Earlier this summer when the sign at the former Tuxedo Junction announced Twisted Iron Customs was coming, it might have sounded like a metal sculpture studio.

But then came the motorcycles.

The business that opened July 22 on Route 1 across from Ames Supply does it all: repair, custom-painting, building whole bikes, roadside assistance and consignment.

“And you would not see a more dedicated bunch,” said Greg Williams of Auburn, one of the mechanics.

According to Williams and fellow mechanic Darron Pierce of New Gloucester, the first thing to understand about owning and riding motorcycles is that it's not a hobby, it's a lifestyle.

Both men have been riding since they were teenagers. Pierce used to ride with his father, an antique motorcycle salesman who died in a motorcycle accident in 2009.

Until Pierce joined Twisted Iron Customs, he was running his own shop. He's seeing a much higher work volume at the Wiscasset business, he said.

In just weeks since the opening, the business has already had more work than his shop would have seen in an entire season, Pierce said.

“It's been great,” owner Michael Benner of Friendship said. Locating in Wiscasset can draw business from the Brunswick and Damariscotta areas, and from traveling bikers using Route 1, he said.

An open house featuring rock band No Guts, No Glory is planned for Sunday, Sept. 1, from 11 a.m.to 5 p.m., Benner said.

Twisted Iron Customs' seven employees are all longtime motorcycle owners and riders.

The business is allowing them to work with and meet others who share their enthusiasm for bikes, and for working on them.

“I like to take a bucketful of stuff and turn it into something useful,” Pierce said.

Twisted Iron Customs is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The phone number is 207-687-8023.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or susanjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com