Anyone into custom bike building?
Discussion
Just wondered if anyone is into custom bikes such as Bobbers and Choppers.
Closest I got to was buying a basket case WL45 Harley and rebuilding it. Wanted to build a bobber from it but found out it was a rare 1945 WL45 Civilian. One of the first built after the war so hadnt the heart to cut it up.
Love the look of the Exile custom bikes but if I had one Id want to ride it as much as possible so front brake and mudguard (albeit as small as possible) would be needed.
Anyone had one custom built or bought one from the USA? what did you start with? Was it one of the kit bikes or a cusotm frame build?
Would be good to hear.
Kev
evolutionvalet said:
Just wondered if anyone is into custom bikes such as Bobbers and Choppers.
Closest I got to was buying a basket case WL45 Harley and rebuilding it. Wanted to build a bobber from it but found out it was a rare 1945 WL45 Civilian. One of the first built after the war so hadnt the heart to cut it up.
Love the look of the Exile custom bikes but if I had one Id want to ride it as much as possible so front brake and mudguard (albeit as small as possible) would be needed.
Anyone had one custom built or bought one from the USA? what did you start with? Was it one of the kit bikes or a cusotm frame build?
Would be good to hear.
Kev
I've just bought a 1200 Sportster off Ebay, at a pretty good price. I reckon I might take the spanners and cutting torch to it over the winter. (which appears to start in August now)I've been into hot rods more than bikes the last few years but my last bike was a Yam SR500 that I 'bobbed' by cutting off the rear frame, lowering the seat, extended the swing arm 3", and a bunch of other little things that you don't really notice unless you are familiar with the SR500. It doesn't exactly compete with 'American Chopper' for wild looks, but was fun to do.Closest I got to was buying a basket case WL45 Harley and rebuilding it. Wanted to build a bobber from it but found out it was a rare 1945 WL45 Civilian. One of the first built after the war so hadnt the heart to cut it up.
Love the look of the Exile custom bikes but if I had one Id want to ride it as much as possible so front brake and mudguard (albeit as small as possible) would be needed.
Anyone had one custom built or bought one from the USA? what did you start with? Was it one of the kit bikes or a cusotm frame build?
Would be good to hear.
Kev
Yeah that looks fun......I really want to get back on a bike now as it has been 3 years since I sold my last one. A mate of mine is looking to buy a new Harley, and I am tempted but really hanker after a custom......have you seen the stuff Flyrite Choppers are producing? They have some lovely bikes but the cost to import and then SVA issues are putting me off. Also as soon as you mention custom the price seems to be above £20k and I would hope to be able to build one from a kit form for less.
I love the look of this one...
Would love to own something like this.....
Either a 1200 Sportster engine or an S&S motor would be great with a Baker 5 speed with kickstart....
evolutionvalet said:
Yeah that looks fun......I really want to get back on a bike now as it has been 3 years since I sold my last one. A mate of mine is looking to buy a new Harley, and I am tempted but really hanker after a custom......have you seen the stuff Flyrite Choppers are producing? They have some lovely bikes but the cost to import and then SVA issues are putting me off. Also as soon as you mention custom the price seems to be above £20k and I would hope to be able to build one from a kit form for less.
I love the look of this one...
Would love to own something like this.....
Either a 1200 Sportster engine or an S&S motor would be great with a Baker 5 speed with kickstart....
I love the look of some of the custom bikes, but im not sure i'd fancy riding that one . Where is the front brake ???? I love the look of this one...
Would love to own something like this.....
Either a 1200 Sportster engine or an S&S motor would be great with a Baker 5 speed with kickstart....
evolutionvalet said:
Yeah that looks fun......I really want to get back on a bike now as it has been 3 years since I sold my last one. A mate of mine is looking to buy a new Harley, and I am tempted but really hanker after a custom......have you seen the stuff Flyrite Choppers are producing? They have some lovely bikes but the cost to import and then SVA issues are putting me off. Also as soon as you mention custom the price seems to be above £20k and I would hope to be able to build one from a kit form for less.
I love the look of this one...
Would love to own something like this.....
Either a 1200 Sportster engine or an S&S motor would be great with a Baker 5 speed with kickstart....
That is nice. I've toyed with the idea of putting a springer front end on my Sporty, but early days yet, got to see how well the rest of the bike hangs together.I love the look of this one...
Would love to own something like this.....
Either a 1200 Sportster engine or an S&S motor would be great with a Baker 5 speed with kickstart....
I'm definitely an 'old school' type of guy. I like the stuff Paul Senior does on American Choppers, rather than the gimmick 'theme' bikes the young Paul throws together.
evolutionvalet said:
Yeah that looks fun......I really want to get back on a bike now as it has been 3 years since I sold my last one. A mate of mine is looking to buy a new Harley, and I am tempted but really hanker after a custom......have you seen the stuff Flyrite Choppers are producing? They have some lovely bikes but the cost to import and then SVA issues are putting me off. Also as soon as you mention custom the price seems to be above £20k and I would hope to be able to build one from a kit form for less.
I love the look of this one...
Would love to own something like this.....
Either a 1200 Sportster engine or an S&S motor would be great with a Baker 5 speed with kickstart....
if thats your style have a look at krazy horse customs in suffolk I love the look of this one...
Would love to own something like this.....
Either a 1200 Sportster engine or an S&S motor would be great with a Baker 5 speed with kickstart....
http://www.krazyhorse.co.uk/
Edited by bimsb6 on Wednesday 6th August 14:29
KrazyHorse do a lot of great bikes and are not far from me but they are expensive.
