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Back in 2013, I rode a Harley-Davidson Switchback across the US. Or at least, most of the way across the US, crossing from Canada into Detroit, heading to Ohio and then south, reaching Georgia; then turning west and heading all the way to Flagstaff for Overland Expo, then riding home through the Rockies and the Great Plains. It was an amazing trip; I rode everything from little Appalachian goat paths to the long desert highways of the southwest, straight through scenery from John Ford westerns. I saw the Grand Canyon, rode past Gettysburg, saw Monument Valley, and visited Roswell, the Very Large Array, Valley of Fires and the Lincoln County memorials in New Mexico. All standard Americana stuff! But I also made one stop that was well off the usual Great American Tourist Trap route: I rode about a day out of my way to visit Duluth, Minnesota, to see Aerostich headquarters.
(If you don’t know who Aerostich is, the best way to explain it is: A company that exists to make motorcycling better. Although Aerostich sells a wide variety of products, it’s best-known for its riding suits made in-house since the 1980s).
I had hoped to meet Aerostich founder Andy Goldfine at the Duluth HQ, but it was the Memorial Day weekend, and as I was a clueless Canadian and unaware that it was a holiday in the US, I’d foolishly scheduled my visit on a Saturday, and Andy was off doing something else (probably riding his motorcycle). Instead, longtime employee Lynn Wisneski took time out of her long weekend to give me the factory tour, and she even let me take a lot of photos of equipment and manufacturing processes that at that time were top-secret. The plan was to write it up when I got home to the east coast of Canada… but somewhere along the way, the photos went missing and the story never ran.
Sorry, Lynn!
Now, a decade later, you can get much the same tour that I did, but from the comfort of your Monday morning cubicle¦
Satisfying stuff, and some electronic ASMR music would make it perfect…
If you ever get the chance to make it to Aerostich HQ in person, it’s well worth the trip, even if you’ve seen this video and have a rough understanding of how the manufacturing process works. Aerostich employees can size you for new gear, or sell you factory seconds, or you can save your money and just enjoy the quirky storefront. Find them here, a couple of blocks off the Lake Superior waterfront.
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