(313)537-5026
Store Hours
Mon-Fri 10am-8pm,
Sat 10am - 5pm,
Closed Sunday
Site last updated on
04/06/08
Horsepower
is an illusory
mathematical equation.
Torque
is real
and the source of all
good things in the world.
We proudly support our
President and Armed
Forces in the war
against terrorism.
© Bishop's Performance
Redford Twp. motorcycle shop fills need for speed
August 26, 2007
BY TOM LANG - FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITERCall Bill Bishop "Hammer" and you'll get a smile, not a scowl. He got the nickname back when he was in his 20s and a hammer hit him on the head. His friends joked it was good he had a hard head. But Bishop has more than a funny nickname; he has a reputation for being one of the best motorcycle engine tuners around. Considering his customers come from across this nation and other countries, their word-of-mouth testimonials have merit.
Bishop will do most any repair needed on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, but his specialty is giving engines more horsepower by tweaking the head porting. He says the head porting work helps maximize the airflow going to the engine block, which affects RPMs, which translates into more power.
He learned this mechanical craft by racing motorcycles on drag strips. "That's how I learned about bikes," he said. "In racing, you learn about what holds up, compared to street riding -- that's easy on a bike." Bishop still races, but only on occasion -- being 50 now and too busy running Bishop's Performance. The shop is on Grand River Avenue in Redford Township, between 7 and 8 Mile roads.
His fiancée, Amy Sanborn, 42, is co-owner and handles business operations. The couple, who live in Farmington, met at a former workplace, a Harley-Davidson store. Bishop had previously worked several mechanic jobs. "I have a natural aptitude for mechanical work," he said. "And over the years, people could see that my bikes were very reliable and performed well, so friends asked me to work on their bikes, then friends of friends, and it grew into a full-time job."
Bishop sold a race bike, a 1998 Buell S1 White Lightning, to fund the opening of the shop. Sanborn said that money covered about two months' shop rent and a few tools and machines. "I was terrified when Bill told me we were going to open our own shop. I said 'Are you crazy?' " Amy said with a smile. Like most small-business owners, they jumped out on faith, believing they could fill a market niche. Bishop's Performance will have been open five years come December. "The first couple years, we grew a lot," she said. "But the last couple, we haven't as much, because the local economy's been pretty rough."
Sanborn, who grew up in Haslett and got her first bike by winning a radio contest in Lansing, used to be an accountant. She's developed and maintained the shop's Web site -- http://www.bishopsperformance.com/ -- a main portal of business. She purchased the domain name even before they opened the shop.
A U.S. map on the office wall shows from where customers have shipped all, or parts of, their engines to Redford -- and only about six states in the Rocky Mountains region are blank. Some engines have come from Italy and Australia. The couple also have built a dealer network of about 12 shops across the country to expand their business reach. Bishop said customers come from all walks of life -- police officers, lawyers, doctors, airline pilots and engineers, to name a few.
Customer Kevin Snapp, 47, of Westland came by the Grand River store on a recent Friday afternoon, driving the 1998 Harley Heritage Springer he named Wilma Flintstone, complete with a drawing of the cartoon character on the rear bumper. "Remember how Wilma was always screaming at Fred?" Snapp said. "Well, this bike really screams." Snapp said Bishop is the only person in the business who really spent time with him to explain how to get the best performance out of his bike, whether street riding or track racing. Several other customers said the same of Bishop. "I love the freedom of riding and of the open road," Snapp said. "I rode to high school on a motorcycle."
He is just one of many customers Bishop has introduced to sportsman division racing. Today is a huge annual race gathering: the Michigan All-Harley Drags at Ubly Dragway, about 90 miles north of Detroit in the Thumb. It's an event that Bishop and Sanborn still race in; they call their team White Lightning Racing. Sanborn won the women's division two years ago. Snapp said, "What I love about drag racing is you don't have to worry about cars pulling out, and you just go in a straight line as fast as you can.".
Bishop has built a new race bike for himself from scratch, picking up pieces from various places to form his unique ride, to replace the one he sold to start the shop. His top speed on it so far is 134.44 m.p.h. in 9.74 seconds at Ubly. Sanborn has topped out at 111.98 m.p.h. in 11.88 seconds.
"I've always found it thrilling to accelerate, fast and hard," Bishop said. It's a euphemism he could use for building the business as well.
(Photos by MARY SCHROEDER/Detroit Free Press)
•