Industrial concrete flooring, worn Persian carpets, a 70s Broadway-style lamp – if you think we're in a cool hipster apartment, think again.
STAHLWILLE Tool Experts is visiting Wrench Kings – one of the hottest customising workshops for motorcycles in the Netherlands. Joost Dingemans and Take Menick have made their dream come true in an old industrial building near Utrecht. Here, it is not only classic motorbikes that their owners thought were scrap that are experiencing a technical and visual renaissance – state-of-the-art bikes, such as the Royal Enfield Himalayan, are also given the treatment. The underlying objective is always to give the customer something that is absolutely unique that stands out from the mainstream. The necessary creativity is reflected at every turn in the workshops. For example, flowers and ivy are seen reaching upwards from old, cut-open motorcycle tanks.
Due to the high degree of individualisation, the demands made on Joost and Take are high. Whether it is a conversion to a café racer, scrambler or flat tracker, a purely visual enhancement or engine optimisation, the range of tasks and the very different motorcycles require considerable know-how and commitment to perfection.
"Very few of the bikes we get are brand-new," says Joost as he explains why their tools have to meet special requirements. Many of the gems they work on are older, the screws rusty and seized. They also have to work on their two-wheelers in the most awkward places – applying considerable force from difficult angles. It was clear to both early on that they would want to rely on STAHLWILLE as their partner when it came to tools. More than once have the well thought-out tools turned out to be problem solvers – and have worked their way to the top of the popularity scale as particularly robust aids. The workshop trolley they use (model 98 VA) contains original STAHLWILLE spanners, T-handle screwdrivers and the popular fine tooth ratchets. Joost is particularly enamoured of the 1/4" version 415QR N: "It'll give you access to any fastener, no matter how tight the space is. And thanks to the fine toothing, you need less movement to tighten the screw. For our purposes, where space is often restricted, this is the ideal solution. It couldn't be better."
But see for yourself why the Wrench Kings are convinced STAHLWILLE Tool Experts.