Bike designer wins welding competition

The winner of the first students welding competition shown at this year's Carson Valley Art Association sponsored Carson Valley Art Show at the CVIC Hall in Minden was Hiroki Hervin,16 and is going to be a junior next year at Smith Valley High School.

He was awarded a first prize ribbon and a check for $150. The CVAA is hoping to make the welding competition a yearly event with even more entries next year.

The people attending the event loved the bike and it became the center of a lot of attention, a truly remarkable and fully functional piece of artwork.

This bike was completely designed and hand built by Hervin. The motivating factor was from Orange County Choppers. Hervin wanted to build his own bike from scratch. The first build was an old school concept style motorcycle. The engine came off a woodchipper 5 hp Briggs & Stratton.

The second motorcycle, Blue Lighting, is a design refinement. The design was first drawn out in concept then a small model was made to visualize it in 3D. The frame was modified from a wrecked 10-speed mountain bike; the frame was made from 1-inch black pipe from a hardware store. All of the welding was done with a Mig welder and an Arc welder. The engine came from a pressure washer bought on ebay. The drive train is No. 35 chain with jackshaft to a 60-tooth sprocket welded to the rear wheel gear cluster. The front and rear rims are 26 inches. The fenders were modified from a beach cruiser bicycle. The lights run off a generator attached to the rear wheel. The brake is a center pull mechanism on the rear rim. The bike has four coats of Ocean Blue Metalic paint. The bike was clocked at a top speed of 60 mph.

Hervin started welding about three years ago in his shop class in high school. He continued to learn from his dad, Kurt Hervin, and a friend of his, Oyd Higgins, who is a journeyman welder.

The most difficult thing learned so far is how to control the heat so the sheet metal (chain guard) does not warp.

Hervin likes welding because, "When I weld and make a mistake I can always fix it." he said.

In the near future Hervin plans to build a Trike with a 16 hp V-twin motor. He plans on continuing his welding studies and go to college and get a degree in welding. His dream is to become a professional bike and car builder.

Hervin's creation is for sale for $1,500.