Ask anyone who has done some of their own wrenching, and you can almost be assured that they have a Wolfgang Publications “How To” book in their shop!  Tim Remus is the man behind Wolfgang Publications.  According to the company’s website, here is how it all began.  “Wolfgang Publications is the small company Mary and I formed in 1985 when I started to actually sell a few freelance articles.  Named after our German shepherd (now deceased), the company has evolved from the sale of freelance articles to the sale of complete books.  Those first years were pretty lean.  Without the additional income from Mary Lanz (my lovely and talented wife), our little company never would have made it this far.”

Tim recently told us that he always loved writing.  When he was in school, writing always came easy for him.  He started a magazine in the 1980s, but his big success came with the opportunity to photograph and write about one of the legends of custom motorcycles:  Arlen Ness.  From that time on, the books took off.  Something unexpected happened—they turned into “How To” books.  Some of these popular titles include:  How to Build a Chopper, How to Build a Cheap Chopper, and How to Build a Kit Bike.  Custom bike builder, Don Smith, also offers praise to Tim and says that his books are a valuable resource.  “Tim’s books give people an idea where to start,” Don told us.  As everyone knows, that information isn’t always common knowledge.

At Wolfgang Publications, Tim and his wife do everything!  According to their website, “We do the layout, pay the printer, do all the marketing, and hope at the end to make a profit.  The early Ultimate V-Twin series, the Jon Kosmoski Advanced Custom Painting book, the new Cheap Chopper and Bagger books are all our own publications.”  Where can you get these books?  Well, they are easy to find.  Tim writes, “Most of our books are distributed to the retail bookstores by Motorbooks, though we do sell direct through magazines and through our website.”  In addition to these books, they also produce two calendars:  a classic Triumph calendar and a custom Harley-Davidson calendar made up of photos of custom Harleys built by Dave Perewitz and photographed amid typical Black Hills scenery.  Recently, they also produced their first hardcover coffee-table book.  Triumph Motorcycles is based on ten years of photos taken for the annual Classic Triumph Calendars.  This book will be available through the website by the fall of 2005.  They also have a new book on advanced airbrush art, and the list goes on and on.

According to Tim, his life is great.  Being able to ride, photograph it, and write about it makes it all the more special.  What a job!  If you would like to learn more about Tim Remus and Wolfgang Publications, as well as see the selection of books that they have available for purchase, then give them a visit on the web at www.wolfgangpublications.com, or you can give them a call at (651) 275-9411.

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