What’s better than a motorcycle under the tree on Christmas morning? Maybe a 13-foot tree itself made out of bike parts. The Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee has commissioned award-winning custom bike builder Dave Cook to create a Christmas tree out of mufflers for the hotel’s lobby.
To give the tree some authenticity, the hotel is looking for mufflers with a history. So if you have a rusty, dented or discarded muffler and a story to tell, send it in and the hotel will enter you into a drawing.
“We’re looking for straight slip-on mufflers, any make, any model and the older the better,” said Tim Dixon, owner of The Iron Horse Hotel. “Dents and scratches are welcome and a story on the muffler history would be great.”
To make it worth your while, the hotel will enter all donations into a drawing for the following:
Grand Prize: The Iron Horse Hotel™ Muffler Package
$1,000 package includes:
Two-night stay in a Custom Deluxe guest room with oversized shower (King or double Queen); two 60-minute massages; complimentary motorcycle storage or valet parking; dinner for two or in-room dining ($100 value, alcohol not included); $100 tab at Branded bar; check-in bag complete with The Iron Horse Hotel skull caps, sun screen and lip balm. Based on availability
2nd Prize: $250 gift certificate to The Iron Horse Hotel for all goods and services (gratuity not included; rooms based on availability)
3rd Prize: $100 tab at Branded, the hotel’s lobby bar
The tree itself will be a dramatic structure hand crafted from 287 mufflers by Dave Cook of Cook Custom Choppers. Dave has won numerous bike building competitions and has been the top-placing American in both the 2007 and 2008 World Championship of Custom Bike Building. The Milwaukee native has built motorcycles for such famed owners as Jay Allen, founder of The Broken Spoke Saloon, and his builds have appeared on many magazine covers.
Entries should include the entrant’s first and last name, mailing address, phone number and email address. Straight, slip-on mufflers and stories should be shipped to the following address:
Cook Customs
1400 E. Belleview Place
Milwaukee, WI 53211
ATTN: “XMAS MUFFLERS”
Once received, all mufflers and stories will be registered and a confirmation email acknowledging your entry into the drawing will be sent. All mufflers must be postmarked by November 15, 2008. Winning entries will be selected by random drawing on November 18, 2008, and winners will be notified by certified mail before November 30, 2008.
Designed with riders in mind, The Iron Horse Hotel features everything from covered motorcycle parking, rag bins and an on-site bike wash to check-in carts for transporting saddle bag contents, custom in-room hooks for hanging leathers and motorcycle shipping and receiving.
“The Iron Horse Hotel is all about an experience and this give us a chance to make bikers a part of the story,” said Dixon.
