If you’ve ever driven east on Alameda, before hitting Santa Fe Drive, chances are you’ve roamed by Threepence Motorcycle Shop. Wesley Case and Alex Krill have you covered for anything moto-related, from creating custom helmet racks, to oil changes, to scoring exceptional apparel. Wesley recently sat down with us to discuss all things Threepence.

All photography by Meg O'Neill

Wesley Case. All photography by Meg O’Neill

All photography by Meg O'Neill

Alex Krill. All photography by Meg O’Neill

303: What was your first motorcycle?

Case: My first motorcycle was a 1975 Yamaha XS 650 that I got from my first girlfriend’s dad when I was 14 or 15. I’d always be staring at the bike whenever I was over and one day before dinner he asked “You like that?” I said “Yeah!” “You want it?” “Sure!” “Alright, load it up in the back of the El Camino.” What’s interesting is he hated me, they were a traditional Hispanic family and I was the white guy and that was not a thing. I’m surprised it worked out like that.

303: Threepence makes custom helmet racks. Any favorites, any interesting stories behind them?

Case: I got a request from the CEO of Yamaha North America and made one for his office, so that was pretty rad. I made some for the higher-ups in Ducati, that was fun.

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

303: What’s one of your favorite pieces of clothing to wear?

Case: I really like black t-shirts. Commuter jeans from Levi’s. I have a cream and pink silk cowboy shirt, haha. I’m just a dude who’s dirty all the time who really loves motorcycles. I’m laid-back, I never wear white shirts because they only last about 20 minutes before they’re completely black with this line of work.

303: Tell me about the gear and apparel Threepence carries in the shop.

Case: The whole idea behind the retail space was to carry everything you couldn’t find anywhere else in town. All the stuff that people had to special order. Nowhere else sells Simpson helmets, Coyote Motorsports out by 50th and I-25 only carries one model, so we carried the full line. At the time, we were the only ones carrying Grifter Gloves in Denver. Same with Raen sunglasses, an amazing company out of San Diego. T-shirts, apparel, sunglasses, and gear is what we were going for.

303: A retail space in a motorcycle shop is a unique addition. What inspired you to build it?

Case: The motorcycle scene in Denver is so separated, you have the chopper guys, you have the cafe guys, and none of them ever really hang out or have a place to hang out. So we wanted to create a space where people could walk in and see the bikes being worked on, ask questions, see up close & personal what we were doing. We also built this lounge area so that even if you don’t want to buy anything, you can come sit down and have a beer with us. We made it a community space rather than just a business space.

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

303: What do you like about the moto scene in Denver?

Case: It’s very welcoming. Since the scene is a little bit segregated right now, you might get some hesitation if you’re on a different bike but it’s only for a few seconds and then the walls break down and we’re all on motorcycles and all out there for the same reasons, wanting the same rush and fun. It doesn’t really matter what you’re riding. Everyday that you meet a new person on a motorcycle, it’s a new friend.

303: Tell me about the name Threepence.

Case: I come from an Irish family and Threepence is an Irish coin. My brothers and I always had one as a necklace. So when I was trying to think of a name for the motorcycle shop, it’s what I kept coming back. The hare that I use as a logo is actually the front of the coin.

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

303: What inspired you to open up your own shop?

Case: I love motorcycles and I’ve loved working on them and building them. I was doing it so much in my garage that I got a shop, and started doing my own thing. Up until a year ago, it was a closed to the public, full-custom shop. I had a day job at the time and was pulling about 60 hours at both places until I finally switched to motorcycles full-time. I wanted to have a motorcycle shop that will work on anything, old or new. Alex came on board about a year ago and we decided to open up a shop that would be full-service, from an oil change to a ground-up custom motorcycle, full fabrication, anything you need.

303: Tell me about the illustration in your shop.

Case: I had a few friends try to make a logo and while they were really good, it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. My really good friend Josh from The Sneerwell makes artwork for their custom flasks so he decided to take a crack at it. A couple of hours later he sent the logo to me and I loved it, and that’s what we ran with. As far as the posters hanging on the walls it’s motorcycles shows that we’ve showed bikes at, or races that we’ve been in.

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

If you have any motorcycle questions on your mind, or simply want to drop by and say hello to Wesley and Alex, head to Threepence Motorcycle Shop and check out what they’re up to.

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

 

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill

All photography by Meg O'Neill

All photography by Meg O’Neill