How Much do Builders Sell For
- Thread starter Red Fthr
- Start date
Of course not, but most of what we're talking about generally stems from that. The notion of building a cafe is the same thing as hot rodding.
HollywoodMX
Coast to Coast
Ya I like the comment about changes that are functional are important.surffly said:
cqyqte
Grumpy retired oldtimer... "eat a Snickers bar"
Some good points raised in your preaching, Bonita Applebaum was a piece of art. He used furniture fasteners used in Ikea pieces in his triple trees, completely dangerous, but fit the flow of the art form. The uneducated drooled all over his build thread, I never heard if he ever sold his canvas.
I do take exception to your extreme "black or white" view of customs. People (buyers) have different tastes and there is one thing you can't argue and that is their taste. In the many years I have had this hobby I have never created a trailer queen or piece of art. Sure some of the bikes I have made have had their performance characteristics altered in a way that you disapprove of but my customers have repeatedly remarked how much they enjoyed riding their custom. The point I wanted to make in a previous post was that given the right promotion and audience you can sell either a "piece of art", a "trendy piece of crap", a "super performer", or a "concourse restoration" for major dollars. The key is finding that someone.
I don't want to start a pissing match, because I agree with allot of what you have said Surffly. It's just whatever I ride I want it to be different.
Just some of those I have created and sold, they all are riders and I don't just mean to the coffee shop and back.
I do take exception to your extreme "black or white" view of customs. People (buyers) have different tastes and there is one thing you can't argue and that is their taste. In the many years I have had this hobby I have never created a trailer queen or piece of art. Sure some of the bikes I have made have had their performance characteristics altered in a way that you disapprove of but my customers have repeatedly remarked how much they enjoyed riding their custom. The point I wanted to make in a previous post was that given the right promotion and audience you can sell either a "piece of art", a "trendy piece of crap", a "super performer", or a "concourse restoration" for major dollars. The key is finding that someone.
I don't want to start a pissing match, because I agree with allot of what you have said Surffly. It's just whatever I ride I want it to be different.
Just some of those I have created and sold, they all are riders and I don't just mean to the coffee shop and back.
No way, are you serious? Saying when something started and when something became popular is not saying the same thing.coyote13 said:
surffly
Over 1,000 Posts
I don't think we really disagree at all. You are right that different people like different things. And people will pay money for someone else to make what is in their head into reality. So sure shops have an hourly rate to install a seat or do custom paint or any one of a number of other "touches" so that the person riding can have something that is different, even if ever so slightly so. I don't take issue with that at all.cqyqte said:Some good points raised in your preaching, Bonita Applebaum was a piece of art. He used furniture fasteners used in Ikea pieces in his triple trees, completely dangerous, but fit the flow of the art form. The uneducated drooled all over his build thread, I never heard if he ever sold his canvas.
I do take exception to your extreme "black or white" view of customs. People (buyers) have different tastes and there is one thing you can't argue and that is their taste. In the many years I have had this hobby I have never created a trailer queen or piece of art. Sure some of the bikes I have made have had their performance characteristics altered in a way that you disapprove of but my customers have repeatedly remarked how much they enjoyed riding their custom. The point I wanted to make in a previous post was that given the right promotion and audience you can sell either a "piece of art", a "trendy piece of crap", a "super performer", or a "concourse restoration" for major dollars. The key is finding that someone.
I don't want to start a pissing match, because I agree with allot of what you have said Surffly. It's just whatever I ride I want it to be different.
Just some of those I have created and sold, they all are riders and I don't just mean to the coffee shop and back.
What I was talking about was more the halo type bikes.
Take OCC for example. People lined up to pay 150k for a rolling billboard, then a million copy cats came out of the woodwork and tired to sell every tom dick and harry a "cool chopper" too. Well that ship sailed and they all are broke or are onto the next segment of the hobby to rape. There are still chopper builders with a waiting list. But they were not bucking the trend. They just carved out a small hole someone place and stood on the quality of the work, not how well it sold T Shirts. Those shops are still profitable.
For myself, price it's all about craftsmanship. I get a little sick seeing bikes featured all over the Internet that are put together like crap, or are just a pile of bolt on parts. I don't really put a value on a motorcycle's style or practicality, because it's all about what the customer wants. Whether it's a chopper, cafe, tracker etc. quality craftsmanship should bring the money.
I think Mule sells his trackers for around $25k, and after they seem to be well worth it.
Just my opinion.
I think Mule sells his trackers for around $25k, and after they seem to be well worth it.
Just my opinion.
crazypj
Split personality, I fake being smart
I'm just totally disillusioned with the people buying a running POS doing absolute minimum to it before flipping
They often make it dangerous and barely ridable then selling it for way more than it's worth to some know nothing hipster.
Personally, I won't deliberately make a bike more dangerous than stock just because some idiot saw it on Pipeburn but a LOT of assholes out there don't care as long as they screw the cash out of people ???
They often make it dangerous and barely ridable then selling it for way more than it's worth to some know nothing hipster.
Personally, I won't deliberately make a bike more dangerous than stock just because some idiot saw it on Pipeburn but a LOT of assholes out there don't care as long as they screw the cash out of people ???
crazypj
Split personality, I fake being smart
ncologerojr said:
He is an engineer (with a degree) and I think worked on aircraft?
