Stephen has been on the scene for a long time and his parts page Marino's Junk Pile always has all the good, hard to find stuff listed on it. He is also a really talented Cinematographer/Filmmaker that has worked on some impressive projects. I got in touch with him recently to find out more about him and how he approaches building bikes.
Name: Stephen Marino
Age: 36
Location: New York City
Day job: Cinematographer/Filmmaker
Current Bikes: 1957 Harley Pan-Shovel Chopper - 1952 Triumph 5T Custom - 1967 Triumph TR6 Chopper - 1969 BSA Thunderbolt - 1971 Harley FLH Project - 1946 Harley Project
When did you get into bikes and why?
It was probably around 2009 when I got into bikes. I pulled my dads old 69 BSA out of my grandmother's garage. I wasn't even riding bikes yet before I started working on that thing. Somehow my grandmother saved that out of a garage full of old junk cars and stuff all these years. I think it was missing the whole rear brake assembly. I was drawn to that bike. I think I was going through a break up with a girl and needed a distraction. I was also skateboarding a lot at this time and I think this is when Max Schaaf and all the other skaters started getting into bikes as well. So I saw that and was getting influenced there naturally. It all was happening at the same time. So I ended up getting hooked.
First Road Bike?
First bike was the 69 BSA Thunderbolt.
How do you approach building bikes? What is your process?
There is no real approach for me. I saw some bikes that influenced me and I think I have them sprinkled in them all. I was hooked on British bikes so you can see that influence in a lot of my bikes. I think earlier when I did NOT have many parts to play Lego's with I would obsess over things. I think with my 57 Pan Shovel I put all the parts I really liked on a bike. I still think it just starts with the parts I like and you see what works and what doesn't.
Where did you learn to work on bikes?
I learned by trial and error. Annoying my dad, annoying any motorcycle shop that would entertain my questions. I was very passionate about it so I think people saw that and were ok with answering the questions.
How would you define your style?
Damn. I don't think I really have one. I am not doing anything that different than someone else did back in the day. I do like a 1960's style bike.
What's your workshop setup like?
The shop is generally a bit of a mess. Beautiful Chaos. I share a 2 car garage with my buddy Mike Young. (@Kokomo_cycle_shop). He has all the fab stuff and I have a lot of parts. So we go back and forth a lot of the time when we are working on things. There is a lift that separates each of our sides.
What is the motorbike scene like in your area? How do you source parts for builds?
I would say the scene is strong but I think it's still fairly small. There is a lot of people still into bikes that are within the hour radius of my house. There's somewhat of a healthy swap meet scene. I guess it could be better but it also could be a lot worse. It all just depends on what parts you need. I guess I have a bit of collection but there is still always something on the horizon.
Any projects in the works?
I am currently playing around with a 46 knuckle project and will eventually get my 71 Shovelhead back on the road.
What's your dream bike?
I will let you know when I find it. Otherwise I am pretty happy with all my bikes at the moment.
Special mechanical/fabrication trick or tip?
Do it right and do it once? Is that how that goes?
If you are interested in getting a hold of some super rare vintage parts check out his instagram parts page (link below). For those of you that are into filmmaking/cinematography and interested in checking out the work Stephen has done click on his website below.
Instagram: marinosjunkpile
Website : www.stephenmmarino.com
Feature photo taken by Daniel Weiss. All others photos shown property of Stephen Marino.