Have you guys heard of this place? Found a vid of the CL360 on youtube from which i found the website..
http://www.steelbentcustoms.com/
http://www.steelbentcustoms.com/
Steel Bent Customs
- Thread starter FENIX
- Start date
crazypj
Split personality, I fake being smart
Severly disappointed with the 360.
Going to handle like shit without fork brace, rear brake is unusable for normal people
I know for a fact it won't run right with that exhaust and pods
Bandwaggon jumper is going to kill someone as it's about look instead of function :
http://s1085.photobucket.com/albums/j436/mundy888/1974%20Honda%20CB360/?action=view¤t=IMG_1867.jpg
Going to handle like shit without fork brace, rear brake is unusable for normal people
I know for a fact it won't run right with that exhaust and pods
Bandwaggon jumper is going to kill someone as it's about look instead of function :
http://s1085.photobucket.com/albums/j436/mundy888/1974%20Honda%20CB360/?action=view¤t=IMG_1867.jpg
JESUS FREEK
Been Around the Block
Wow! Here I thought he was building pretty nice machines.
No fenders, front or rear, no fork braces. All cosmetic with no idea about functionality. Look pretty though.
If they spent a little more time to make them work, they would be really good. As for "Vintage Born Suicide machines" the less said the better,. That screams that they have no idea what they are doing but it does indicate the potential clients are young and impressionable.
Just another band waggon Jumper.
If they spent a little more time to make them work, they would be really good. As for "Vintage Born Suicide machines" the less said the better,. That screams that they have no idea what they are doing but it does indicate the potential clients are young and impressionable.
Just another band waggon Jumper.
crazypj
Split personality, I fake being smart
mysta2 said:I like em. Very nice fab work. If all I cared about was speed, handling, and practicality, I wouldn't touch a vintage bike.
I like to think I'm young and impressionable
Nope, your dumb ;D
Any bike should function unless it's going to by display ONLY
The rear brake shows they either don't know or don't care
There is no 'fab work' involved in removing parts
The only possible 'fabbed' I see in the pic is the rear numberplate mount, at least they didn't F**K it up by mounting it sideways off a shock :
(although it is going to get 'pretzeled' on the first bump)
crazypj
Split personality, I fake being smart
vtwin650 said:
Nothing wrong with rear brake, if your deformed dwarf.
If you have plenty of time, may not be an issue, otherwise, how the hell are you supposed to operate it when you foot is pointing downwards?
You'll only find out just how bad it is if you need to make an emergency crash (you won't be able to find it to stop :
)mysta2 said:
I'm glad we agree ;D
I thought you could take a joke better (doesn't work on the internet, my bad
)To be honest, the first post looked more like an ad for the place, 'oh look what I found' ?????
I've pointed things out previously, people are actually learning stuff and putting forward advice I was giving about 2 yrs ago
As a business building 'Cafe Racers' they should be better quality and a lot better thought out.
Remember, you CAN chrome plate a turd.
My bikes may not be the prettiest out there but I know they are as safe and ergonomic as possible.
I was a motorcycle safety inspector for a number of years, while the bike maybe close to workable, ergonomically, it's a disaster
(I am speaking from 40+ yrs of working on , racing and crashing bikes)
Doh, now I sound like a right twat 8)
MotorbikeBruno
Over 1,000 Posts
I'd have to agree with the PJ. I don't build bikes for my job, my welding is mediocre, but I do know after learning a LOT about these old things from here and many other places, that braces were put into place for a reason.... just ask your kids' dentist. ;D
But in all seriousness, I think it's fair to have some harsher words for things that could end up hurting people in the future. And if you look at the rear brake, placement is a joke. Sit on ANY bike with bars that are that far forward and that is NOT the place to put that lever. Not being a jerk, just common sense. Pretty bike, but seems like the thought of safety wasn't a concern.
But in all seriousness, I think it's fair to have some harsher words for things that could end up hurting people in the future. And if you look at the rear brake, placement is a joke. Sit on ANY bike with bars that are that far forward and that is NOT the place to put that lever. Not being a jerk, just common sense. Pretty bike, but seems like the thought of safety wasn't a concern.
crazypj
Split personality, I fake being smart
Mono shock CB550
Not too bad, removed linkage so not sure how well that will work, but, fitted better forks and wheels plus longer swing arm.
Should have had a rear sprocket made, probably redlining at 80mph? (stock front wheel is 19" so 17" will read 'fast'
Gerar change not at optimal angle but will work
Twin shock 550
Looks pretty good, probably because he's using Carpy's tank/seat
Needs dual disc and fork brace, it's going to be damn scary without one, the forks are marginal with extra bracing.
Looks like cheap Chinese shocks off e-bay, there is no way the lift links will stay in place and there is anecdotal evidence they break so that's not good (painted black so not so noticeable)
http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j436/mundy888/IMG_1878.jpg
They work real good when re-built, stock, .....................................
