Ex- premier’s son has made U- turn toward motorcycle business
Jeff Vander Zalm’s successful ride from gardening to fast bikes is marked by annual celebration and fundraiser for local charity
For the vast majority of us, when we hear the name Vander Zalm, the image that comes to mind is the businessman behind the brand Art Knapp, former premier and face behind the anti- HST campaign, Bill Vander Zalm.
However, the name Vander Zalm is also associated with the Kreater Custom Motorcycles brand, whose western business has the former premier’s son, Jeff Vander Zalm, at the helm.
So how did the son of a multi- franchise gardening operation who grew up in business and politics land in the world of custom motorcycles?
“I started working as a young kid in the family business and grew with the business on the coast,” explains the younger Vander Zalm, adding that in 1982, he relocated to Kelowna to an Art Knapp location and ran Sierra Landscaping, a multi- dimensional business operation.
But by 2006, Vander Zalm was ready for a change
“I had decided I had had enough of landscape and irrigation — the contract side of the business,” he says, “Working with 100 employees, bobcats and trucks and everything else that went with it.”
Deciding to return to strictly a retail operation, Vander Zalm admits he didn’t want to work as hard as he had been, and he also wanted to enjoy more leisure time.
In the past, he’d enjoyed riding and, together with friends from Toronto, would travel annually to Daytona Beach for bike week.
Ironically, while preparing for Daytona in March of 2007, opportunity came knocking that would put him on a new, unplanned route to the office.
“A little shop, Okanagan Custom Cycle, approached me, and I looked at it,” he continues. “I went to Daytona, discussed the opportunity with my buddies during my play time down in Florida and took over the shop April 1.”
Teaming up with one of the busiest Canadian builders, George Tchor of Kreater Custom Motorcycles in Toronto, Vander Zalm decided to expand the brand with Kreater West.
Transitioning between industries has had its challenges, Vander Zalm admits, but he was “up for it.”
“You are still working with employees, professionals in the industry, buying and selling. All that was easy,” he notes. “Learning the motorcycle industry and the parts and pieces was the challenge.”
The business out west started with a staff of six and a 4,500- square- foot facility spread over two buildings, offering motorcycle service, parts and a small retail shop.
“Obviously, a big portion of our business is Harley- Davidson work from first service to restoration to customization,” Vander Zalm continues. “We are set up for performance work, we have a Dyno and our custom creations are mostly out of Toronto because of our talent base there.”
What began initially as a grand opening and celebration of his debut into the motorcycle industry has turned into an annual celebration of music and motorcycles, as well as a fundraiser for a local charity.
The all- day celebration, known as Ride and Rock, begins with a Valleywide ride and poker run, then returns to the shop for a barbecue and live concert.
“Putting the two together is a nobrainer,” he says. “My sister is a musician and just opened Blue Frog Studios in White Rock. I have grown up with rock ’ n’ roll, and riders love rock ’ n’ roll and motorcycles.”
Each year, local musicians warm the stage and get the crowd going. Vander Zalm’s sister, Juanita, has taken the stage with the locals for a few songs and then it’s time for the headlining act.
“The first year was with The New Odds,” he recalls. “The second year was with Trooper. The third was Kenny Shields and Streetheart. Last year was Kim Mitchell and this year it will be April Wine.”
With Vander Zalm’s business sense, he soon realized he would outgrow his initial space and began building his own shop.
By May 2010, in time for the annual Ride and Rock, a state- of- the- art, 15,000- square- foot facility was open for business. Featuring a mechanics shop, offices, retail and a parts/ service counter, it employs up to 14 people at peak season.
“I think we are now the largest, busiest after- market shop in Canada,” he says. “And I don’t think there is any doubt that Toronto is the busiest build shop in Canada building everything from $ 80K to $ 300K bikes.”
Kreater’s creations have been featured in motorcycle magazines and events across North America. The Jack Daniels motorcycle was the first custom build out west, but it is the build known as Insomnia that has special meaning for Vander Zalm.
“My chopper, we built it in 05/ 06 in the Toronto shop. It got called Insomnia because the tins, the frame, everything was picked up from paint at 8 a. m. and we worked through to 2 p. m. the following day — six of us, putting that bike together, wiring it, everything, pulling it off the bench, loading it into a trailer and then test rode it at bike week in Daytona on the beach. So the bike has a lot of meaning to me,” he says.
With the recent changes announced to the B. C. Motor Vehicle Act, I talked politics with the politician’s son. As of June 1, the province will no longer allow riders to wear beanies.
“What’s next? Are they going to tell me I can’t ride in a T- shirt? Where does it end? I appreciate the angle of safety but I have mixed feelings about it. If it saves someone, that is a good thing, but I don’t know where it stops,” he says.
Various municipalities, Kelowna included, have also taken steps to introduce noise bylaws that riders feel are specifically targeted at them.
“How many loud pipes have killed people?,” Vander Zalm asks rhetorically. “I can count three times my loud pipes saved my life. I think the cellphone issue is more important. Every time I pull up to an intersection, a driver is texting. There are more important things to worry about.”
As for his position on becoming an advocate of rider’s rights, he says, “If you want to back change, you have to get involved. If you want to stop change, you have to get involved. There are certain things you can fight, but governments will do what they have to do. We vote them in.”
The annual Kreater Ride and Rock takes place Saturday. Visit Kreater Custom Motorcycles Kelowna at www. kreaterwest. com and Toronto at www. kreater. com