So You Want To Be A Custom Bike Builder?
Start With A Motorcycle Kit!
By Michael Holmes
So you want to be a custom bike builder? Well friend, before you
rush out and buy that motorcycle kit, the one that will set you
on the road to riches and fame, stop and think about the level of
expertise and artistry the top builders have attained. More
importantly think about how long it has taken them to attain it!
Let’s look at a few key issues…
Education
You’d be surprised how well educated a lot of today’s top bike
builders are. Several of them have degrees (some more than one!)
ranging from mechanical engineering to business and marketing
management. Billy Lane, the founder of Chopper Inc, has several
patents relating to motorcycle technology in his name for
example. What about someone a little more “old school” like Dave
Perewitz? Dave has accumulated close to forty years of
mechanical, metalworking and painting experience. Not
theoretical, but genuine hands on, early morning late night kind
of experience. Could you put that kind of time in? Matt Hotch is
still only young, but has gained an incredible amount of
practical experience customizing first bicycles, then VW’s before
moving on to custom bike building.
Facilities
These guys are building choppers and custom bikes that are state
of the art. They don’t get thrown together in the yard; the
motorcycle shops have all the tools and equipment required to
produce almost anything out of metal, not just bikes. Just as
important are the other services these builders use; the local
chrome platers, machinists, painters and so on. These guys have
just as important a part to play in the construction of these one
off bikes as the designer builders themselves.
Desire
All the top custom bike builders live for one thing; building the
best bikes they can. They literally live eat even dream about
custom bikes (and looking at some of the more way out creations
you can totally believe this from the designs they produce!) They
are constantly striving to build bikes better. Its not about
money for the top guys, I am convinced of that.
So where does that leave Average Joes like you and me? Actually,
I don’t think we are too badly off; in fact if you want to build
a custom bike, it has probably never been easier. Here’s my take
on it….
Education
There is an unbelievable amount of information for the guys who
want to start down the road to custom bike building. Videos,
books websites, all of them help to flatten the learning curve
for a novice. Most of the material out there relates to
motorcycle kits, and for the beginner, building a motorcycle kit
is definitely the best way to go if you want to get real hands on
experience. After that there are motorcycle maintenance courses,
which again will allow you to get up to speed as fast as possible
in your quest to become the next Arlen Ness!
Facilities
To put together a shop like the ones you see on television costs
thousands of dollars. But you don’t need all that stuff if you
start with a motorcycle kit. Motorcycle kits can be put together
with some pretty basic tools, providing they are of good quality.
Two things that are an absolute must in my opinion though are a
torque wrench and a basic lift. With these two tools, you can
tighten the motorcycle kits fittings correctly, and not break
your back while you are doing it!
Desire
Well this is one area where you can match the pros, no question.
If you really want to be a custom bike builder, start doing it
for fun and put your motorcycle kit together.
We can’t all be Billy Lane, Eddie Trotta or Russell Mitchell, but
we can have a lot of fun trying!
Michael Holmes is a enthusiast for all thing motorcycle. His
website,
http://www.motorcycleparts-accessories-andmore.com , is a
great resource of articles aimed at motorcyclists of all levels,
including a page specifically about the motorcycle kits resources
available online.
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