New CNC parts line.

jag767

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So a buddy of mine and I are feeling out starting a parts line, all CNC and 3D printed stuff. We are designing a whole bunch of things, some of which there are already versions available, and others are parts that simply can't be found.

My question is, what parts would you guys like to see produced? I'm not sure we can do all of them, but we can at least make designs and get pricing on each one. Also, the bigger run of parts, obviously the better the pricing. Right now we are working on parts for cb350, cb550, cb750, and cbx, since those are available to us for test fitting.

Please give any and all input, thanks!
 
Here is a top triple clamp design we are working on. Can do for any bike, but this one is for cb350. Will also have a second version with cutouts.
 

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Looks great! Maybe a "winged" top triple? Lots of people running modern forks and ground clearance is an issue so a product like that would be awesome.


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LightsOut said:
Looks great! Maybe a "winged" top triple? Lots of people running modern forks and ground clearance is an issue so a product like that would be awesome.


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As long as enough wants it for a specific front end sure. We are working on some really nice fork braces right now.
 
Sav0r said:
Sounds cool, do you plan to manufacture in house or send it out?

In the short term we will do the prototyping in house and send out the orders.
 
Not to be discouraging, but from a money perspective make sure you have real interest before you commit to buy many thousands of dollars worth of parts.
CNC stuff is pricey, and the vast majority of the folks here don't buy it.
Look at cognitomoto they are doing great but no one here runs their parts because they are very very pricey.
There certainly is a market, but dtt is not it.
Your target is people with more money than sense, or willing to pay dearly for high quality stuff. Remember that every bike comes with a triple tree, it's not a need item, it's a want item. Those that build high end enough bikes to want/need a billet triple can generally make their own.

Just a word of caution, as I've seen quite a few try this over the years and only cognitomoto has succeeded as far as I can tell. And that was thanks to marketing and luck getting in with famous people.
 
Also note that if you're not making the parts in house you are having to cover 2 full profit margins. On a small order that is going to either decimate your profit, or skyrocket your prices.
 
We spent some time hashing out numbers. Even In lower quantity we can make it work. I think there's more need for items simply not produced, which is where a bulk of our products will be to start. 3d printed fenders, fork braces, 3d printed side covers, perhaps with an updated design. Starting to see side covers become more popular again, and that's easy stuff to make. We are working on a custom set of drum hubs also, obviously that would be a lower quantity item, but there's an ass for every seat. Regular disk hubs are also in line.
 
Also, not to be discouraging (for reals, I have a small CNC VMC and plan to build a CNC lathe center soon), but startup on these types of things can really pull a small crew down. In my case the crew is just one, but when I have issues that need troubleshooting or am just getting unsatisfactory results production grinds to an absolute halt. When I want to upgrade a system or make a major process change production grinds to a halt. And if you don't have things to sell but man hours are racking up it's especially hard to generate cash flow. Now granted, I don't do bulk orders or processes and have little desire to do so, but the point is that you are going to pay either way. Whether you pay a pro or you do it yourself there is a cost and it's probably higher than you think it is or higher than you think it's going to be. Then add sales, customer service, accounting, etc. on top of designing parts, running machines, maintaining a shop, eating, sleeping 3 or 4 hours a day, and it's not too long until things get pretty old. Conversely, if you do it for fun and turn customers away as you see fit you can avoid a lot of those stresses.

That said, I think there is a niche in there somewhere. I'd just try to establish that niche before investing too much time and money.
 
Hardest thing for me, when I started building bike parts, was learning where I could charge more, and where I had to charge less than I want.

If you're the only one making something, make up for charging less for some other stuff there.

If you're trying to do your own variation of something common, price it competitively, or a bit less, and sell more. Downside to that, is more time committed. On the flip side, sell more, bigger runs, materials cost less per the more you buy.

Delicate balance.
 
I think the CB SOHC is fading, seems the KZ and GS bikes are gaining again and the singles in any configuration. The gull wing top clamp for GSXR and R6/1 is a good idea for sure.


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A double sided TLS brake similar to Suzuki GT750 would be nice but I think material costs and 'wastage' will make costs prohibitive unless you could get precision castings/forgings? (Hub is known to crack so could be a replacement market?)
You would need to be competitive with Fontana, Brembo, Grimica et.al
As for USD forks, they are pretty standardised diameters and only a few manufacturers for streetbikes (Showa, Ohlins, Kayaba) so a 'stock' size could be used with facility to bore 1mm~3mm oversize? Market is pretty large as they can replace stock item just for 'bling'
 
crazypj said:
A double sided TLS brake similar to Suzuki GT750 would be nice but I think material costs and 'wastage' will make costs prohibitive unless you could get precision castings/forgings? (Hub is known to crack so could be a replacement market?)
You would need to be competitive with Fontana, Brembo, Grimica et.al
As for USD forks, they are pretty standardised diameters and only a few manufacturers for streetbikes (Showa, Ohlins, Kayaba) so a 'stock' size could be used with facility to bore 1mm~3mm oversize? Market is pretty large as they can replace stock item just for 'bling'


You're thinking the same way i am with a 4ls setup. I think it can certainly be done, maybe with a little better design. I love drums, and wouldnt mind putting some serious time into a killer piece. I know i wont sell a lot, but it would be damn cool.

Thank you everone for your input thus far. As we have parts designed I will keep updating this as well.
 
There is a chap in the Phillipines building TD hubs. He list them up at close to $2K, and they sell immediately, every time.
 
J-Rod10 said:
There is a chap in the Phillipines building TD hubs. He list them up at close to $2K, and they sell immediately, every time.

Thats very interesting. If I could even run 10 the price wouldn't be half bad I think. If I were to have parts cast I'd have to sell a ton of them, but I could really get the price down.
 
jag767 said:
Thats very interesting. If I could even run 10 the price wouldn't be half bad I think. If I were to have parts cast I'd have to sell a ton of them, but I could really get the price down.

He's casting them in house.

I've considered doing billet. I just don't have the time.
 
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