Published: June 26, 2009 12:41 pm      

Ties that bind | Ex-Johnstowner reminisces about riding days

By TOM LAVIS

TLAVIS@TRIBDEM.COM

The rumble of thousands of motorcycles during Johnstown’s Thunder in the Valley is a sweet sound to Becky Kodges of Baltimore.

The “potato-potato” sound of a Harley-Davidson is an instant reminder of the blessed union between she and her late husband, Steve, who made motorcycling a big part of their 34-year marriage.

Steve Kodges succumbed to cancer in 2006, but not before he had a chance to enjoy Thunder in the Valley festivities.

Having the memories of riding the open road on a variety of motorcycles has sustained Becky Kodges through the past few years.

“With God’s goodness, we got to return to Johnstown on our beautiful Heritage Softail and rode in Thunder twice before his death,” Kodges said.

Kodges knew what she was getting herself into as a teenager when she first fell for Steve. The pair grew up in Johnstown.

“I was 16 and our first date was in January,” she said. “He picked me up on a Honda 350 motorcycle and we went to the top of the Inclined Plane and I loved it.”

They were married less than a year later and found themselves the proud owners of a 1949 Harley-Davidson Panhead Hardtail that Steve bought from a friend for $700.

On their first ride, the frame cracked and rendered the bike useless.

What happened next changed Kodges’ life and was the glue that bonded she and Steve together.

“Steve knew of a guy in Windber who knew all about motorcycles who could help us,” Kodges said.

It turns out that the guy was the late Felix Predko, a name synonymous with custom-built motorcycles and a factory-trained mechanic who worked for Zepka Harley-Davidson from 1940 to 1962.

“We went to his house one evening and he agreed to help us rebuild it,” Kodges said.

“I remember Felix taking us upstairs in the garage and showing us King Kong.”

King Kong was created in 1949 when Predko came up with a notion of combining two motorcycles in one. The project took four years to complete.

It is equipped with bullet-shaped taillights recycled from a vintage Cadillac, twin 1,200-cc engines, a stereo radio for the rear passenger and two scuba tanks that hold compressed air to power deafening air horns that are loud enough to shatter windows. It is now on display at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.

“Every night when Steve got home from working at the car shop as a certified welder, we’d head out to Felix’s to build our chopper,” she said.

“I was 17 and sat on that dirt floor cleaning parts and helping until that exciting day when we were able to start her up.”

The couple started with a new frame, and built it literally from the ground up under Predko’s watchful eye.

“All the while, he (Predko) would testify to us about God,” she said.

The chopper was equipped with a king and queen seat, a chrome front fender and a bag for tools and extra oil.

“The engine was noted for leaking oil, as most Harley afficionados know,” she said.

“I sometimes had to push Steve on that old Panhead on many cold mornings so he could catch it in gear on Brookside Way in Geistown, where we lived with Steve’s dad, before he went to work at the steel mill and me at Bestform.”

The smell of Felix’s garage lingers in Becky’s memory.

“I loved the smell of the oil and grease at Felix’s garage,” she said.

“I will never forget his patience and knowledge in helping us finish the chopper. I didn’t have children for two years because Steve and I wanted to ride every chance we got.”

The couple, who eventually had two daughters, moved from the Johnstown area to find work and settled in the Charles Town-Harper’s Ferry area in West Virginia.

Their love of motorcycles and for each other was not lost on their daughters.

“They were completely and totally dedicated to each other,” said daughter, Amber Perkin, 34, who lives in Charles Town.

During her school years, Perkin said her parents focused on working and raising a family.

“They weren’t able to have a motorcycle, but when I was in college, Mom surprised Dad with a Sportster and that reignited the spark to ride in both of them,” Perkin said.

“When they upgraded to the Heritage Softail, it became dad’s pride and joy. He always was shining up the chrome and oiling the leather.”

The Kodges were free spirits, changing houses more than 20 times over 30 years.

“We would fix one up and then sell it,” Kodges said.

Five years before his death, Steve was working as a construction supervisor building stores for Home Depot, Staples and Toys R Us.

“Since I was on disability for my arthritis, I was able to travel with him often while he worked,” Kodges said.

Kodges is attending Thunder in the Valley this weekend and will ride with a friend, and Jim and Stephanie Ramsdorfer of the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

When Steve learned of his cancer in 2005, Becky sold a house to raise money to convert their Softail into a trike.

“Steve was my very own Evil Knievel,” Kodges said.

“He always would say it doesn’t matter what you ride, it’s if you ride.”