




The following article appeared in Thunder Roads Magazine Volume 2 Issue 12 July 2007 A Closer Look at Chariots of Fire Customs by Dennis Martin The doors at Chariots of Fire Customs, LLC first opened back in March, 2005. At that time the husband & wife team, Jan and Reine Knobbe, took a chance in creating an affordable shop with a service that cannot be compared to any other. Now, almost 2 1/2 years later, their reputation required an expansion. They are already thinking of expanding again. Jan and Reine have been married now for 23 years and with their children, Marie and Jake, all grown up, the timing was right. Marie is away at college. Jake works at the shop and is going to paint school. Jan went to college at Ranken and received an Associated Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has been a mechanic for 30+ years and is experienced with motorcycles, cars, tractors, you name it! He built his first motorcycle when he was 17 years old while dating Reine. After they got married, and had the kids, the motorcycle hobby had to take the backseat for a while. But when at a family reunion in 2000 they got on Reine's cousin's bike and the passion was rekindled. Jan once again was working on their friend's motorcylces in the garage, but still a hobby. Then in 2005 they took the leap and opened up to the public. Reine went to SLU and became an Occupational Therapist. She now runs the store front and the business end of everything. Reine admits that she is not the person to talk to about the mechanical side of the business, that is Jan's department. She makes a real effort to know each of their customers by name when they walk in. In the store front they have anything from dew rages to leathers. There is always something new coming in. Their staff consists of 4 full time employees and 1 apprentice. They have designed and created 4 custom motorcycles from the ground up and countless extreme modifications to customer's motorcycles. Their main focus of the shop is service and builds/rebuilds. Normally scheduled maintenance is 2-3 days. Naturally an engine rebuild takes a bit longer. If you have a project that requires parts to be ordered from venders, they don't want your bike until everything is at their shop. The goal is to keep you riding until the customization is ready to start. They will make sure that if someone wants new bars, forks or anything that will change the ride of the bike, that it will fit the rider. Customer satisfaction is number one. They pride themselves on getting a bike in on Tuesday and do what ever it takes to be sure the work is done for riding on the weekend. Jan will test ride any bike that has been serviced or built, to make sure everything is performing as expected. This is truly a One-Stop Shop. Anything you want or need, they can do it at their place. The only thing they haven't tackled yet is painting. They trust and rely on Doug's Custom Paint and Restoration in Troy, MO. Eventually they want to get into warranty work for all of the major manufacturers. They are setup with countless parts venders. They will always look for the best quality that is available. Jan tests products on his own bike before he will sell it at the shop. If you only want Harley products, they have it. If you want to try others products such as AMSOIL, they are knowledgeable about most everything out there and can talk to you about it in detail. With everything they have accomplished, one thing that they are very passionate about is lending a hand to help community organizations have fund raising events. If there was one thing that I had to point out, they both are very humble. They owe most of their success to their friends, customers and employees. The shop is located in Moscow Mills, Missouri at 141 Moscow Springs Plaza. This is near the intersection of Highway 61 and Highway C. At the time of the interview, there was some serious road construction underway in that area. I would suggest logging onto their website at www.chariotsoffirecustoms.com. There is a detailed map to get to the shop. Next time you are looking for a place to ride to, stop in and see the shop. It is a very nice ride to Moscow Mills from just about anywhere. Their hours are Tues. Wed Fri 11-7pm, Thrus 11-6 pm, Sat 10-3pm. They have organized a Thrusday night dinner ride that leaves the shop at 6pm. The following article appeared in the May 2007 issue of The Biking Life By Justin Mueller I believe that most all of us who ride have a dream bike. You know the one you build over and over in your head. Adding chrome, changing paint colors and paint schemes, a new set of tins, a monster engine and the list goes on. Well I had the opportunity to make my dream a reality with the craftsmanship of a great mechanic, Jan Knobbe, of Chariots of Fire Customs LLC, and an awesome painter, Doug Heflin, of Doug’s Custom Paint & Restoration. The custom 2001 Iron Horse Classic I bought is no longer. I am now the proud owner of an Iron Horse custom Sled that took second place in the February Wide Open Motorcycle Show Production Custom class. We took the front forks and changed them out to an American Suspension 45 mm, inverted forks with a 6 degree rake in the triple trees. The bike was lowered two inches with lowering shocks and the rear tire was changed from a 160 to a 200 tire. A belt to chain conversion kit was suggested by Jan so the bike can handle the raw horsepower and punishment Jan accuses me of putting on my engine. Bone crusher pipes blow blue flames at night! As Jan puts it, “It’s all about the comin’ and the goin’ for Justin!” The clutch was also beefed up. The sheet metal was also modified and switched out. Paul Yaffee front and rear fenders were bought and then