At least a dozen old black-framed motorcycles from the 1970s and early 1980s sit in a row in the repair shop of Connecticut Custom Cycles on South Main Street in Beacon Falls.
They are not there to be turned into chromed-up and tricked-out show bikes that artist Sean Lezotte is accustomed to working with in his industrial loft with an airbrush and a stencil kit.
They are being restored for road use by men and women who have had them in storage for years in garages and basements. Why? To offset Connecticut's predicament of having the highest gasoline prices in the United States.
"Most of them are just old bikes," Lezotte said. "They're not making them pretty. They're just making them functional and running. Some mechanical restoration and a little paint and they're on their way."
"It depends on how well it's been taken care of and how long it's been stored," Doane said.
The price of cleaning up an old bike and getting it on the road is modest in comparison with the money Connecticut residents are shelling out to fill their cars, trucks and SUVs with gasoline.
Take, for example, Dawn Webb, of Beacon Falls."My husband just spent $130 to fill his BMW," said Webb, who hired Doane and Lezotte to make her 1988 Harley-Davidson Sportster roadworthy.
She figures she'll spend $12 a tank on gas for the 20-year-old Harley — taking a huge slice off the couple's fuel budget.
"Some of the guys I work with are doing the same thing," said Bailey, who works for the Southern Connecticut Gas Co.
A look at the number of motorcycles registered in Connecticut is further evidence.
A scooter can get 100 miles per gallon, Erickson said. A motorcycle can easily get 50 or 60. Older motorcycles also do not require a lot of insurance, which makes for additional savings. "I pay maybe $200 a year for insurance on the bike," Bailey said.
