"Brat-Style" Bikes.

I prefer to stay away from anything that could come off as a slur.
Frankly 'Brat Style' fits best since generally speaking BRAT did start the current "craze" for that sort of build style. Seems fair to pay homage where it's due.....
 
I don't know if that's true... They certainly did a good job in publicizing their work. Really, they just do a Japanese style bobber.

--Chris
 
Wasn't originally intended to be a term describing that style. The shop that popularized that look is named Brat Style and the name just stuck.
 
*DING!!!!*

They certainly didn't invent the style but it's closely associated with them because they are the ones that best created the momentum.
 
Swagger said:
*DING!!!!*

They certainly didn't invent the style but it's closely associated with them because they are the ones that best created the momentum.

+1..

when you need to blow your nose, you ask the guy in the cubical next to you for a Kleenex..... not a "piece of tissue paper"...
so right or wrong, everyone knows that "style/genre" of bike to be a Bratstyle bike...

so be it...
 
Too late man, brat style has stuck I think because it doesn't sound like a brand it sounds like you're describing the style of the bike. I think it kinda fits, too. Sorry dude!
 
I always thought it ment Bobber+Rat=Brat.


They certainly didn't invent the style but it's closely associated with them because they are the ones that best created the momentum.

Like the builder of some CB750's may be assoiated with the publicity of a particular style?
 
Japanese + Bobber = "Jobber" of which Bratstyle's bikes are examples, along with any other 'bobbed' Japanese bike.

But then would people insist on calling bobbed British bikes 'Brobbers'??

And if a bobbed Japanese bike is built by hand, would it be a 'Hand Jobber'????

Just sayin'....
 
So as I see it Brat Style is just another bobber as defined by Wikipedia. And that means that many of the bikes here are bobbers and not cafe racers.

If you look in Wikipedia there's definitions and examples of Cafe Racer and Bobber and there is no way, in my mind, that a brat style would ever fall under the category of cafe racer. A cafe racer by definition is a light fast machine built to look like a GP race bike of the era with the emphasis on performance and handling. I believe that same title would cover 70s/80s AMA Superbike looks.

That all makes sense to me, but it doesn't matter much because this forum is a mix of Cafe, bob, lifetsyle and others. It's as much about customizing as anything else and that means doing it your way regardless of labels.

I'm not sure that Brat Style invented the look that's being developed/explored here, so I'm not wild about the name. It seems to me that a new style of bike is emerging that encompasses style elements from at least two genres - cafe and bobber and deserves a new name. Fat front tyres on bikes that clearly are not built for performance or handling are not cafe racers, but they are really taking the 50's bobber theme a step further.

I'm not sure what the best new name for the genre is, but I see no reason to create millions of links to a shop in Kobe Japan. They are a business and good luck to them, but why would we want to pump up their link count to the exception of any other shop? That makes no sense.

It's time for a new name or we start to refer to them all as bobbers and dump all reference to B-S unless it's a specific reference to that shop.

This is a call for a new name for that style of bike. Who would like to get us started?
 
Who
Fucking
Cares?


I had a much longer post typed up here but it bordered on vitriolic at the end so I killed it.

Things to consider:
Why is it ok to call a bike a cafe when true cafe racers haven't been built since the late 50's/early 60's?
Why is it ok to call a bike a bobber or a chopper or a tracker or a bagger?
Why not a 'Brat Style'?...since as much as a few panties get wadded (foolishly)....they ARE the ones that popularized it?

Why bother trying to categorize bikes at all? Does it make the bike work better? Does it make you a better rider? Does it somehowe enhance your endowment? Seriously...who the fuck cares?
 
Swagger said:
Who
Fucking
Cares?


I had a much longer post typed up here but it bordered on vitriolic at the end so I killed it.

Things to consider:
Why is it ok to call a bike a cafe when true cafe racers haven't been built since the late 50's/early 60's?
Why is it ok to call a bike a bobber or a chopper or a tracker or a bagger?
Why not a 'Brat Style'?...since as much as a few panties get wadded (foolishly)....they ARE the ones that popularized it?

Why bother trying to categorize bikes at all? Does it make the bike work better? Does it make you a better rider? Does it someone enhance your endowment? Seriously...who the fuck cares?

Exactly. Why does it matter?
 
Swagger said:
Why bother trying to categorize bikes at all?

Because it's easier for people to know what the hell you're talking about. It's more convenient to say Bratstyle than "a custom bike based on a small Japanese single or twin with cut down seat and fenders that somewhat resembles a traditional bobber".
 
DrJ said:
Because it's easier for people to know what the hell you're talking about. It's more convenient to say Bratstyle than "a custom bike based on a small Japanese single or twin with cut down seat and fenders that somewhat resembles a traditional bobber".

I disagree; think about it....if you're talking to a cage jockey who's sole experience with bikes was a brig's powered minibike, they don't have a clue what a bobber/cafe or brat style means. Not a clue. The only reason they'd recognize 'chopper' is because of the ridiculous shows on the Discovery Channel. They think Clip-ons are a lame ass kind of tie and a rearset is something bad that happens at the proctologist's office.

Anyone who know's anything about bikes will know what you have when they look at it.

I ride motorcycles.....
 
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