and got picked thinking I would never make it to the top six. It was no big deal, but then I made it to the top six and that has definitely put some stress on. The competitions are fun and the people in it are cool. Having a deadline is not so cool, but I guess that's what I signed up for so I'll just keep pushing forward.
You do some amazing leather work too. What sort of stuff do you make? How do people grab something off you?
As far as my leather work goes I make anything from belts to miniature mudflaps for fenders and what I call a miniature mudflap for springer front ends. I'll make anything within reason, but I kind of stay in my lane because that's what I enjoy. People can purchase something from me just by sliding into my DM on Instagram. I'm more than willing to answer any questions about what they are interested in ordering.
Any projects in the works?
The only project I have right now that's waiting in line is a HD Wishbone frame. I am using parts that I'm gathering from friends and swap meets to build what I call a go-getter bare-bones bike. Not so shiny, all business, but still within the style that I like. I don't have a motor for it yet.
What's your dream bike?
If I had my choice to have one bike or a so-called dream bike, I guess I'd have to say the Original Billy bike from Easyrider. The opportunity to own that actual bike that he rode in the movie would be pretty awesome. It was built by Benny Hardy for the film. I think it's pretty amazing. Needs apes tho haha
If you are interested in keeping up to date with Kyle's People's Champ Build or checking out his leather work head over to his instagram page (link below).