Uh, yeah, I too have built a few. Uh, g, I hate to say this in that someone somewhere will take offense to it, however, saying it is a compulsion. You do not build choppers or bobbers. You build custom or modified bikes. A chopper or a bobber is a machine from which stock parts were chopped off or cut down to satisfy the fantasy of the owner and usually it looks really good.

Uh, Lucky, since I have'nt been irritating you lately, I'd like to say its great that you want to build a custom and I extend my ecouragement, although, you really need to be careful so you don't hurt yourself. Good luck.

Oh, something else, sure, at some point in time everyone evolves to the bike building stage, however, how original can it be when all the parts are someone elses creation? I have in the past, continue to do and intend to do in the future, build my own parts, tools and shop equipment. Why can't you?

Hey, whats killing us all now is the high price of parts created by people, many of whom, don't even ride. They see $$$ signs when they see bikes, or for that matter, any thing they envision as profitable. Parts? Hey, I checked out an online parts house in Phoenix. I went to mapquest, I called a friend over there and asked her to go check it out even better in that I thought the address was to an office building and my friend confirmed it. They're no longer in business, and no, they were'nt bikers either. They were just a few unemployed low level corporate types lookin to get rich anyway the could.

I was in a shop where I too buy parts for my bike and one guy was bitchin about not being to get through to a company to buy a gasket for a "super cool custom air cleaner" they manufacture and sell. I still don't know if he was able to get through or not, but, perhaps that should awaken us. We need to know where their product and parts are made and where they stock their parts before we buy the complete assembly and put em on our bikes.

Let your imagination go free. What can be designed to serve a purpose? Do it for your bike and let the "hustling cool" try and copy it. We're suppose to be doing our own thing not simply doing what salesmen tell us to do with our bikes by buying their products. Hey, perhaps we should start a new thing going such as running them stock until something needs to be replaced and then replace the part with the least expensive part of quality and only if we can't manufacture our own.

Hey, we can operate our own forge, foundry, machine shop and focus on one bike type at a time. There's a shop in FT. Worth, TX that focuses on Harley and YAMAHA heads, etc. Why Yamaha? They outsell Harley. We aren't buying all American when we buy Harley since a lot of their parts are manufactured in other places. Lets open up another area of interest and go with the top end of biker interest, Yamaha, Honda, Harley and custom parts. Indeed, engines will be problematic since the EPA will be breathing down are backs, however, that doesn't mean we can't manufacture better replacement parts the EPA doesn't regulate and that'll last our lifetimes.

Sorry, greed has to be kept out of this or we end up defeating our purpose. We can do these things and need to discuss them. I mean, after all, what are we, Americans or eunochs? Ok, lets hear it from you.

Yeah, not sure what he was getting at there. Some of what I understood I do agree wityh, but some I don't. Not everyone has the facility, skill or resources to manufacture all the parts to make a ground up custom, and I'm sure you don't machine you one engine case and cylinders. So whats the difference if I use off the shelf parts lake a tank and fender as long as I am creating a bike that I want!

Not sure what all the rest of that stuff is getting at.

AzRider, I woildnt lose any sleep over it. When I build a bike I use whatever I can find, old, new, used and hand made. No one has ever complained about what I built them or where the parts come from. Ibuilt this bike that way and it came out OK.

Sweet, you got that with you down there in Ecuador?

Whats going on lucky? No I shipped it to my brothers house in Mo. for safe keeping and so we can ride together when I visit the U.S.A. I have reopened Wizard's Cycle in Cuenca Ecuador, high in the Ande's Mountains and its really cool because there is no other Harley shop in the whole country. Harleys are very expensive here so I am just going to build one, alot cheaper and more fun.

This is what it looked like 25 years ago after one of its several face lifts. The kid is my oldest son Bob. He is almost 30 now. Wow does time fly!

Ok, I can see a little confusion. Yeah, you do use what ever you can find and thats what I'm trying to get across. I used SU carbs on a shovel, not because it was "cool" but rather cuz it functioned the way I wanted it to. It'd been a cold day in hell before I'd buy a "super cool" custom carb from "Super Cools's" super store when they don't have adequate parts for replacement and all I'm buying is puff (looks not function).

Hey, I'd did Harleys then and did so cuz they had parts when you needed them. If I could'nt find Harley parts then I went to NAPA and bought 283 Chevy plugs (J or UJ 12Y or 10Y (colder plug). If I could'nt find Harley parts I went to NAPA and bought Chevy big six points and condenser.

Hey, you don't have to be a magician to get handmade parts. If you can't do it yourself then go to a BIKER who can and have HIM do it. Hey, VET, you could be the best soldier on earth but if you can't get to the battle ground what good can you do? You need the Navy and Airforce to help out and when your become a biker you might need a little help from another biker. If you're gonna buy parts then buy a handmade part from a biker as opposed to buying shiney puff from a yuppie in a corporate office. Hey, they still do chrome plating in America, you want glitz? Have a plating shop give you triple chome plate. In other words, we all have our limitations and without working together we do nothing except give our $$$ to non-biking corporate types and spin our wheels.

Get the greed out? Hey Steve Jobs, may he rest in peace, built one hell of a business with teamwork and ran around barefoot on a salary of a dollar a week. Imagine if we did that with motorcycles.

Enough said, just git er done. You're dismissed.

DISMISSED?????????

I usually don't like trikes, but this one does the trick.
Nice work.

Hey, Primal, sure, why not?

I like what we have been seeing here, keep the pictures comeing. Its not that I only like customs it’s just what I grew up doing. I remember saying once, or twice, I'll never own a rattle trap, led sled bagger. Well guess what I am a little older now and put a lot more miles on per year than I used to. Those back rest and short windshield, stereo, hard bags and a smooth cruising engine... I think Im drooling, anyway where was I? Oh yeah but I still ride and build customs because it lets my mind relax and to me that’s what biking is all about. 
          

Yo, Primal, I assume you ment its what being a biker is all about. It really doesn't matter, I agree with you 100%. Keep on puttin.

My boys are both building bikes right now.

My boys putting my ride back together. My every day ride.

Blue haired kid is 23 and baldy is 12. Both have theor own project builds going as we speak.

BIGHYDRO wrote about 6 hours ago, Modified about 6 hours ago
My boys putting my ride back together. My every day ride.

Right on///, blue hair is making a comeback ,you know?

I built mine in 2010, no better feeling than riding one you built, best part was it was paid for when it was done.

I built mine in 2010, no better feeling than riding one you built, best part was it was paid for when it was done.

Yeah, forwards don't come cheap. I just found a set off of wreck out, and fabbed my own mounting brackets. Also extended the pegs an inch and a half to accommodate my huge feet. Also balances out the looks of the bike a little, since I have the huge tanks on their now.

My right side tank hangs well over my carb, but not so much that I can't easily reach the choke lever.