Project builds, time frames, etc...

Member "Surffly" posted the following, and got me thinking this should have it's own thread...

surffly said:

Wanted to post about time frames on projects. While I know that some of my larger “builds” have taken many more years then I thought they would ever take, and some never got finished, I am always amazed to see what other people are able to accomplish in a set time frame. I am baffled and envious of threads that I see constant and steady work being done. Seems like in just a few weeks the owner is done and off enjoying their new bike. Have even watched people do this with bikes that I owned at one point. I always wonder what the magic ingredient is. Do these people have more money? Less friends? An amazing inner drive? Better tools?

For me personally I enjoy to putz around in the shop on a big project. Often in the time it takes me to finish one major project a million others enter and leave the shop. Have assumed that the added distraction of the additional projects elongates the major one. This might be true, it probably is.

I have never been a person to put a deadline on my stuff. When I started the Seeley I was talking to a number of friends and decided to actually shoot for the Mid Ohio event as a target to get the bike “done”. Being honest with myself I didn’t see it as overly realistic, nor did I really care to push to reach the goal. While someone could do this, I don’t think I can. That is not to say the bike will never be finished, but rather that it would not be complete in a few short months. I am juggling travel with a new job, and the rest of life.

That all being said I did view the Seeley in a different way. This is the first time I am starting a project in a location that I am settled. The rest where done while going back to school, changing jobs and just having my whole life in flux. I also overly complicate things by adding new projects on top of others and constantly distracting myself. This time was a chance to be different. First was that I didn’t have anything else to distract me. Actually I struggled to even find shop space to use. The assumption was that I would turn a new leaf and finally be one of those guys that just cranks though a project.

But alas I am not. This is not an admission of defeat, a cry for help or any of that junk. Just a simple observation along my Hipsteresk quest to play with vintage performance motorcycles. I go though times where I spend hours wrenching, working and making headway, then weeks with zero movement. It just kind of is what it is. No complaints at all.

This introspective came after a long few weeks of personal issues. My soon (well at some point) father in law had a stroke. While he is no where near out of the woods yet, he is stable. Him and I work in a very similar way. We both enjoy the time spent just doing stuff. We built a Lionel train set, fixed the deck and would go spend time shooting trap or target shooting. All of these things I gladly did rather then wrench on a broken motorcycle. It just reaffirmed my belief that all of this stuff should be above all fun.

Weather has broken and I brought my CB1100F up to Albany to be my daily mount. Had thought about selling it, but couldn’t give it away for what ever reason. So she stays and will get some use. I do have plans this week to get into the garage and hack away at the Seeley. Had some time quick last week to ease my fears of a twisted frame and what not. With some simple levels I feel that everything is inline with what it needs to be. Will get more detailed next time.

It is fun looking back a few months to when I thought I could just find a solid running bike an swap everything over a weekend….lol

I do want to also thank everyone that has PMed me with offers to help make or source parts. I have had some stupid questions, needed help with simple stuff and just not understood other things. Personally I love to just learn and such. Have gotten to talk to other owners and even Colin! At the end of the day I am having a blast and that’s the important bit.

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I can only speak for myself, but my project time frames have had five major phases in my lifetime:

1. 20-something in the Navy and owner of a small A/C business after getting out. I had plenty of time on my hands and only 1 kid, but not a lot of money. Concentrated on one nice street bike and a couple of dirt bikes. Projects involved repairs & maintenance more than anything else.

2. 30-something, owner of a computer business. Had less time on my hands, a bit more money, a new wyfe and another kid. Didn't do a lot of work on bikes, but slowly built a collection of classic Brit & Jap projects. Slowly played with fixer-uppers, nothing serious.

3. 40-something, got into commercial construction and made GOOD money. Bought some really nice bikes and lots of restoration parts, started restoring my collection. Late 40s, owner of a bike restoration business. Had access to great deals buying in lots for resale, bought a couple of nice bikes, picked up a few rare bits, built a couple of nice customs alongside client builds. This was some of the best times with regard to bikes, due to economy of volume. Projects got done pretty quickly.

