How IT ALL BEGAN
A PASSION FOR Riding is in THE FAMILY blood
My passion for motorcycles began in the '70s when my family would visit my great-grandmother in Hebron, KY. Her son, my great-uncle Bill, ran his own independent motorcycle shop and stored his donor bikes—motorcycles and dirt bikes—at her place.
My brother and I would play on them, pretending we were racing through the woods, jumping creeks, and pulling off daring wheelies. Although the bikes were often in pieces or in rough shape, to us, they were flawless machines fresh off the showroom floor, and they were as loud as our best engine impressions could make them.
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In the early '80s, my parents got their first motorcycles: a 1982 Honda GL500 Silverwing and a 1981 Honda CM200T Twinstar. The Twinstar was the bike I first learned to ride on—and it’s still in my possession to this day.
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During my high school years, Uncle Bill, who rode a classic 1934 Harley Davidson model VD, let me work at his shop for a couple of summers. It was there that I picked up the basics of motorcycle repair and soaked in the stories of Bill's friends and customers, who’d drop by to chat about bikes and their adventures on the road. Honestly, I probably spent as much time listening to those tales as I did working on bikes.
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In the late '90s, I became the Service Manager at a Harley dealership, and in many ways, it reminded me of Uncle Bill’s shop. Friendly customers, people swinging by just to talk bikes, and the occasional “basket case” motorcycle with problems so complicated they seemed unsolvable.
It was also around this time that I realized how short we were on skilled motorcycle mechanics in our area—a problem that hasn't improved in the 25 years since.
Lee and his great-uncle Bill Bohart at Bohart Cycle Sales
Uncle Bill and his '34 Harley VD
Lee on his Indian Springfield
ROLLING OUT AN IDEA
Fast forward to 2022. I needed to perform routine maintenance on my Indian Springfield but didn't have the time or specialized tools to do it myself. When I contacted the dealership, I found out the shortage of mechanics was still an issue—they couldn't get to my service for six weeks.​
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Talking with fellow riders about the long wait times, the idea of a community motorcycle garage came up. There are several across the U.S., including two in Ohio—Skidmark Garage in Cleveland and Dayton Moco in Dayton. These garages operate like auto rent-a-bays or the hobby shops you’d find on U.S. military bases.
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I kept talking about how great it would be to have something similar in the northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area—a place where we could work on our own bikes, help each other with repairs, run workshops, share knowledge, and just hang out with other motorcycle enthusiasts. Soon after, my phone started blowing up.
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RIDING INTO THE FUTURE
During the 2023 holidays, over 500 area motorcyclists let me know through an online survey that they were eager for a community motorcycle garage. The search for the right space began in February 2024.
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After months of searching, evaluating locations, dealing with inspections, setbacks, and dead ends, I found the perfect space. Moto Federation officially launched on October 8, 2024.
What started as a "what if" is now a reality. The Cincinnati metro area now has a place where riders of all kinds can come together.
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I invite you to stop by—whether it's to work on your bike, learn something new, share your expertise, listen to live music, watch some classic motorcycle movies, share a meal, or just make new friends.
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Lee Laney
Founder, Moto Federation
