JustinLonghorn
No Purple Hearts, No Blue Ribbons
Wow. I can definitely dig it.
91' nighthawk brat/cafe never seen this before
- Thread starter mrwolf
- Start date
TheJester
Been Around the Block
There is no way anyone would believe this is the same bike, if you had the before and after pictures side by side. I just ready your build thread, Lots of great fabrication, it turned out ten times better than I could have guessed. Congrats on building something great and so unique from a very uncommon platform. Simple and clean. I love it!
mrwolf
live fast die young
TheJester said:
thanks man. thats very kind of you. i've got to give credit where its due and all fabrication was done by my friend geoff of http://etcustomcycles.com/ based out of hk. the man is a genius!
the bike took a lot of vision to make it to the end product, often doubted myself and had a long ongoing issue with the ECU that we couldn't figure out for weeks, but a few touches aside, she'll be done.
I'll be sure to post some high res pics up here and on my blog www.abandonedpier.com.
cb400f caferacer
Dont buy your ride build it
This is sex on wheels!
Very pretty, if you like that sort of design. I'll be honest, it's not my style preference, but no front fender or fork brace and no rear fender to keep rocks out of the open bellmouths is a bit of a fail in terms of functionality and that's a shame. I do like the shallow tray for electrics under the seat. Pity the big open frame is so ugly but that wasn't your fault. What on earth were Honda thinking?
Patmanbbe
Been Around the Block
Nice bike! I really like it and congrats to you for sticking to your guns on your build. Man, I woulda lost my sh*t... I get voicing an opinion but please read the whole thread folks! The man has a fork brace in the mail and will be installing a barrier to keep the sh*t from his rear tire from going into his beautiful velocity stacks.
This is why many other artists like musicians and painters don't reveal their work until its done... People commenting on things that aren't finished yet. Nice work. You took a mediocre looking bike and made it your own. Great job. I love it and think it looks great!
This is why many other artists like musicians and painters don't reveal their work until its done... People commenting on things that aren't finished yet. Nice work. You took a mediocre looking bike and made it your own. Great job. I love it and think it looks great!
PatmanBBE said:
Good to hear that. Smart move.
So now we are artists and musicians creating great works of art. LOL. get a grip dude. and where is the virtue in "making it your own". he has modified a bike the way he likes. That's good, but doesn't make any of us any better because "we made it our own". That's just a part of our "selfie" culture where we all apparently clamor for a few minutes of fame.
The owner likes his bike and that's all that counts - stock or modified, it's all good.
I happen to like the street sled/hot rod low mean look that the Magna and Fazer tried to emulate. It's not a race bike look - more of a drag look - fast in a straight line - don't mess with me sort of look. It's a very American look and works well here.
Drey6
Over 1,000 Posts
teazer said:
I think you are reading too much into his comment. He was making a point because a lot of people see a few pics toward the end, point out where they think people fucked up and never bothered reading the 3 pages before it. I think Patman was just saying that if you had actually read the earlier posts then you would know he is on top of that.
As far as the artist/ musician comment goes was most likely an outside example of this situation..Maybe the point he was still getting at was that reading the thread or waiting till it's finally all buttoned up before scrutinizing someone's hard work.
Also, the mention of anyone being better for making it there own was never really meant to be taken that way. Just simply that he took a bike and changed it too his liking, much like you said in your reply.
BTW : Not trying to stir up a fight, just trying to maybe clarify what was actually being pointed out, and it was a good point at that.
Patmanbbe
Been Around the Block
I am stating thing from my perspective, I am not saying it is a fact, I am saying that is how I perceived it. How it made me feel. I am not trying to be confrontational or stir the pot. That being said...
The love of riding and wrenching on motorcycles is art. Its not about being better or worse than anyone else. Its a way of forming an identity and showing it to the world. Look at the care members take in setting up the pictures they take, posting updates on this forum and adding filters and graphics to their snap shots. Some people aren't as skilled or as careful with their iteration of a motorcycle. Some are downright dangerous and should not be ridden at all. Its all art. Not everyone is at the same skill level or has the same tastes. I am not saying that you have to like what he has done.
What I am saying is read the thread and comment with some knowledge of the guys plans and dreams. Provide some constructive feedback. Get off your soap box and look at this bike without bias. It's beautiful and you can see the love and care that the builder put into it. That is art and I do have a grip in it. Do you?
teazer said:
The love of riding and wrenching on motorcycles is art. Its not about being better or worse than anyone else. Its a way of forming an identity and showing it to the world. Look at the care members take in setting up the pictures they take, posting updates on this forum and adding filters and graphics to their snap shots. Some people aren't as skilled or as careful with their iteration of a motorcycle. Some are downright dangerous and should not be ridden at all. Its all art. Not everyone is at the same skill level or has the same tastes. I am not saying that you have to like what he has done.
What I am saying is read the thread and comment with some knowledge of the guys plans and dreams. Provide some constructive feedback. Get off your soap box and look at this bike without bias. It's beautiful and you can see the love and care that the builder put into it. That is art and I do have a grip in it. Do you?
Drey,
Thanks for those thoughts. I don't necessarily agree with them all but that's what it means to have different people with different tastes. And don't worry. No fights here. Just people trying to use the written word to have a discussion. Not the perfect medium but it's what we have in this virtual world.
Pat,
That's your opinion and I respect that. You should know that I fell off my soap box as I climbed up onto my high horse. I have seen good bikes and bad ones and some that are truly works of art, but most are not. There is a definition of art somewhere that claims that as long as it provokes thought and emotion it's art. With that definition - it's all art. Except that it's not. IMHO.