4. 50-something, got into vintage roadracing and was turning out projects real quickly due to influx of client money and lots of volume buying and subcontracting paint, powdercoat, chrome work, etc. Fast project turnover and lots of the collection improved.

5. Now late 50s. Working a paycheck again with LONG hours. Adopted a special needs kid who has turned into a 60-pound triple-handful of 4-year-old BOY; This takes a LOT of my "spare" time. Projects have ground to a halt and NOTHING seems to get finished, although I've started a few neat projects lately. Also got stuck with having to physically move my garage, that is taking almost a month. Other commitments typical for a father of 2 kids and there is no way I'll be finishing projects in any "normal" time frame for the forseeable future.

As it is, I have 2 restorations in work, 2 custom builds, 4 ongoing refurb projects to finish, a dozen or so that need serious major tune-ups to get running, and you can see that I won't be doing any highlighted build threads anytime soon...

Right now I have all my bikes crammed into the old garage and shop along with 30+ years of household goods storage, bicycles, camping gear, Christmas decorations, cold weather dog habitat, etc. I can't get to any bike, shelf or bin without moving 3 other bikes, shelves, stack of boxes, or refrigerator.

Previous to the garage move, when I had a little bit of spare time, I would walk into my somewhat full but accessible shop/garage and would be OVERWHELMED at what project to try and work on. I'd think about it for a few seconds, realize there was no way I could realistically FINISH any individual task in the brief time I had, without getting a phone call, hollered at to come eat dinner, or untangle the 4-year-old from the 9-year-old in another knock-down / drag-out over a scooter or particular swing on a monster home-built playscape with FIVE swings, 2 slides, 3 ladders, a ramp, a trapeze and who-knows-what-else.

So, I'd just clear up tools I'd left laying around, stack some spare parts, toss out some trash/debris, and ATTEMPT to overhaul a carb or install an electronic ignition. Little by little, several different projects have SLOWLY (glacially slow) gotten more and more complete. One of these days I'll catch a break on a long weekend and complete a make-run, engine build, or whatever...

Here's a thought... Sell it all but two or three good ones and regain some sanity, you obviously wont have a museum, just a bunch of old bike parts piled high and a shitload of frustration... The best thing you can do IS let me bring a U-Haul truck and just haul it all away... Deal?? 8)

I've already cut down from 55 bikes to only 30. Recently, I decided I'll never have time to build another custom Norton Commando and Triton from parts already on hand, so I've given them up for sale on a "make offer" basis (willing to take a substantial loss). I've also been giving away a bunch of parts to long-time forum friends, and offering some to new forum friends when I see a need mentioned in a post. I would gift several more bikes to each of my older sons, but they have no place of their own with garages to store them, so what's the point there? In the almost finished garage move, I've let go of a pickup truck load of parts I'll never have a use for, and wouldn't be worth my time to try to sell on e-bay, what with having to pack and ship them, etc.

Another problem is, it's down to just a few bikes that don't hold any memories or meaning to me, no "stories to tell". Once those few are gone, it will get harder and harder to let go of some of the bikes that remain.

The way things look AT THE MOMENT, if nothing changes significantly with work, home and/or family, I'm probably looking at a year from now having a half-dozen trusty bikes to ride; of those, only 2 or MAYBE 3 will be kept registered and insured. Of the 2 restorations and 4 or 5 refurb / make-runs, I'm easily 4 years from completing them. That means at age 60+ still with two young kids at home, I could sell off another 20 bikes and have a decent 10-bike collection that I MIGHT get to ride 2 or 3 on maybe every other weekend and once in a while to work and back. I'm not complaining, but I wish things were different...

