Prince George Vintage Motorcycle Club
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: KrisCarr on September 19, 2018, 08:34:39 AM
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As I near completion of my first custom motorcycle build I am finding myself thinking about other styles I want to build. maybe something steam punk inspired, or a zombie apocalypse enduro. maybe a pirate inspired thing with a sidecar made of s rum cask. Is this normal? do I need some sort of customizer rehab?
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You don't need rehab, but you will need to focus.
Potential projects is how you end up owning a huge collection of virtually scrap motorcycles all with a dream of "one day." New ideas come along faster than finishing projects.
I started my XS1100 trike project years ago. First it was just the donor bike which I stored for several years("stored" includes moving around and giving up shop space). Then I got a differential which was also stored. It lived variously in my garage and my in-law Pineview property. Last winter the project started in earnest with much fabrication being done. Spring and Summer always sidelines a major project with rider maintenance trumping a bike build (in my case this included a BMW transmission rebuild/fail).
I am gearing up to pick up where I left off. I just received a new steering neck tube which I am going to compare with the donor bike one I have been working with thus far. Once I determine which steering neck tube I will use, I can get back to fabricating the frame.
If you look at the time lines of some of my past builds, few have been quick. The Stolen Sportster was 5 years from purchase of the donor bike to completion. Focus waxed and waned, but in the end I have an excellent road worthy bike.
I think my fastest was the Suzuki GS650 Monoshock Conversion Cafe Racer which was the winter of 2011/2012 and almost made it to the June Show 'n Shine.
Stay focussed on finishing one (maybe two) projects at time. There has never been I time when there wasn't a donor bike out there at a screaming price with my name on it. There always will be. Let someone else store them for years until you want a new project.
Peace & Grease, Dennis
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I definitely hear your point and heed your warning Dennis. One at a time for sure. It's just really hard to quiet that voice saying "ooo you should try this!" or "this would be really cool!" What I find most attractive about the motorcycles is that everything is 1/4 the scale I'm used to. That includes price and time. For instance, the paint job on my car took two days and almost $500 in paint supplies. The paint job on my bike took 4 hours and cost about $40 in supplies. And while I'm not in the same customization. category us some of you guys modifying frames and such, I am really astounded at the transformation my rusty little honda has made in 3 short weeks. I think it's because I can put the parts beside my tool box and tinker on them during my coffee and lunch breaks.
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I went from this
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to this for $400 in under 3 weeks