Deep in the heart of the East
Midlands lies a little town called Stapleford, which some of you may
have past through on your way to somewhere else. It’s that sort of town,
with nothing spectacularly memorable to note. Well that is until now! In
a little known location situated at the end of what appears to be
nothing more than an ordinary street, lined by ordinary affordable
terraced housing, (well as affordable as housing can be these days) is a
small industrial site. In the midst of this is GIA Engineering, a family
run engineering business - ran by Gavin and Anne Marie Goddard. If you
are into precision engineering for your two wheeled piece of artwork,
they are well worth a visit.
Gavin handles the engineering side of the business, while his wife, Anne
Marie handles the PR, Advertising and Marketing.
Gavin is a master of his trade and
has over 22 years experience in
engineering. His career began as an apprentice at nearby Spondon
Engineering, where he perfected his art. Working alongside and learning
his art from ‘Bob’ (arguably one of the greatest motorcycle engineers
ever) for the best part of 20 years, until he left in 2006 and set up
GIA Engineering in January
2007.
During his time at Spondon he perfected the art of engineering ‘all things bike’ specialising in 7020 aluminium frames and swingarms, customised streetfighters, single sided swingarms, repairs to racing motorcycles, swingarm bracing, Spondon-Marteks and general engineering and fabrication........ Who could ever wish for a better pedigree than that?
When it comes to his 'art' Gavin
takes pride in offering a truly bespoke service. Each frame made will be
unique...... Your dreams come true! From conception to completion they
will work closely with you, ensuring each detail is carried out
precisely to your requirements - and so creating the ultimate machine.
It’s not just frames though, oh no, he can pretty much make anything
that you could possibly want for your project. No job is considered too
large or small. Take the Kawasaki to the bottom-right for example. The
bike was built for the track about four years ago; the
customer bought a Spondon frame kit (which Gav made) had some fun with
it on track days, bought it to GIA Engineering earlier this year for
swingarm bracing and then reluctantly sold it this spring. He
recommended the new owner take it to GIA Engineering for modifications
to get it back on the road.
Take a look at the photos above, you will see the new headlight
mounting, designed so that the lights would be fully adjustable. The
lights that are mounted are not the ones going to be used, just dummies
to check everything works. The back plate to the seat unit has also been
made and the seat has been modified to accommodate the battery. Gav also
sorted out the new side stand.
As you can see from the photos, the quality of the work is exceptional.
His welding is the neatest work I have seen in a long time and will
guarantee a great look for your project. TIG Welding is central to their
business; their core clients require beauty in addition to strength.....
When they work on a bike project, whether it's a new aluminium bespoke
frame or motorcycle modifications to create a streetfighter...... they
strive to be the best! You can be assured that with over 20 years
experience Gavin will provide you with the highest quality welding that
money can buy.
Gav has all the contacts to handle every aspect of building a frame or
other fabrication, which enables him to build, paint, powdercoat or
polish to the desired finish, without having to trawl around different
businesses to get the job done.
GIA Engineering is certainly a name
you will be hearing more about in the future..... Keep an eye on his
website which is being worked on at the minute..... As they say “watch
this space”
The engineering workshop in Stapleford is halfway between Derby and
Nottingham - 5 minutes from J25 M1. For more information.
www.giaengineering.co.uk or call 0115 939 0660 / 07739 508 469.