Knows quite a lot about safety and what can be done to strengthen and lighten the XS650 frame he was originally building I liked a lot of the features but didn't like the style around steering head
crazypj said:
I remember reading his explanation on the steering neck design somewhere. The gooseneck shape solved a steering issue, but I don't remember the details...
surffly said:
Quit your full time job, and just build motorcycles for 20 years lol
coyote13 said:
I think we got off track here. HOt Rodding is a US trend based around Drag Strip cars. Cafe Racers came from basically 50s and sixties England and were based on looks and sometime performance of road Racers of the era. Drag racing was never that big in the UK, but road racing was.
Cafe racers were Race Replicas in some way or another.
Now the term seems to mean some sort of retro steam punk- pre ww2 look for hipsters. And the rest of us just build performance customized bikes that work and look better than they did when they rolled off the factory floor.
My fist custom was two stroke single, followed by a few Triumph twins, CB72 street bikes and DB32 Gold Star followed by a series of TZ and CB "vintage" race bikes. Now I have a shop full of GT750 Suzukis from cafe style to street tracker and a couple of resto mod specials. All are lighter and faster than stock and in my eyes at least all look better that stock.
Tune-A-Fish
BOTM LOSER Proudly Deplorable
The first bike I ever built was when I was young boy over forty years ago, a 3.5 horse minibike with flames, no air filter and a pull string for a throttle. I began to learn about geometry and suspension when my son started racing and I was keeping his bikes in order, building a race motor or setting up suspension (before the word "stiction" was ever said) for a kid who is going to launch a 200+ pound chunk of metal and rubber over 20, 80 or 100 foot jumps and rattling a suspension killing whoop section will cause you to think some low thoughts about your skills... all of the tools in the box does not make a motorcycle tech, even the best engineer can miss something.
That said, I have sold a few motorcycles and never made what I paid for it in money time and at times frustration. The guys who are doing this for a living are always loosing sleep over the variables and the buyers are typically buying a Rolex when they don't even know how to tell time. The worst was when I sold a Harley Road Glide to a guy that had only ever rode a few times on small scooters, he almost crashed leaving the driveway, I still wonder how that turned out... never seen it again.
I am not an engineer and don't have the skills a machinist has unless you think turning a set of spacers or milling a block of alloy into a bracket is a machinist, I took a welding skills class in Jr. high school and welded at Kawasaki where I learned a lot I used to weld in factories in the winter and I know from that just how important a proper weld is. I build with what little I have and stay within my skill set, I do the research and for the most part when it comes to geometry and suspension, I copy what works or ask a lot of questions, I have a responsibility to keep whatever I work on safe because you never know when someone else will be riding the darn thing.
So what is a custom build worth... what someone is willing to pay for it and that's it.
That said, I have sold a few motorcycles and never made what I paid for it in money time and at times frustration. The guys who are doing this for a living are always loosing sleep over the variables and the buyers are typically buying a Rolex when they don't even know how to tell time. The worst was when I sold a Harley Road Glide to a guy that had only ever rode a few times on small scooters, he almost crashed leaving the driveway, I still wonder how that turned out... never seen it again.
I am not an engineer and don't have the skills a machinist has unless you think turning a set of spacers or milling a block of alloy into a bracket is a machinist, I took a welding skills class in Jr. high school and welded at Kawasaki where I learned a lot I used to weld in factories in the winter and I know from that just how important a proper weld is. I build with what little I have and stay within my skill set, I do the research and for the most part when it comes to geometry and suspension, I copy what works or ask a lot of questions, I have a responsibility to keep whatever I work on safe because you never know when someone else will be riding the darn thing.
So what is a custom build worth... what someone is willing to pay for it and that's it.
cosworth
Coast to Coast
I'm working on a few builds to build my brand. Nothing exceptional, just a local go to guy. No big profits.
But that buys me rep when I flip bikes, make parts for people or make that final mod/part to get their bike going.
Flipping bikes, getting first crack at barn funds and making parts or welding for condo dwellers is where I will make my money. But without my brand and a good stable of builds I have no legitimacy.
It won't pay my mortgage, but it pays for other things.
But that buys me rep when I flip bikes, make parts for people or make that final mod/part to get their bike going.
Flipping bikes, getting first crack at barn funds and making parts or welding for condo dwellers is where I will make my money. But without my brand and a good stable of builds I have no legitimacy.
It won't pay my mortgage, but it pays for other things.
ApriliaBill
Yeah...I'm old school.
It'll be interesting to watch this one. I really like this bike. He's starting at just over what a stock one would run, but the reserve will be the interesting part. http://www.ebay.com/itm/321654218117?forcerRptr=true&item=321654218117&viewitem
Tune-A-Fish
BOTM LOSER Proudly Deplorable
ApriliaBill said:
Turned it into something functional, I like it.
My first car was a 66 Plymouth Satellite and every time I see the back side window of one of those cars, I go looking to see whats out there... thanks.
Ichiban Moto
Bad Ass Cafe' Style
You can get a genuine Ichiban Moto build for that price ! ;D
