Bulldog Custom Choppers 17575 HWY 123 South Seguin, TX 78155 866.372.0906 Toll Free 830.372.0906 Local

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Sunday, January 20, 2008 | Serving Seguin and Guadalupe County since 1888


Building a Wild Ride

By Ron Maloney
The Gazette-Enterprise

Published July 19, 2007

GUADALUPE COUNTY — Motorcycles are like anything else. There are the ones everyone with the purchase price can get — the ones on the dealership floor.

Of course, each one looks like untold thousands of others just like it, which is a little underwhelming in a sport built of iconoclasts and individualists.

But a few lucky folks who want one built their own way can go to Bulldog Custom Choppers south of Seguin on State Highway 123, pull up in front of the “Redneck Parking” sign and go inside to see Ted and Sabrina Klietz and their partners, Blake and Michelle Saengerhausen.

Both couples are long-time motorcyclists who enjoy working on and even building their own motorcycles, and that’s how they came to start Bulldog Custom Choppers in a work bay of Country RV, the business the Klietz’s have owned for more than six years.

“We’re bikers, enthusiasts ourselves,” Sabrina said. “We decided to do it initially because we were continually building bikes ourselves, and we wanted to get dealer prices.”

But Ted and Blake, riding their custom choppers built out of Yamaha and Honda cruisers, found folks loved the bikes. And Ted, watching television reality shows that have made media stars out of motorcycle fabricators on both coasts, came to realize he could do much the same thing — and do it for a lot less without a glitzy New York or California lifestyle to support.

“Blake and I watched ‘American Chopper,’ and said, ‘We can do that!’” Ted said.

And what they’ve done is built a business where they’ll help a motorcyclist who wants something special create their dream — and do it within a budget dictated by what they can spend.

“We decided we wanted to do it for everyone else,” Sabrina said.

Don’t go out to Bulldog Custom Choppers if you’re looking for someone to change the oil or tune up your Road Star bagger or even your Fatboy softail.

It ain’t gonna happen at Bulldog — unless they built your bike.

“We service what we build and the things we sell,, but that’s not what we’re about,” Ted said. “We don’t want to work on anyone else’s bikes. We build motorcycles — realistic customs people can afford.”

His wife, watching him adjust a set of handlebars, agreed.

“We’re building bikes you can ride,” she said. “But if you buy bars or parts from us, we will install them for you.”

Right now, in addition to their own machines, Ted, Blake and their old ladies have three custom-framed choppers in progress. One has a Harley Davidson “Evolution” engine, while the others are an S&S and a Rev Tech — three of the mainstay motors of the custom cruiser industry.

None have buyers yet, but that’s just as well for Ted — because he gets to build them the way he wants to.

“This is going to be my first ‘flame’ paint job,” he said, fitting bars to the S&S.

There are three or four different ways Bulldog will help someone build a custom bike.

One, you can buy one of Ted and Blake’s creations. The second is they’ll build your concept.

Those bikes, based on whatever model motorcycle you bring them, could run you somewhere in the $20-$25,000 range — half what a similar big-name custom prices out at and similar in price to many of the mid-and higher range Harleys.

A second way is Bulldog will sell you a “do it yourself” chopper kit where you — assuming you have mechanical skills and at least basic sheet metal fabrication expertise — can bring a crate of parts home and build it yourself in your shed or garage.

“The kit includes everything except the paint, gas and oil,” Sabrina said.

Those price out in the mid- to upper teens, she said.

The third way is to buy whatever custom parts you want al a carte and install them yourself to individualize your own motorcycle.

“We have some parts in stock, but not too many because every motorcycle is different,” Sabrina said. “But we have a large catalog of parts and equipment. If it’s out there, we can get it for you.”

Ted and Blake build their stuff by hand with hand tools. They have no hydraulic presses or benders. They stretch and form tin the old-fashioned way, with a ball peen hammer and a pair of tin snips.

“We watch for new tools, but we’re kind of ‘old school,’” Ted said. “Everything we do, we do by hand.”

And that’s how it was with the custom Yamaha 1100 V Star that Ted dropped three inches, stretched the tank, added a wild custom rear fender to — with a teardrop taillight formed in.

But it’s probably the red paint Ted’s most proud of. He’d rather not remember how many coats of paint it took or how long the project was.

But the paint, a marbleized finish covered with multiple clear coats, is a real eye-catcher — and gets lots of comments.

“All my uncles, my dad and my brothers are painters,” Ted said. “I never thought I’d get into it, but now I have. I’m starting to experiment with flames — not the Mickey Mouse pinstriped ones, but real, air-brushed flames. I think I can do it.”

Sabrina has all the confidence in the world, nodding at Ted’s bike.

“It turned out exactly as I thought it would,” she said, smiling proudly. “Look at it: I call it the ‘Gangster.’ It’s not just a motorcycle — it’s eye candy. I just love it.”

And so, she said, do other folks, who comment on it whenever Ted rides it.

He acknowledged it gets quite a bit of attention.

“It’s nice,” he agreed. “It’s really gratifying because we built it."

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