Does the Japanese custom bike scene use tons of bolt-on stuff?

L

LL

Been Around the Block
I was naively under the impression that shops like BratStyle, Deus, Gravel Crew, etc were doing tons of custom work but after looking around on the internet today it looks like there's a huge assortment of bolt on products for the newer Yamahas and other brands. Looks like a company named "Nitro Heads" makes the seats Deus uses and WM Production Team has a ton of bolt on stuff (http://www.wmpdt.co.jp/wm.html). And this ebay seller sells a lot of the stuff Dues uses on their bikes - http://motors.shop.ebay.com/merchant/zurucucu_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZ - which I guess are just products made by WM Production Team?

Does anyone know of any other online sources or know how to get information on other seats that Nitro Heads make? Just looking for more cool stuff that might apply to my bike.
 
in my opinion if it has bolt on it is not custom... i hate all the crappyakin stuff that people cram on their HD's and call them "custom" being able to un screw a bolt and put it back on with a chrome cover is not custom... that is why i love cafe builders and old bike wrenchers... we do not have a choice...stuff is not out there! if we want it we need to make it work!
 
Yeah so was the assumption in my original post right or not...are those Japanese shops bolting on or fabricating the stuff? Because either way their shit looks cool to me and I don't see many USA builders making bikes like that.
 
I think bolt on stuff is a legitmate part of any custom scene... It's just HD and metric cruiser dealerships take it tooooo damn far ::) Racing seats, bars, upgraded brakes etc are all bolt on.

But I also agree that a true custom has to have some metal added or removed, one-off stuff etc. And a cafe has to have more removed that put on :D
 
it's cool to see them doing that though, looks like the cafe look is not going away any time soon. maybe we'll be the leaders of the next big sham, occ, etc etc etc
 
you can just have one of those seats made. Perhaps a certain someone will chime in and help you out ;)
 
it's not hard to make one of those seats.

fab cost would be around $50.00 using your original seat pan
 
its cool to see a harley owner (JRK) say somethin like that 8)


I think its a tuff call. If you meet someone with a stock bike and chat, then meet someone with an upgraded seat, bars and brakes, don;t you feel like they have a better 'notion' shall we say, of where your coming from and how you see the scene in question?
 
I think the big difference between the Harley bolt-on stuff and cafe bolt-on stuff is the sheer amount that's available. A cafe person will probably start with bolt-on first (bars probably), but will eventually get to something they have to make themselves. Harley guys can bolt on a completely new and tacky bike around their motor and frame-see how lucky they are! ;D

The second and most important difference with cafe/true chopper stuff is what you REMOVE not what you add. that should always be your goal IMHO.
 
LL said:
Does anyone know of any other online sources or know how to get information on other seats that Nitro Heads make? Just looking for more cool stuff that might apply to my bike.
Click to expand...

Are you looking for a 2-up bratt-style seat? If so, PM me. I can do a Texas USA made one for you.

--Thanks, Chris
 
Ya know, I'm kind of in agreement with everyone here... Custom is definately not something you can buy off a shelf and slap on your ride. Having said that: Bolt-on parts are nearly unavoidable... It's way easier to buy what you want than to make it sometimes.
As far as the proliferation of big companies making more parts for "cafe racers," I think that's a bad thing... It would be easier to build a sweet cafe in that case, but since it's easier more people would do it. Then you've got trust fund kids and yuppies with bottomless pockets all scrambling all over each other to build(or have someone else build) the newest "big thing" and that spells the end of this little community that we all enjoy. Plus you lose that sense of pride you get in saying "I did this," because everyone else is doing it too. And whereas your bike has sweet handmade parts on it and uncounted hours of wrench time and engineering(or day-dreaming), someone else might be able to accomplish the same thing just by ordering parts and having it all put together.
What I like is people like chris, rock city, benjie, and carpy, who make stuff out of their shops and sling it to people with the same love for the bikes that they have. I don't have a seat from benjie, I made my own because I'm a broke ass fool: but I definately appreciate the craftmanship there, and I love all the bikes I've seen them on.
There's my two cents. It's a complicated issue for me, I guess ...
 
Deviant1 said:
Ya know, I'm kind of in agreement with everyone here... Custom is definately not something you can buy off a shelf and slap on your ride. Having said that: Bolt-on parts are nearly unavoidable... It's way easier to buy what you want than to make it sometimes.
As far as the proliferation of big companies making more parts for "cafe racers," I think that's a bad thing... It would be easier to build a sweet cafe in that case, but since it's easier more people would do it. Then you've got trust fund kids and yuppies with bottomless pockets all scrambling all over each other to build(or have someone else build) the newest "big thing" and that spells the end of this little community that we all enjoy. Plus you lose that sense of pride you get in saying "I did this," because everyone else is doing it too. And whereas your bike has sweet handmade parts on it and uncounted hours of wrench time and engineering(or day-dreaming), someone else might be able to accomplish the same thing just by ordering parts and having it all put together.
What I like is people like chris, rock city, benjie, and carpy, who make stuff out of their shops and sling it to people with the same love for the bikes that they have. I don't have a seat from benjie, I made my own because I'm a broke ass fool: but I definately appreciate the craftmanship there, and I love all the bikes I've seen them on.
There's my two cents. It's a complicated issue for me, I guess ...
Click to expand...

