Motorcycle Dealership

Welcome to my Lego motorcycle dealership, that comes with three floors of motorcycle goodness, a fully accessible workshop for jobs of all sizes and most importantly for bikers everywhere, a cafe where you can get a good cup of tea.

Here is a little background to this MOC. I started building with Lego again after a thirty year break, following an accident at work that put me out of action for almost three months. What started as a bit of fun with a Technic motorbike to amuse me until I was fit enough to ride my own bike, has turned into a bit of an obsession.

That obsession has led me build this three floors of biker goodness. Starting at the bottom there is the workshop which comes with one ramp for bike repairs, a tyre fitting machine, a brake test roller and the big red tool boxes that every good bike mechanic has. The front has the main door and the first of the sales areas.

The middle floor has the main bike display area. Here the minifigs can look at shiny new bikes and quads, browse the clothing racks and even look at the latest developments in racing helmets. The big display at the back consists of a large structure with the latest in off road quad bike goodness, fixed at a jaunty angle to give a great point of sale experience.

On the top floor we have our excellent cafe, serving fresh food, hot drinks and all an awesome price! Our serving staff are polite well trained and make awesome coffee. After several espressos though, your average biker minifig may need to visit the toilet before squeezing into their new leather jacket. Luckily the toilet facilities are clean, come with modern wall mounted hand washing facilities and are disabled user friendly. For the younger human player, the area is also accessible through the side of the building, because even minifigs need to spend a penny!

Access to the building is super easy. The roof opens on two of the three sections and the whole building is constructed to open up, giving access to the lift and all of the areas inside. By making this model open up in this way, smaller hands can access all parts of the build for play. With plenty of windows, every floor is well lit, there are no dark shadows in this building. Minifig access is easy, every aspect of the build is designed to be open plan, allowing play for even the dedicated AFOLs.

The working lift has proved to be a challenge, but after several attempts, now works very well. I wanted this structure to be simple, easy to access and provide good visibility of the Minifigs within. The cranking handle on the roof is light action and the lift will raise and lower to all floors with ease. Windows provide a great view and the doors allow easy access. A printed panel inside would allow for buttons.

The curved panels give the building a modern look and provide plenty of light to see inside. The bike display is easy to access and bikes can be swapped about without difficulty. Strong coloured bikes work best, but a wide range of styles is essential. In this model I have used a mixture of Dirt bikes, street bikes, Quads and the old classic Lego bike. The wall mounted Suzuki badge on the top floor comes from my own custom built streetfighter bike, so there are actual real motorcycle parts used in this MOC!

Having visited my local main dealership, I feel that this is an accurate display piece. I estimate that the brick count is under 1000 pieces, having used many panels for construction. The use of several hinges allows for a strong structure that opens easily. The three baseplates slide easily on most surfaces and the smooth studless sections allow for a more authentic look to the workshop area. The tool boxes come complete with tools and there is plenty of room on the walls for further tool placement.

My aims for this set are for it to be as inclusive as possible. My choice of minifigs for the final piece would include mechanics and staff of both genders, because girls ride bikes too. I have also wanted to include space for disability (especially now that I am a disabled rider myself), as such wheelchair access has been modelled in too.

The size of the footprint of this model is thirty two studs along each side, but this splits in half and then into quarters as it opens up for play. When fully open, all of the doors are accessible on the front of the model, including the roller shutter door for the workshop. The lift is accessible inside the model and has room for one minifig.
 

Thank you for looking at my project, happy biking to you all.