About Us

Who is Mantis Choppers, Inc?
Mantis Choppers, Inc. is comprised of three owners; yes this is another father-and-son team, and a new twist, an uncle in the mix. They own another successful business, Precision Plus Machining, Inc. It is their machine shop's growth and vitality that has allowed them to pursue their passion: Motorcycles!

The idea for Mantis Choppers, Inc. had started one sunny day spring day in May. They started looking at custom choppers, varied makers and were completely astounded by the price of these bikes. So, over a cup of coffee, they decided that they would start building custom choppers at an affordable price. They already had the machine shop and would not need to farm out work for the custom bikes, not only their passion but a great fit for their shop.

 

Why Mantis for a name?
They chose the name Mantis because when they first started their machine shop seven years ago, there was a mantis sitting on the shop floor, and when they moved to the location they are now, there was another mantis on the door to the shop. One of the shop owners said he had noticed how the Praying Mantis almost has the same lines as a chopper and thought that would be a cool name for a chopper company.

Mantis Choppers, Inc. is registered as a manufacture with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the SAE. That means to our customers that our motorcycles conform to Federal Safety standards for highway use, and we are registered with Kelley Blue Book.

Bret "Grizzly" Baumann
One of the Owner / Partners in Precision Plus Machining, Inc. and Mantis Choppers, Inc. He has an extensive background as a mechanic and metal fabricator, master welder and machinist. The guy with a bad temper. If the shop is a mess or deadlines are close, he will growl.

 

"Uncle" John Bortner
One of the Owner / Partners in Precision Plus Machining, Inc. and Mantis Choppers, Inc. He has a varied background as a mechanic and Master metal fabricator, and Master machinist. Uncle John was a machinist for a company that made parts for the Space Program. Uncle John is the easy going factor in our shop, he helps keep things calm.

 

Wayne "The Motivator" Baumann
One of the Owner / Partners in Precision Plus Machining, Inc. and Mantis Choppers, Inc. He has an extensive background as a Master Mechanic, metal fabrication, and Master Machinist. Wayne oversees the work through the machine shop and makes sure that it gets finished in a timely manner. He also keeps the books for both companies.