Cleveland Cyclewerks (CCW), a startup that manufactures and sells its own motorcycles, is set to open the first Cyclewerks-exclusive dealership at its warehouse in the Gordon Square Arts District. The owners will host a party on Saturday, October 5th with food trucks, kegs of free beer and tours of the shop, which sells accessories and also repairs bikes.

"A year ago, this place was a mess," says general manager Jon Dale. "We cleaned it out, pressure washed everything and built a new plywood floor. We wanted to keep the old building feel, though, with the brick walls and the concrete floors."

The shop at Herman and W. 65th Street will be open Monday through Friday from 9 to 5, and will soon be open on Saturdays, as well. The repair shop specializes in vintage British and Japanese bikes, and the staff can custom-build CCW bikes based on a customer's preferences. All of the company's models, including the soon-to-be-released ACE, will be on display in the store.

Owners Scott Colosimo and Jered Streng created CCW after getting laid off from their industrial design jobs in 2009. The lightweight bikes have 250cc engines, are inexpensive to maintain, and get 100 miles to the gallon. They've been described as having a "retro-futuristic" look and are priced at only $3,295.

Dale says that Colosimo and local architect Robert Maschke purchased the vacant, 70,000-square-foot warehouse, which was last home to a rubber stamping plant but built as a meat packing plant, for a small sum. They are slowly refurbishing portions of it and leasing it out to small companies or using it for CCW's operations.

CCW has grown tremendously over the past few years, and now sells bikes at 40 dealerships in the U.S. and 15 countries throughout the world. Dale, a Cleveland native, says that the company has allowed him to stay in the city and do what he loves.

"Not only is my passion my job, but I get to help revive the city," he says.

Source: Jon Dale
Writer: Lee Chilcote