The word "voodoo" usually conjures up images of sacrificial poultry and tiny dolls with needles sticking in them, not chopped and dropped digger-style custom motorcycles. But calling his custom chopper shop Voodoo Choppers made perfect sense to Eric Gorges of Rochester, MI. "I've always been superstitious, and I thought it was a cool name for a shop," Eric told us.
Eric first dabbled in the custom motorcycle realm as a youngster, when he resurrected an old ironhead Sportster from the dead. After he saw what he could create out of metal with his own hands and elaborate imagination, the idea of owning a custom chopper shop popped into his head, but for years it would remain just a dream. Then, after overcoming a life-changing event, Eric took it as a sign that life was too short to sit idly by, working a corporate job that didn't bring him happiness. Since he always enjoyed working with his hands, especially when it came to motorcycles, and with several years of experience apprenticing under master metalshapers Ron Fournier and Fay Butler, it just made sense for Eric to combine his two passions.
So with the white-collar spell broken and the needles lifted, Eric followed the inclination that his hands were the keys to his happiness and surrendered his 500-square-foot garage to the chopper spirits, churning out badass bikes and handcrafted parts. After a year and a half of working in the cramped quarters, his sacrifice and dedication paid off, affording him the opportunity to move into a new 2,500-square-foot building. Since that time Eric has surrounded himself with every piece of equipment and machinery possible so he could extrude his metal-plagued imagination to the masses. It has been his metalshaping talent that's helped him catch the attention of some influential people in the custom motorcycle industry who have assisted him in storming into the public eye.
For example, Eric's skilled metalwork led Ron Finch to call on him to build the frame for Ron's Biker Build Off (BBO) bike (see HOT BIKE, Vol. 38, No. 5), and Indian Larry had Eric fab the oil tank for his BBO bike. Then all the BBO work snowballed into Eric scoring his own competition against Cory Ness. However, Eric's latest jump into the public masses is touring the country with the Hard Rock Road House Tour (HRRHT).
If you're not familiar with the HRRHT, then you must be a new reader to HOT BIKE and our sister publications, STREET CHOPPER and HOT-ROD'S BIKEWORKS. Last year we tagged along as the tour hit some of the major rallies. Between the mags we covered the events and featured the four bikes built by Roland Sands, Jesse Rooke, Doug Keim, and the late Johnny Chop.
For you newcomers, the HRRHT is put on by the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL, and is led and organized by Carrie Repp of R&R Promotions. Among its sponsors are S&S, Baker Drivetrain, Performance Machine, and HOT BIKE. The idea behind the HRRHT was to create a traveling rock 'n' roll party that would stop at major bike events, set up a huge tent and stage, and display custom bikes from four of the hottest bike builders in the industry. Party-goers hang out with the builders, ask questions, party like rock stars, and watch builders burn a tire to the ground every now and then.