J&P Cycles featured on ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’

A team from J&P Cycles pitched in to rescue two vintage dirt bikes in just four-and-a-half days to aid an Iowa family whose farm was being refurbished for the hit ABC television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” The episode aired Friday.

“Four-and-a-half days to rebuild two bikes sounded impossible, and if you’re trying to do this in your garage, it’s not realistic,” said J&P Cycles ecommerce merchandiser Patrick Garvin, who was heavily involved in the effort. “Luckily, we have a lot of knowledgeable, dedicated people at J&P Cycles, and they made it a reality within that crazy time frame.”

The episode was taped last October in West Union, Iowa, an hour-and-a-half drive from J&P Cycles’ headquarters. Producers called J&P shortly after discovering two vintage motorcycles in the barn that they were renovating on the farm of Audrey Gibbs and her six children. J&P dispatched a team immediately to pick up the bikes, and they arrived to find two Kawasaki motorcycles, a 1981 KZ750 and a 1980 KZ560, engines dead and parts lying next to them on the dirt floor. They loaded both into the van and headed back to the shop at J&P Cycles, where this Extreme Makeover: Motor Cycle Edition transpired.

The J&P Cycles crew spent four-and-a-half days and nights and overcame numerous obstacles to get the motorcycles back into tip-top shape. Rock star Bret Michaels, who was the lead vocalist in the band Poison and the winning contestant on the NBC reality television series Celebrity Apprentice 3, made a trip to J&P to help the staff put the finishing touches on the bikes and take them back to West Union, where they were part of the TV show’s show-ending surprise for the Gibbs family.

Check out a special section on the J&P Cycles website that includes additional footage and details on the motorcycle overhaul here.