Banker’s Hobby: Rebuilding Bikes
Jerry Orem and one of his restored motorcycles.
By: Isabella Zarate
An array of motorcycle parts sit neatly tucked in their respective spots. Tools, license plates, and bolts clutter the counter, but in an organized way.
Three bikes, an old corvette and a red 1954 Ford pickup truck take up most of the ground space. While the plywood walls host a number of racing and automobile posters.
This is Jerry Orem’s garage.
Orem is the president of Hendricks County Bank and Trust. He’s a banker for his day job, and a biker in his spare time.
With his kids having flown the coop, Orem was looking for new things to occupy his time, and thus he decided to get into restoration - that was nearly ten years ago.
Though motorcycles and the act of tinkering are not completely new to the banker, in fact they’re reminiscent of his youth.
“My older brother, when he was probably 13 years old, was hanging around at a Yamaha dealership, and they kind of took him under his wing,” Orem explained. “I learned from him.”
Aside from the extra free time, what really kickstarted Orem’s hobby back up was a worn, red F-250 given to him by his step-father. Once the project was complete, the work didn’t stop there. Instead Orem picked up a 1972 Honda CL 350.
Having worked on motorcycles as a kid Orem wasn’t a stranger to mechanics, but he wasn’t a pro at them either. But with the help of Youtube, and instruction manuals he was able to figure things out. Plus the problem solving aspect was something he dealt with a lot in his career.
“Banking is pretty logical and pretty linear. . . and so are mechanical things,” Orem said. “They only go together one way, and when they go together right, they work right.”
The ‘72 Honda was the banker’s first project bike as an adult, and for that it’s one he doesn’t plan to part with. However it’s not the only motorcycle in his shop, standing next to it is a blue Yamaha 175, which Orem shared just showed up at his house from a customer. And next to that is a partial bike, which is essentially just a frame. These are two that Orem plans to sell, simply to free up space in his garage for his next bike, which he’s hoping will be less of a project and more of a ready to ride deal.
The motorcycle Orem has in mind is a 2025 Honda Transalp. He referred to it as an adventure bike.
Speaking of adventures, though he loves the challenge of working on things, he enjoys the ride too. One of his favorite rides overall was a three day off road trip he took with a few friends in June.
“That was a blast. We were out in Colorado. We started just north of Denver in a place called Lone Tree and drove through two or three mountain passes. . .It was fun.”
Locally he most enjoys fall rides, especially down Cartersburg Road, due to all the twists and turns.
“This brings me so much relaxation and enjoyment,” Orem shared. “It's so different from sitting at a desk and working on a computer or talking to a client. It's a totally different mindset.”
