Church to help longtime Dayton businessman get bikes out of the brush

A Kittanning church is going to help a businessman rediscover hundreds of motorcycles overtaken by weeds on property outside his shop in Dayton.

Kenneth Knestrick, 81, has been collecting motorcycles and selling them for parts through his business, Knestrick Cycles, for about 30 years. While the collection grew, his health failed, and weeds and other plants took over the bikes he kept in a field outside his shop.

On Oct. 4, a youth group from Harvest Community Church, armed with gardening tools and trash bags, will help Knestrick clean up and inventory his collection, which he estimates to include about 500 motorcycles of nearly every make produced between 1970 and 1990.

“I’ve got one foot in the grave, and the other foot is on a banana peel, so it’s time to figure out what I’ve got buried out here,” Knestrick said.

Pastor Dave Lusk said at least a dozen youth group members, ranging from 13 to 18 years old, will move the motorcycles and clean out the overgrown weeds and debris.

“It’s been a few years since anyone has gone out to help him, but we’re trying to teach our youth group that when people need help, we should always be willing to lend them a hand,” Lusk said.

Knestrick’s love of motorcycles began in 1953. He needed an inexpensive way to make his 3-mile commute from his parents’ Brownsville home to a construction site, so he bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He worked construction jobs until 1980, when he bought a farm in Dayton and tried raising livestock.

“There wasn’t any money for me in the farm business,” Knestrick said. “I was in my garage when I decided to go into the motorcycle business.”

Knestrick and his wife, Emily, started Knestrick Cycles in 1986. He built a shop next to his garage two years later. He bought most of his motorcycles at police auctions throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland, often snapping them up for pennies on the dollar.

Most of the motorcycles he would sell for parts, although he would occasionally fix and resell them.

Knestrick stopped going to the auctions and fixing bikes in 2002 when his wife died.

“My wife ran the place so I could go to the auctions,” Knestrick said. “The day after the funeral, I sat down in my shop, looked around, and realized I’ll never live long enough to get rid of all of this stuff. I haven’t bought a bike since.”

But Knestrick has gone into the shop every day since and still handles several calls a week from people looking for old parts. He never thought about getting the weeds cleaned out until several months ago, when Armstrong County Commissioner Dave Battaglia paid a visit to his shop.

Battaglia told Knestrick the History Channel’s “American Pickers” was considering a second visit to Armstrong County, and that he would suggest they visit his shop. American Pickers never stopped by, but that was OK with Knestrick.

“I wasn’t too interested in the Pickers,” Knestrick said. “But Battaglia was real nice. He offered to get the church group out to help me clean up. And that was all right with me.”

Although Knestrick has back problems and doesn’t walk as fast as he used to, he still likes to get on his Harley Davidson — only now he’s traded in his two-wheel motorcycle for a trike.

Business has slowed down, since most people rely on the Internet to buy their parts now, Knestrick said. Still, he has no plans of stopping.

“I’m semi-retired, but I’m going to do this as long as I can. Motorcycles are what I love,” Knestrick said. “I figure I don’t have much time left, so I like to get out on the road and kill some bugs as much as I can. There’s nothing like it.”

Brad Pedersen is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-543-1303, ext. 1337.

, or bpedersen@tribweb.com.

Church to help longtime Dayton businessman get bikes out of the brush