Get both engines started

Don’t let the grease under their nails fool you. The motorcycle mechanics at Choke don’t just pull wrenches but shots of espresso, including lattes with perfect rosettas in the foamed milk.

And why not? They’re from Bainbridge Island, off the coast of Seattle, where espresso isn’t just appreciated. It’s high art.

That’s why owner Jeff Johnsen invested in a fancy-pants espresso machine when he opened his vintage motorcycle repair shop on Normal Avenue in Los Feliz in January, and why he spent two months working on the perfect roast with the Pasquini brothers, of the fabled downtown espresso company.

“If you know what a choke is, then you get the shop,” Johnsen said, sitting by the ancient cash register, fiddling with an old moped carburetor. “We fix bikes that have manual chokes ... choking is cutting off the air and revving it up, which is what caffeine does.”

In a fenced-off area just outside the building is the shop’s main purpose: A handful of cadaverous motorcycles await resuscitation. An ancient Honda CB200 looks most in need. Its headlight is dangling between the fork tubes, and the back end is missing.

Considering the levels of caffeine and testosterone circulating at Choke, the vibe is amazingly low-key at this motorcycle shop/espresso bar. It feels less like a business than a friend’s garage.

One local in a Moto Guzzi T-shirt was tapping away on his laptop, a drained cup on the table before him. “This shop has single-handedly rekindled my interest in riding,” he said. “It makes me want to fix my old bike up.”

-- Susan Carpenter