My motorcycles may be creative but there is no way I would claim that they are art, because to me they are not. They may be pretty or not, they may be innovative designs or they may be a stupid idea copied from somewhere poorly executed but that doesn't make them all art either - in my opinion.
My background is engineering, so function speaks to me and well designed parts are beautiful, but that doesn't make them art either. Just because I love working on my bikes doesn't make me an artist by any definition I know of. It makes me a hobbyist or mechanic but that's not art. The fact that I enjoy doing it doesn't make it art.
If you love (your word) working on your bike, that's fine with me. It's just a mechanical object and if you draw pleasure for that interaction with it, that's great. I don't much enjoy doing routine work on bikes. It's dirty smelly and hurts my back. I do enjoy creating something new, that no one tried before in that form, but I'm no artist either.
You ask me to look at this bike without bias. Why would I want to look at the aesthetics of a bike without bias? We all have bias and preference and that's what makes for so many interesting builds. If I don't like a particular look I have the right to say that and be honest. I'm not bashing the OP or "hating". I mention what I like about the look in general and what I don't like about the OEM design. in general.
Are you really saying that I should stop liking what I like (and that changes and is wide and varied) and like this bike because you like it? I doubt that's really what you are saying.
I invite you to look again with a critical eye at the lines of the subframe for example and tell me what you see that works for you and doesn't work for you. Compare that to other bikes that "look right" to your eyes. To me a bike is a whole object made up of the parts and I look at things from a critical perspective - what stands out that I like in the shape or color or the way that things flow together or collide with each other.
I find that the more bikes I look at the more I see in terms of detail and design elements that work and those that don't. That changes over time as design elements are combined in innovative ways but our sense of what "looks right" comes from our own experiences and the bikes we have seen that we like. The brain stores all that stuff away and when we look at a new shape, out of our awareness, and compares it to what we liked earlier. It's all pattern recognition and we do it without knowing that we do it. We do it with numbers and words and shapes and even behavior. That's one reason why what looks "right" to you may look "wrong" to me.
It's all good. Thanks for the interesting discussion. If you ever drop by, I'll make you a cup of coffee and we can talk about design and perception and motorcycles.
Thanks for those thoughts. I don't necessarily agree with them all but that's what it means to have different people with different tastes. And don't worry. No fights here. Just people trying to use the written word to have a discussion. Not the perfect medium but it's what we have in this virtual world.
Pat,
That's your opinion and I respect that. You should know that I fell off my soap box as I climbed up onto my high horse. I have seen good bikes and bad ones and some that are truly works of art, but most are not. There is a definition of art somewhere that claims that as long as it provokes thought and emotion it's art. With that definition - it's all art. Except that it's not. IMHO.
My motorcycles may be creative but there is no way I would claim that they are art, because to me they are not. They may be pretty or not, they may be innovative designs or they may be a stupid idea copied from somewhere poorly executed but that doesn't make them all art either - in my opinion.
My background is engineering, so function speaks to me and well designed parts are beautiful, but that doesn't make them art either. Just because I love working on my bikes doesn't make me an artist by any definition I know of. It makes me a hobbyist or mechanic but that's not art. The fact that I enjoy doing it doesn't make it art.
If you love (your word) working on your bike, that's fine with me. It's just a mechanical object and if you draw pleasure for that interaction with it, that's great. I don't much enjoy doing routine work on bikes. It's dirty smelly and hurts my back. I do enjoy creating something new, that no one tried before in that form, but I'm no artist either.
You ask me to look at this bike without bias. Why would I want to look at the aesthetics of a bike without bias? We all have bias and preference and that's what makes for so many interesting builds. If I don't like a particular look I have the right to say that and be honest. I'm not bashing the OP or "hating". I mention what I like about the look in general and what I don't like about the OEM design. in general.
Are you really saying that I should stop liking what I like (and that changes and is wide and varied) and like this bike because you like it? I doubt that's really what you are saying.
I invite you to look again with a critical eye at the lines of the subframe for example and tell me what you see that works for you and doesn't work for you. Compare that to other bikes that "look right" to your eyes. To me a bike is a whole object made up of the parts and I look at things from a critical perspective - what stands out that I like in the shape or color or the way that things flow together or collide with each other.
I find that the more bikes I look at the more I see in terms of detail and design elements that work and those that don't. That changes over time as design elements are combined in innovative ways but our sense of what "looks right" comes from our own experiences and the bikes we have seen that we like. The brain stores all that stuff away and when we look at a new shape, out of our awareness, and compares it to what we liked earlier. It's all pattern recognition and we do it without knowing that we do it. We do it with numbers and words and shapes and even behavior. That's one reason why what looks "right" to you may look "wrong" to me.
It's all good. Thanks for the interesting discussion. If you ever drop by, I'll make you a cup of coffee and we can talk about design and perception and motorcycles.
Patmanbbe
Been Around the Block
I don't want to continue to thread hijack this topic but you are right. I never said you should like it I only said to read the whole post before commenting. Several people have clearly looked at only the pics and then scribed their criticism without reading the details. I do enjoy the conversation and appreciate your perspective as an engineer. It explains a lot about your perspective and your interpretation of art. I have some good friends that are a physicist and an engineer. I apologize if I have offended anyone. It was not my intention. We can all agree to disagree and just leave it at that.
brad black
Been Around the Block
i love the modern, but shinny wheels. the little drum rear brake (not a huge disc). the black muffler (altho if you cut the header and had it more angled out from the centreline). the twin shocks, not mono conversion.
a good comparison to the dt400 with zx10 front end, etc thread.
very nice job making a bike look totally different yet keeping lots of original stuff.
a good comparison to the dt400 with zx10 front end, etc thread.
very nice job making a bike look totally different yet keeping lots of original stuff.