Boneshaker Choppers in Bromsgrove are a decent company who are producing some decent rides if you like Old School.
I like this one
Sold as in the picture for £14500 the good thing Ilike is it can be ridden like this or you can tweak it as you want. They use Flyrite Choppers kits from Texas.......
Flyrite is the company I have been looking at to buy a kit and they can sell you a rolling chassis which is tempting....;)
Boneshaker Choppers in Bromsgrove are a decent company who are producing some decent rides if you like Old School.
I like this one
Sold as in the picture for £14500 the good thing Ilike is it can be ridden like this or you can tweak it as you want. They use Flyrite Choppers kits from Texas.......
Flyrite is the company I have been looking at to buy a kit and they can sell you a rolling chassis which is tempting....;)
Undecided as to whether I should stick a Harley motor in a frame or try an Englsh piece of iron from say a Triumph?
Some look great........I guess there will be arguements for and against though...LOL
Has anyone had a bike built for them?
I rebuilt the WL 45 which took a while but building one from scratch is a bit of a difference.
Dont want to end up selling a half built bike due to lack of knowledge.
Any advice or tips?
evolutionvalet said:
Undecided as to whether I should stick a Harley motor in a frame or try an Englsh piece of iron from say a Triumph?
Some look great........I guess there will be arguements for and against though...LOL
Has anyone had a bike built for them?
I rebuilt the WL 45 which took a while but building one from scratch is a bit of a difference.
Dont want to end up selling a half built bike due to lack of knowledge.
Any advice or tips?
A 1200 Sportster motor in a Norton frame.... Some look great........I guess there will be arguements for and against though...LOL
Has anyone had a bike built for them?
I rebuilt the WL 45 which took a while but building one from scratch is a bit of a difference.
Dont want to end up selling a half built bike due to lack of knowledge.
Any advice or tips?
]Sporton? Sportson? Snortster? Nortster?
Had a FXE 1200 (fave bike of all time) and modified it quite a bit then later on had an ironhead XLCH which I hardtailed and modified with wheels, 6" overs, mudguards, apes, paint etc. It came out really well and even got a thumbs up from Uncle Bunt
The cheapest way I can see to do it is to import a Shovel from the states, they're as cheap as anything, then strip it and rebuild as you fancy. The Shovel is the last real Harley and sounds way better than an Evo IMO (I had a twin cam FXDWG and never really took to it)
There was an auction on the net of ex Mexican cop Electras last year and they were going for as little as a couple of grand, they were pretty beat up though, ex cop auctions might be the way to go here......I'll have a nosey
The cheapest way I can see to do it is to import a Shovel from the states, they're as cheap as anything, then strip it and rebuild as you fancy. The Shovel is the last real Harley and sounds way better than an Evo IMO (I had a twin cam FXDWG and never really took to it)
There was an auction on the net of ex Mexican cop Electras last year and they were going for as little as a couple of grand, they were pretty beat up though, ex cop auctions might be the way to go here......I'll have a nosey
lots of places are now providing custom kits, e.g. Scorpion (www.scorpionracing.co.uk) near london, and any good custom bike shop will be able to work with you according to a budget.
Here is an interesting take on a Harley, not custom, but will definitely get some looks and turn heads, IMO, of course.
http://www.hogbitz.com/for_sale.html
In all honesty, your options are endless, you just need to make up your mind about what you are trying to achieve, and go to some shows and custom bike shops, talk to the owners and get their opinion, they are all genuinely interested in helping, but an important word. Go to places that know their bikes and engines, as you can very easily choose and engine, and end up with problems. Most good bike places and owners will offer experienced advice. You should use that to your advantage.
Here is an interesting take on a Harley, not custom, but will definitely get some looks and turn heads, IMO, of course.
http://www.hogbitz.com/for_sale.html
In all honesty, your options are endless, you just need to make up your mind about what you are trying to achieve, and go to some shows and custom bike shops, talk to the owners and get their opinion, they are all genuinely interested in helping, but an important word. Go to places that know their bikes and engines, as you can very easily choose and engine, and end up with problems. Most good bike places and owners will offer experienced advice. You should use that to your advantage.
evolutionvalet said:
Yeah that looks fun......I really want to get back on a bike now as it has been 3 years since I sold my last one. A mate of mine is looking to buy a new Harley, and I am tempted but really hanker after a custom......have you seen the stuff Flyrite Choppers are producing? They have some lovely bikes but the cost to import and then SVA issues are putting me off. Also as soon as you mention custom the price seems to be above £20k and I would hope to be able to build one from a kit form for less.
I love the look of this one...
Would love to own something like this.....
Either a 1200 Sportster engine or an S&S motor would be great with a Baker 5 speed with kickstart....
found this thread by accident so sorry for hijacking it! Benny at Boneshakers built the bronze bike above, they are the U.K dealers for Flyrite parts but builds loads of other cool stuff from pans, 45's, shovels and sporties. they did some work on my old panhead and are really cool guys,I love the look of this one...
Would love to own something like this.....
Either a 1200 Sportster engine or an S&S motor would be great with a Baker 5 speed with kickstart....
I reckon you would be looking at around 13 grand for a bike like the bronze one but don't hold me to that!, have a look www.boneshakerchoppers.co.uk they do frames and chassis packages too if you want to build your own.
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