Long-time racebike engine builder and tuner Rick Matheny is closing his Hoschton, Georgia shop, RM Racing, and taking a new full-time job outside of the motorcycle road racing industry.
“I got a real job,” Matheny told Roadracingworld.com Tuesday.
A former racer, Matheny has worked with riders Michael Barnes, Josh Day, Matt Lynn, Tony Meiring, Melissa Paris, David Weber, Santiago Villa and several top teams during his career. In 2014, he was the Crew Chief for Hayden Gillim, who won the 2014 AMA Pro SuperSport Championship while also racing in several CCS and WERA events.
“Being a one-man shop, when I’m away at the races it just wasn’t working like it should,” said Matheny, the 2014 AMA Pro SuperSport Tuner of the Year. “And I’ve faced that for a couple of seasons now. So I’ve been looking for something. Something good came up, and I’m going to give it a go.
“I’m trying to reduce my stress level, as well. I’m trying to be nicer to my heart. This year was a lot of work, but it was a lot of stress, too. So I’m trying to minimize that.
“Right now, I’m still working on getting some engines done, some customer stuff I took in before this came up. I’ll be around. It’s just time to move on.”
Matheny’s new job will require him to relocate, so he is looking to liquidate most of his shop’s equipment, including a Dynojet Model 200i dynamometer, work benches and Snap-on hand tools.
Anyone interested in contacting Matheny can do so through his shop’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/RM-Racing/105445202819819