modified. The front fender was simply raised in the center. The back fender was sliced in the center removing two inches and a raised panel was inserted along with a raised panel added to the bottom. The front of the rear fender was also dished out to allow for a custom alligator seat made by Gary Tyler of Chopper Chairs. But wait, I’m not done. The rear fender was also modified on the side to accept a one-off sissy bar. The original tank was modified by welding the tanks together and placing a raised section where the old speedo used to be. I bought Independent Cycle handle bars and we cut and lowered them 5 inches to follow the streamline of the bike. A new Dakota speedo was mounted under the handle bars. New Paul Yaffee grips and pegs finish off the look. I had all kinds of wild ideas about the paint and Doug helped me narrow it down. The paint scheme had to match the overall look of the bike so we went with a subtle look rather than a loud, wild paint scheme. Doug sprayed a chameleon snake skin pattern on the raised sections, followed by a rattle snake root beer color over the entire bike. Finshed up with very tasteful green and gold pin striping. A project like this can’t be rushed. Jan, Doug, and I spent many hours pouring over ideas. As parts came in and the overall look of the bike came together, we all came to an agreement of how the bike should flow together. Patience is key in a project like this. The over all experience working with Jan Knobbe of Chariots of Fire and Doug Heflin of Doug’s Custom Paint was phenomenal. Anyone interested in attempting a project of this magnitude should absolutely contact Jan and Doug to assure your dream becomes a reality. The following article appeared in Full Throttle February 2007 Chariots of Fire Customs LLC is a little shop with big dreams. Jan Knobbe opened Chariots of Fire in March of 2005 and has been growing steady ever since. Jan has 30 years experience in motorcycle and automotive repair work. Chariots of Fire can fix up your existing bike with all the custom parts you lik, do repair work, or build you that one of a knid. In addition, they have access to literally thousands of parts an accessories to maintain your ride and are also dealers for a host of venders, such as, Drag Specialties, Kuryakan, Mustang Seats, Barney’s Leather, Bassini Pipes Paul Yaffee Originals, Power Commander, Kraft Tech., Midwest Motorcycle Supply, and the list goes on… They can also order any Harley Davidson part you may need. In 2006 Jan took the opportunity to build this awesome Custom Chopper!! He started with a Revenge Cycle frame with a 40˚ rake, 6” down tube, and 6” backbone. The platinum air ride, with on board compressor, makes the meaty look a smooth ride. Jan put his ride together with attitude, to match the rear tire! He took his colors to Doug’s Creations and there they came up with a splendid paint job. Midwest Motorcycles built a breathtaking monster motor with a right side 6-speed transmission. As a finishing touch he added the one-off custom seat designed and manufactured by Gary Tyler of Chopper Chair Seats. This Hot Rod is now ready. Chariots of Fire Customs LLC is not just another motorcycle shop owned by big business and ran by others. We are a family owned business with friendly staff to assist your individual needs. If you’re tire of being treated like just another customer, stop by and check us out in person or our web site www.chariotsoffirecustoms.com. The riding season is quickly approaching so stop by and see us and check out some of the best looking apparel in town. Located at 141 Moscow Springs Plaza. Call us at (636)-356-9015. The following article appeared in the June 2007 issue of The Biking Life An American Hero On An American Legend By Oldskoolbob The bike show that we had turned out to be a complete and huge success, although they were lessons learned for next time. It brought out over 100 killer bikes from all over the Midwest. Thank you all for a great time! This bike caught my eye right from the moment I saw it.It was different in that it had its own look or feeling about it. Eric Cockrum owns the 2000 Fat Boy, which has the look of an old cruiser from the late 50’s early 60’s. He told me he wanted that bike for it’s comfort and good riding ability. What he didn’t like was at the time that he purchased it, every where he looked there was a Fat Boy. Eric decided to customize the bike to his own specs. The engine is stock with only an S&S carb upgrade, but Eric designed the jockey shift and sissy bar. Tim Cox did a fantastic job of fabricating them and installing them with Eric. You can’t beat the welds that Tim made on this application! They are very well done. The rear fender is strut less, another custom feature on this Fat Boy classic. Jan from Chariots of Fire got the Fat Daddie ‘50’ spoked rims out of California, That just set the bike off. Getting the bike painted and the body work done took a lot of begging and pleading to get it done. You see Eric had to persuade Chuck Hermeyer out of his sweet retirement to finish the project with the body work and paint that made this bike. The concept was taken from the old Dual Glide series paint scheme. Not only was this bike an eye catcher, it also placed third in the Soft Tail division, the owner is an American service man who has 17 years of service to our country in the Air National Guard. He was the real deal. We met at Jefferson Barracks where we work while on duty. This place is also the national cemetery for our fallen service men. It is incredibly spiritually overwhelming there. I had no Idea how huge the place really was. I received a tour of the facility, meet Eric, and shoot some pic’s. Life is good at The Biking Life.