Al Vangura

Home: Clairton, PA
Age: 66
Profession: "Semi" retired master machinist
Married to wife Dee who’s ridden many cross country miles two-up with Al
Children: Three sons, one daughter. Six grandchildren
Miles ridden: Lots
Longest ride: Pittsburgh to Alaska round trip two summers ago on a highly modified R100GS/PD
First bike: 1941 Harley EL Knucklehead
Current bikes: K100RS, R100GS/PD, R80 G/S, K100 powered custom sidecar rig (under construction)
Total bikes owned over the years: Too many to remember
Most interesting bike owned: A BMW 2002 engine powered custom trike

Al and Dee Vangura have spent most of their married life in Clairton, Pennsylvania. The town sits on the west side of the Monongahela River about fifteen miles south of Pittsburgh. This was once a lush river valley cut deep by one of the few north-flowing rivers in North America, and home to many Native Americans, one tribe of which gave the river it’s name. Early in America’s industrial era this river was dammed in a number of locations, had railroads laid along both shores, and giant steel mills built on its banks. Most of the mills are silent; huge rusting memorials to a past age. The town sits on a hill with two or three steep roads running down to the old mill sights on the river road. Priests and pastors share the faith in the town’s many churches on Sunday and their parishioners still work hard the rest of the week, though not in the long closed mills. Bars in care worn buildings now keep regular hours, though once they bustled at 7:00 AM giving sustenance to workers on their way home from the night shift. Clairton is a town clinging to the coat tails of the 20^th century as it moves ever faster away from the era when it was built, trying to keep meaning in it’s existence, and somehow succeeding against the odds.

Twenty five years ago Al and John Vangura , young journeymen machinists working in a local shop, found themselves fabricating parts off hours for the Bettis Atomic Laboratory. In an age when coke ovens and blast furnaces were the stuff of working men’s lives, the quality and precision demanded from the Bettis Labs, a facility that Westinghouse had built to design reactors for Admiral Rickover’s nuclear Navy, were welcome challenges to the Vangura brothers. Soon the Vangura Tool Company was opened, and it still operates today at the same location, turning out precision hardware for many customers, not just the Navy’s nuclear reactor development facilities. Al and John were soon joined by their younger brother Joe, and sister Maryann. Over the years sons, nephews, and neighborhood kids have worked in the shop, welding and machining parts for test reactors that helped Admiral Rickover, the demanding genius of the nuclear Navy, create history. Al and Maryann, have recently retired from Vangura Tool, but the other two brothers still run the shop which is located one block off the main street, across from the town high school.

What’s this have to do with BMW motorcycles? Lots. Al has been riding bikes since his teen years. Starting with a ‘41 Knucklehead that was bought "well used" he’s owned and ridden more bikes than he can remember. The old Harley soon gave way to Triumphs and other British Twins. During Al’s Triumph years he and some riding friends bought an old bus from the local transit company, had it set on blocks, stripped of it’s wheels and drive hardware, and turned it into a bike repair "shack." The rear door was modified into a ramp, a stove heated the place in cold weather, and for years it was a focal point for local bike enthusiasts. This "bike shack" became the model for Gary Smith’s "Shack Pack", a local BMW maintenance club that’s now in it’s tenth year in Pittsburgh.

Al credits Paul Stanton for enticing or teasing him into switching to BMWs nearly 30 years ago. Paul and brother Leo are still active members of the Four Winds BMW Riders in Pittsburgh, and several witnesses report following Paul (or is it Leo) while he donned a rain suit "while" riding! Around 1970 Al finally had been teased enough about his Triumphs that he bought a wrecked ’64 R60, got it running, and has always owned at least one BMW ever since. His next bike was a ’74 R90S on which he went to the second MOA National rally. More long trips followed and Al became very interested in touring. Soon a BMW "Special" was purchased and fitted with fairing, home installed speakers and radios and all the amenities available. Other full touring R bikes followed on which Al and Dee traveled thousands of miles two-up. On one of those early trips Al met Ross Baker, also from the Pittsburgh area, and a founding member of Four Winds. Al and Ross have traveled many miles and shared many adventures over the years. Some time back Ross had a heart attack from which he’s since recovered. But, to get Ross back on bikes after that event, Al helped Ross put a Velorex sidecar on a Honda Rebel and that was Ross’s riding rig for a number of years. Last year Ross, with Al’s help, upgraded to an R80RT – Velorex rig with leading link front forks.