Sounds like organization is in order... do you have headroom to put up an 8' shelf to line bikes up peg to peg with room for a tote or three between each for parts? I had a friend do this and he made a basket for a cheap forklift with remote up/down lever so he could pull stuff down when needed. Also sounds like you also need a builder buddy, someone to motivate you and bitch back and forth to about how to do stuff... hire a kid to mentor and pay him a few dollars to help a day or two a month, lots of kids want to learn this stuff.

No headroom, and the structure wasn't designed to hold much more than the roof it's holding. It is overbuilt, but not multi-bike-bearing overbuilt.

I will have suspended platforms for numerous large rubbermaid tubs to keep all my restoration parts lots relatively dust and rodent nest free.

This garage move is prompting SIGNIFICANT cleanup and paring down, as it turns out.

No hope to have an apprentice, as I don't have TIME as it is!

The only local friend I have that is interested in classic bikes, is the guy that sold me my first Britbike, the '70 "Trophyville"; he doesn't have time to build his Indian chief, although he has the overhauled engine under his bed, painted frame hanging from the rafters, and parts from one end of his shop to the other.

I have created a similar challenge for myself over the last 5-6 years. For a long time I was a one bike guy, it was enough because I was also busy doing a different hobby. I haven't left that hobby but I've dramatically changed the amount of time I spend doing it.

I collected a few too many bikes because of craigslist and my own impulsiveness. It's like a hunt I guess. ( I did sell one though. )
Now with eight bikes in my garage and more or less 5 in my barn, and my Dad's bikes at his place, free time and picking the next moto-task is very different. I struggle with it. I try to prioritize any garage time with Dad, he going strong but getting up there in years. His Brit bikes are a whole different mindset in bikes to me but I dig them. I'm a fortunate man in that my wife accepts all of this under the condition that she and I both have a running bike each and at all times. And that is the only time I feel any stress about all of the above, is when I don't have a ready to roadtrip bike. I'm supposed to be working on my ZRX right now....

canyoncarver said:

I'm supposed to be working on my ZRX right now....

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I feel that. I'm somewhere in the middle of "unfixing" the mess I made with my original airbox & carbs. I had it to a point where it would go pretty well (145 indicated), then did something wrong and never could get it back to that point (or even close). New OEM airbox & carbs, starting over and need to tune the needles a bit...

I've had mine to 144 indicated and the only mod from stock is a K&N for the airbox. It's always been a strong runner. I have toyed with the idea of going jet kit, pods, etc but have not.

I have come to the conclusion that I can only work on one project at a time. Otherwise I dribble cash out to parts of several projects, and can not invest enough time and money to get any headway.
So sure, I may have a few "on deck", but I concentrate all my resources on ONE.

While the first few projects I did took a while. Now I realize that if I don't hurry up on projects they NEVER get finished or it takes years which is just too long. I enjoy going fast and gettiNg things done now.

I hate when I spend all day in the shop and I'm like I barley made progress. If i rush then my motivation increases and my quality of work goes up because I can get more done and do more mods etc.

Funny, I just posted something similar earlier. Maybe I should have scrolled a little further first lol.

My timeline is kind of the opposite of yours. In my teens and early 20s I lived at home and worked two jobs. Lots of pocket money for guitars and motorcycles. Restored two vintage bikes from the ground up over the span of 4 years. Mid 20s to early 30s I got married and had a child. Still worked two jobs but had a mortgage etc to worry about. Bike resto ground to a halt and so did riding for the most part. Managed to finish resto on a bike right before divorce. Early 30s to present (38) got divorced, had complete emotional and financial destruction that took some time to recover from. Now finishing school and starting new career (nursing) and wrenching and riding as much as possible.

I still don't get the time i'd like to work on stuff, nor have the money at the moment, but trying to change at least the money part. My CB350 project has been in boxes since October 2013, but when I get my nursing job (soon!) cash will be available to start the building process. I also work on my KZ750 whenever possible, that is when we're not riding.

55 motorcycles? DAMN! You're like the Jay Leno of DTT.