Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126421
As one can see the man is not to be taken lightly. Joe Zappa says what he means, and does not want [0 be in· volved with those who plan to try and take advantage of him, "If a man treats me unfairly in my business dealings with him, I don't do what some others would and say 'I'll burn him the next time.' Instead, I'll write his name down so that I'll always remember him. If he e\Ier does come 'back and want a job done, I'll face him up front. aDd quote him a price three times what the job is worth. When be asb me why the price is 10 high, I teU him once for the COlt of the job, once for piIIiDg me off, and once for the COlt of the 1aIt job. There's been times I thrnr people out of here and the stuff tbey wanted fixed right behiud them." Joe grew up as a farm boy in Wiscon· sin, and then' found himIeIf going aouth to get a job with LocItbeed Aircraft as a mechanic. He then took a job with Delta Airlines as a mechanic and .tayed there for me years. He left the job when he disagreed on the manner in which the company was aer· "cingmrir~. ' "I have the same attitude now that I had when I ~ Delta in 1962. h just doesn't pay to do the job wrong. Some of these places don't have the time to do the job right the fmt time, yet have the time to re-do the same job over when the first job goes bad." Joe said. Zappa's Welding ~hen was formed, along with the Maico dealership which was purchased in J972. "Maico told me I had to buy $9000 worth of .tuff to get a dealership. I said 'Is that all I can get?' I bought fl7,ooo worth of stuff. I told those guys 'Hey, I'm for real'. " Joe said. During his Maico dealings, Joe designed the Zappa/Mako chainguards and also designed and produced a run of 5000 handlebars. In 1974 Joe phased out the Maico dealership and went to his present day business of Zappa Precision Welding. Zappa's life phil980phy can be summed up in one word-·unfaimess. Joe Zappa relates that word to his business, professional racing, and all of his social dealings with others. "It all comes back' to that word-· unfairness. If I see it happening, I try to correct it if it's in my power. It's even better to not let it happen in the first place. The first question I ask when someone comes into my shop is 'When do you need it?' If I can't get it done in time, I won't take it. That's unfair to the customer, and it's wasting everyone's time. "It'~ also unfair when people go up to f~ctory riders and their mechanics and ask them how to make their bikes go faster. The fact is that they don't know how to mue the production bikes go faster. The factory bikes are different. If you ask Keith McCarty about the factory bike he works on, he knows every specification there is. It isn't pan of their job to work on production bikes. "For the factory bikes, if something doesn't break, it means it worked. That doesn't mean the bike won't break the next time it's used. The tolerances used on the factory machines are different than the production machinea. The factory engineering isn't wrong. It just shows the difference between what the factory riders use and what you can buy from the .hop," Joe said. A. a former Maico dealer and tuner for his son Many, the Zappas were involved in motocl'Ollll to the point where Many became a professional rider. At that point Many quit racing. "It's no longer easy to win when you go to professional from top local. Again I believe it's unfair. Racing (Continued 10 page 25) E • ~. t In Britain, where a sunny day . appears as frequently as Haley's Comet, they make a riding suit so incredibly weatherproofit's the choice oftouring, ISDTand Enduro riders the world over. The classic Barbour International. Guaranteed 100% waterproof. Guaranteed 100% windproof. Guaranteed 100% thomproof. Wttha list of features as long as your ann. Yamaha is pleased to be the exclusive distnbutor ofthe Barbour International riding suit here in the NewW>rld. So ifyou want the best foulweather gear made, see your Yamaha dealer. And pick a nice, lousy day to do it ~ When)UU !mao hac they're built. Burbank YAMAHA _ MO~TESA STREET. OFF-ROAD. TRIALS. & MOTOCROSS ....w:.==_·79 We ship out of SUIte s..sW.~.hod. as......,. .......k,CA.ssetl Cycle News Want Ads do it MAICOPARTS MAIL O.RDER Engine Building DMG 213-S32~ 213-833-1301 23