chrisf said:
Man...No offense, but I've seen that tank seat combo before. I don't mean to discount what you've done because it's not half bad. But I designed--and pioneered--a seat almost exactly like that. It would have been one thing if you bought the seat from me; it's an entirely different matter stealing intellectual property.
I realize that my seats are always aluminum, and the fit-up and execution differ--a lot. But still, that pisses me off.
--Chris
Man I certainly never - and I emphasize - ever would even think of trying to rip anyone or their ideas off. This seat/tail was certainly never intended to be a replica of your creations; it was conceived as something that would be in the same vein as the style of cafe racers found both here and everywhere, as well as - and this is of critical importance - something that I would be able to produce. In large part the seat was dictated by what I would be capable of fabricating from the materials and tools that I had on hand. I'm new to a lot of the things I've been doing here. I'm just a kid in college who wants to learn a thing or two about a skill-set that fewer and fewer people seem to have, and after all to end up with a half-decent, serviceable set of wheels. To do what I've done so far I taught myself what I can about torch and stick welding, (which is not much...) having neither access to a mig/tig welder or any proper sheet metal working tools and guidance. This tail section is what arose from that process.
If I'd had my druthers I'd have done a seat that tapered down more and was composite - but I had sheet-metal and a torch, not fiberglass and the resources, and more importantly, the time needed to fabricate the positive/negative molds required to do a proper seat lay up.
I formed up and put together a seat that I had thought was In my own way - even in review now there are a lot of of seemingly minor, but very distinct differences. I will not detail them because I don't think that it's worth nitpicking; the design and the seat/tank combo are similar in some basic nature, on that I now might be convinced to agree. However, it was never intended to look precisely just like anything you - or anyone in particular - had ever done. I apologize if you feel like this came out too closely to what you have done, as you do impeccable and inspired work that deserves respect. It certainly has mine. This has been a fairly "fly by the seat of my pants" sort of build, and I'm learning as I go. It's a very organic process and I've not always been sure what I was going to end up with.
And after all - my seat is a complete piece of crap. I've been contemplating throwing it out and replacing it with something purchased. If it weren't for the fact that I'd already put so much effort into it, and wanted to try and keep the bike as much as possible something I'd created with my own two hands it's very likely indeed I already would have done so. It looks like a piece of junk in person. Any welds on light gauge sheet metal done by an inexperienced hand aren't going to be worth a damn, no matter how you slice it. Whether or not anybody wanted to lay claim to the style the bike was rendered in, it's never going to approach the standards of many or most of the enthusiasts on this board... but it's also the product of several weeks of after work blood, burns, sweat, and 3 iterations from start to finish, (each one looking different than the last). It is what it is. I was actually initially quite dumfounded by this response because in all the time I spent working it never occurred to me that these efforts would ever be considered as any kind of infringement. But then I just saw it as another iteration of a simple, traditional image - not to claim it was a new or original style that I'd pioneered.
The reason I came to this forum was for help/advice and for inspiration, not to "steal intellectual property." If this is not how my build has been perceived, then I see no further need to continue posting or reading, as it goes against the nature of what the board is intended to be for, and I do not wish to perpetuate the issue - nobody will be gaining from it and I'd be wasting my time.
Thank you for taking the time to read this long winded reply if you've made it this far, no offense was ever intended on any level, and I hope that nobody has taken any. I'll continue to work on my build, but I'll have to decide if I'll continue to document it now, or if I'll keep the seat.
Good day.
love the metal seat
