SIK Werks

Seattle’s Motorcycle Painting and Restoration Center

Over the years, numerous paint and body shops for motorcycles have come and gone, making it tough on dealers and individuals to know where to go next when one closes its doors.

Photo: Ken Moi and Brian Marier with a few gems painted at SIK Werks

In June of 2008 with the recession well under way, several such shops shuttered their doors and that’s when Brian Marier and Ken Moi made their move to open SIK Werks in Seattle’s University Village neighborhood. The duo had 30 plus years of experience behind them in painting and repair work and the time was right to make a go at it on their own. Since then numerous shops and insurance companies have retained their services with good success and their business is growing at a steady pace.

SIK Werks, aka Seattle Innovative Kustom Werks, opened for business with one goal in mind - to bring high quality bodywork and paint repairs to a growing population of riders in the Seattle market. Dedicated exclusively to motorcycles and scooters makes SIK Werks the only shop in the Seattle metro area specializing in body and paint repairs for our two wheel customers. Plastic, fiberglass or metal: if it can be repaired, they can fix it.

The shop itself is nothing fancy. No multi-million dollar build-out, just a simple place where the job gets done right and on time. Inside the former furniture repair shop you’ll find a prep area, spray room and sand blasting area. Their arsenal features plenty of tools used to straighten, repair, restore and paint bodywork back to its original condition.

The pair can match virtually any paint color or create one together with a customer based on their specs. Their selection of paint mixing swatches goes from present day back into the 1960s making it a good place to take in a restoration. They’re also adept at blending and matching to paint chips.

Before and After: This BMW arrived with some scuffs. Rather than repaint to original spec, the pair peeled away the original decals (note left panel on the left), picked up on the lines of the bike and created what some may think is an undiscovered BMW model. Sometimes simple is better.

Working with plastic bodywork is an art in itself. Moi has spent hundreds of hours perfecting his style of repairing cracked plastic so it won’t crack in the same place again. Several years ago plastic welding looked like the answer, but Moi has figured out more reliable methods that work better. Missing a tab on your bodywork? Moi can re-create a new tab where the old one was so the fit comes back together like new during re-assembly.

It only takes a few minutes with Marier and Moi to realize these are two of the nicest guys in the business you’ll ever meet. Their easy-going attitudes, sense of humor and on-the-level approach puts a customer at ease the minute they walk through the door. Onsite estimates can be scheduled in advance and are available during regular work hours.

But for those adept riders who want to tear the parts down at home and bring them in to enjoy a savings on labor, that’s perfectly fine, too. Simply bring over the parts and the job gets done.

Stuff happens and that’s why anyone who gets paint work done receives a small bottle of touch-up paint should they need it later.

Today SIK Werks is the go-to paint shop for Ride West, Moto International, Vespa Seattle, a number of insurance companies, motorcycle training schools and many individuals. It’s good to know that today we’ve got a pair of pros here in the Puget Sound with a dedication to motorcycle paint and bodywork.

SR/Fall 10

For more information visit the SIK Werks website at: www.sikwerks.com. You can call the shop directly at 206-297-1363.