Rear brake another total abortion, even worse than the 360 :
http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j436/mundy888/DSC00627.jpg
Compare stock rear sprocket to the one on mono shock bike
CB750
No fork brace is dangerous on CB750
Shocks on upside down????????????
link same as 550
Rear brake again, probably goes on and off when suspension goes up and down : (obviously doesn't know how to make a decent linkage)
Bars don't look right (too wide) but that's not a safety issue
Can't look at any more, they all have same basic flaw, no fork brace.
CB400F at least has a rear brake that should work but it probably isn't going to run too long with open bell mouths and nothing to stop crap coming off rear wheel going straight in
I see from their e-bay ad they are in Tampa, guess they may pay me a visit ;D
Not too bad, removed linkage so not sure how well that will work, but, fitted better forks and wheels plus longer swing arm.
Should have had a rear sprocket made, probably redlining at 80mph? (stock front wheel is 19" so 17" will read 'fast'
Gerar change not at optimal angle but will work
Twin shock 550
Looks pretty good, probably because he's using Carpy's tank/seat
Needs dual disc and fork brace, it's going to be damn scary without one, the forks are marginal with extra bracing.
Looks like cheap Chinese shocks off e-bay, there is no way the lift links will stay in place and there is anecdotal evidence they break so that's not good (painted black so not so noticeable)
http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j436/mundy888/IMG_1878.jpg
They work real good when re-built, stock, .....................................
Rear brake another total abortion, even worse than the 360 :
http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j436/mundy888/DSC00627.jpg
Compare stock rear sprocket to the one on mono shock bike
CB750
No fork brace is dangerous on CB750
Shocks on upside down????????????
link same as 550
Rear brake again, probably goes on and off when suspension goes up and down :
(obviously doesn't know how to make a decent linkage)
Bars don't look right (too wide) but that's not a safety issue
Can't look at any more, they all have same basic flaw, no fork brace.
CB400F at least has a rear brake that should work but it probably isn't going to run too long with open bell mouths and nothing to stop crap coming off rear wheel going straight in
I see from their e-bay ad they are in Tampa, guess they may pay me a visit ;D
Let's put this into perspective. We have two guys operating out of a suburban garage trying to sound hip with the "Suicide machine" and trash talk.
They have learned how to make perfectly good bikes look like stripped down bikes by throwing a lot of stuff away. There is some nice polish and paint and very little fab work and they demonstrate the fact that they actually have no real experience with ergonomics or safety and they are probably breaking quite a few laws with building and selling bikes from a suburban home, but that's speculation on my part.
I wish them well but selling incomplete bikes with less functionality than a stock bike is not a skill and is nothing to be admired. lack of inner fenders is dumb. No fork brace is dumb. rear brake linkage angles all wrong is too silly for words.
If they want to be taken seriously, they have to lift their game. And don't give the the old BS line about them only selling what someone wants therefore it's all OK. That would be irresponsible.
They have an entrepreneurial spirit and that's good. They like working with bikes and that's also good. As soon as they learn what is needed on a bike and lift their game, we'll all be happy and their clients will be safer and happier.
That's just my opinion, your mileage may vary.
They have learned how to make perfectly good bikes look like stripped down bikes by throwing a lot of stuff away. There is some nice polish and paint and very little fab work and they demonstrate the fact that they actually have no real experience with ergonomics or safety and they are probably breaking quite a few laws with building and selling bikes from a suburban home, but that's speculation on my part.
I wish them well but selling incomplete bikes with less functionality than a stock bike is not a skill and is nothing to be admired. lack of inner fenders is dumb. No fork brace is dumb. rear brake linkage angles all wrong is too silly for words.
If they want to be taken seriously, they have to lift their game. And don't give the the old BS line about them only selling what someone wants therefore it's all OK. That would be irresponsible.
They have an entrepreneurial spirit and that's good. They like working with bikes and that's also good. As soon as they learn what is needed on a bike and lift their game, we'll all be happy and their clients will be safer and happier.
That's just my opinion, your mileage may vary.
crazypj said:I'm glad we agree ;D
I thought you could take a joke better (doesn't work on the internet, my bad
No worries, my response didn't really work either.
Bikes is bikes, you're an engineer (service tech... similar thing) and Teazer's a racer so you guys both approach things from a purely practical perspective. I'm a designer, so I like stuff that looks pretty, I'm willing to make sacrifices that you wouldn't be to get the look that I want. I would never try to argue that my way is better than yours, it's just my way, that's why I want to send my motor to you because I'll spend ages polishing it and caressing it uselessly, but you can make it work
.I posted in this thread simply because it's so much easier/safer to find reasons to pick something apart than it is to find something good in it, and I saw that bandwagon starting to fill up.
Anyway, smiles and hugs all around.