Here, Here, Brother. That's what it's all about. Something you can show and say, "I did that" with all the pride you have. Even if the work you have done isn't top notch, you can still say I did it.

Let's all raise a glass to Deviant.

Later, Troy
 
chrisf said:
Are you looking for a 2-up bratt-style seat? If so, PM me. I can do a Texas USA made one for you.

--Thanks, Chris
Click to expand...

I think I'll have to do my own - at least the pan and padding myself and find someone to upholster it if I want the finished product to look halfway decent w/ piping and quilting. I want it to conform to the frame so it needs a rise in the front to hide the bottom of the gas tank and a rise in the back to wrap around the hump at the tail of the frame.

Cafe bike builders overseas have the benefit of having several new, reliable and cheap bikes like the SR400 to use as a base, so it makes sense that some parts maker came along and capitalized on that.

And just to be clear, the Japanese and Australians are taking this:
05sr400white_1.jpg


and turning it into this:
deus.jpg

image%5C43_1.jpg


so to be fair even if they are using bolt-on seats and tanks there's still a bunch of intelligent design and work going on there. Plus the bikes just look cool.
 
Hot Rod Troy said:
Here, Here, Brother. That's what it's all about. Something you can show and say, "I did that" with all the pride you have. Even if the work you have done isn't top notch, you can still say I did it.

Let's all raise a glass to Deviant.

Later, Troy
Click to expand...

Yeah man, but if you really F it up you're just going to get called out on it :) I will always give tons of props to whoever attempts to do anything themselves (not that it would mean much coming from me) but the dude who shows up with a pitted, lumpy, paint-bubbling seat can expect to get a little ribbing while the dude who buys an airtech seat that looks great on their bike is going to get a high five :)

But really we are talking about Japanese garages that are taking either a customer's bike or a factory bike and modding it. So I guess what you guys are saying is that the people who buy those bikes are the lowest on the totem poll because they can't even bolt on their own stuff?
 
LL said:
Yeah man, but if you really F it up you're just going to get called out on it :) I will always give tons of props to whoever attempts to do anything themselves (not that it would mean much coming from me) but the dude who shows up with a pitted, lumpy, paint-bubbling seat can expect to get a little ribbing while the dude who buys an airtech seat that looks great on their bike is going to get a high five :)

But really we are talking about Japanese garages that are taking either a customer's bike or a factory bike and modding it. So I guess what you guys are saying is that the people who buy those bikes are the lowest on the totem poll because they can't even bolt on their own stuff?
Click to expand...

The guy who makes his own and gets called out learns from his mistakes, because he listens to whats being said about his work, and creates a better piece next time.  Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow. - Plato (427 BC - 347 BC)  Or, he starts buying and bolting on parts. 

I think that there is a balance between DIY and bolt on.  Some parts can not be made with out a full shop.  I know I don't have anything but simple hand tools, a grinder, and a small drill press.  When I get home I'm going to try building my own welder. ???  We'll see how that goes.  http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Microwave-Transformer-Homemade-Welder/

Troy
 
First, thanks for the mention from deviant1.

I've followed this thread for a bit and found it interesting. With the exception of a handful of bikes on this forum, aren't most cafes here bolt-ons? Wierd frame clamps to rig botched rearsets to the frame; bolting on this and that to cover up this and that; heavy chopped strand GRP seats (my all aluminum ones weigh less than 1lbs.); etc.. Yeah, there is some frame shaving, here and there as well.

I think the difference is that people here are personally bolting stuff on and feeling good about it, whereas the overseas shops are making a pretty penny. If you look closely at their work, they are chopping those frames up quite a bit. Also, some of those shops are narrowing tanks

I would pay $7k or whatever those SRs from Deux cost in a minute. Thing is, I seem to enjoy building rather than riding. Just my opinions.

--Chris

EDIT: I would not call myself a 'shop'. From time to time, I sell some stuff to offset my costs.
 
Personally, I don't get how a showroom cookie-cutter new Trump Bonnie gets so many props. ??? That same Trump guy will get thumbs up all day from everyone because of the badge on his tank. But my Honda with the same mods is a 'rat bike'? That's why I crave a true classic clubman circuit in Texas or the Southwest where we can go to it on the track versus some sidewalk fashion show crap. But all the tracks are at least a 100+ miles from me:
http://www.cmraracing.com/tracks.htm#

Maybe I'll just ride across the state like Vince Gallo in "The Brown Bunny", Chloe Sevigny not included ;D

Build what you like, ride it like it's stolen, and stay true to yourself, whether that means opening your wallet or toolbox.

My .02
 
Hot Rod Troy said:
The guy who makes his own and gets called out learns from his mistakes, because he listens to whats being said about his work, and creates a better piece next time. Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow. - Plato (427 BC - 347 BC) Or, he starts buying and bolting on parts.

I think that there is a balance between DIY and bolt on. Some parts can not be made with out a full shop. I know I don't have anything but simple hand tools, a grinder, and a small drill press. When I get home I'm going to try building my own welder. ??? We'll see how that goes. http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Microwave-Transformer-Homemade-Welder/

Troy
Click to expand...

nothing to do with the topic... but MAN troy that is a coooooool find! i added that to the $50 mod thread!
 
I think it's on topic and great add to the $50 mod thread; it all goes back to how much do want it and are you willing to build it/break it/ BLEED for it to get it ;)
 
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