In 1983 Al became something of a celebrity in BMW circles when he showed up at the first Missoula National with custom built, BMW based, trike. The engine was from a 2002, the frame and suspension were hand crafted, the clutch and transmission were stock /7 components, and the tank came from a /6. The front suspension and rear drive-suspension-brake setup were marvelous, custom fabricated parts. Keith Dempster came up with a special award for Al for that bike, and the Lt. Governor of Montana was one of Al’s passengers during the rally. Today the front end of Al’s trike can be seen in the motorcycle museum at Bob’s BMW.

When you’re around Al, it’s obvious from the tattoo, his sometimes expressive language, a cigarette or occasional his beer, that he’s got a "colorful" side, some of which probably came from his years as a machinist in the Navy. Yet, when you see him with his grandchildren, or understand that he and Dee redid their home to accommodate Dee’s aging parents, or listen to his choice of music in his home shop, you realize that there’s a reverent side to him, a part of his life that runs very deep. Some years ago he and Dee moved New Mexico. They joined a religious community and Al set up a machining business. This was, in part, a reflection of their deep Catholic faith. Yet even there, Al’s creative streak came out. Sister Iliana, a Cuban born nun in the local parish had dogs that she dearly loved. And she had many calls to make in the community. Al put a sidecar on a Vespa, rigged some netting over the passenger compartment, and "Sister" putted all over town, wearing her nun’s habit, calling on families, accompanied by her dogs.

A few years later the Vangura’s returned to Clairton. Al continued in business with his brothers and sister, he and Dee raised their four children, grandchildren came, and, over the years, many more motorcycles were bought, modified, and ridden. Al’s also become something of a local legend over these years because of his ability and willingness to repair and modify folks’ bikes. Stop by the Vangura home/shop on many evenings or Saturdays and you’re likely to see someone’s bike waiting for Al to straighten a wheel, weld a bracket, un-bend a fork tube, machine heads, or to make an unobtainable part for a vintage bike.

Several thousand BMW riders have Al to thank for making their bikes more comfortable or easier to maintain and they don’t even know who he is. Back in 1991 Al was riding on a club outing to the AMA Museum in Columbus, Ohio on his K-1. Lots of interstate miles on I-70 got Al to wondering what could be done to relax the load on his throttle hand. When he got home he put the idea he had into machined form by fabricating a friction knob which mounted on the end of the handle bar by the throttle grip. The home engineered device worked very well. Soon local club members were asking him to make one for them and Al realized there might be others who would want one as well. He made two samples and, at an upcoming rally, showed them to Bob Henig, who was nationally known for supplying parts for older BMWs and was just launching a dealership. Bob liked what he saw and offered to handle all marketing and sales for the devices. Henig coined the name "Wrist Rest", started advertising them nationally, and since then has generated enough orders to kept Al very busy at night and on weekends. Other parts have been added to the product line including "Barbacks", upper triple clamps, and foot peg relocation adapters.

Rat Race Auto and Cycle, a company Al formed when his efforts outgrew hobby status, is run from the family home since Al retired from Vangura Tool. The basement and garage are almost totally taken over by lathes, drill presses, milling machines, cutoff saws and compressors. Al’s daughter and son are part time employees. Now, in his "retirement" Al puts in a full day making Wrist Rests and other hardware. And he still makes a lot of his time available to help local BMW folks fix their bikes. Sometimes folks from several states away seek his help too. Elsie Smith rode in the 1997 Iron Butt with a custom auxiliary gas tank Al made for her K100RT. Bob Higdon recently had Al fabricate a high strength rear sub frame for his R80GS.

Al’s enthusiasm for motorcycling, his devotion to his family and faith, and his willingness to use his well developed machining and design skills to help BMW riders, reminds anyone who knows him that each of us can make the world a better place by sharing who we are and what we do, freely, with those around us. So, the next time you dial in your Wrist Rest on that long trip, pause for a moment to consider what you could do to share something of yourself with someone else to make their world a little more enjoyable. That’s the best way we can say thanks to Al.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions about this feature, please contact Jeff at dunklej@bellatlantic.net.