I probably wouldn't vote for a bike that the owner hired a professional to build. However, I wouldn't withhold a vote from a bike just because the builder has access to a budget, tools, or skills that I don't. Some guys are good with a welder, others have access to CNC equipment to use for their own projects. I haven't touched a welder in close to 15 years and while my employer has every piece of CNC equipment you'd need to build a motorcycle from scratch...I can't use it for my own projects. That's no reason to withhold a vote from someone who could CNC a triple clamp at work during their lunch break.
One rule I do hold out for myself is that a bike must have a build thread here on DTT to get my vote. New members are great and very much needed to keep a forum alive, but I won't vote for someone who shows up and says, "Hi, I'm new...and here's my finished bike". I mean no disrespect to those who fit that category, but we are here to learn from each other and from our builds. For my DTT BOTM vote, I need to see the build on DTT even if it's actually posted after the fact. I want to see the details of the build and not just the finished product.
