Comments on: Custom Builders Should Sell Complete Parts Kits

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 02:22:15 +0000

I’m in, got any experience with the fabrication of every aspect of a bike? This sort of takes the idea away from the “kits”, where there is a set kit that can’t be chopped and changed to your specifications. Personally, I think that a website of made-to-order custom bikes would be awesome, and in a way puts me in mind of any number of “street” car racing games nowadays. Most have the option to put on aftermarket parts, but the only “street” game I’ve found that caters for bikes has very little in the way of customising. I think this is to do with the perceived idea that bikers like to keep everything stock, with maybe a bit of paint and graphics changeovers.

With the advent of more companies that do this, I imagine that there would be an increasing number of companies who cater for piece-by-piece modification. That would increase interest, and perhaps even bring some car modifiers into the mix. And yes, I know that there are a lot of businesses who do this style of piece by piece bike modification. But I hate to say it, if their websites are anything to go by, the products aint much to write home about. Call me a crazy kid, but made to order bikes sound like one heck of an idea.

By: chris

chris — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 23:24:05 +0000

oooh, that’s good. like ordering each course of a meal from a menu! imagine a website where you select a frame, move to engine, swingarm, forks, fairing, tank, wheels, etc. then someone on the other end makes sure all the stuff you need to make it a cohesive bike is shipped along, a custom set of instructions for your particular bike are printed up and sent along with the kit. boutique bikes. for the slightly smaller bank account set. anyone wanna start a business?

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:48:30 +0000

Keeping it a limited production run would help to maintain the uniqueness, and I’m all for custom bike builders to make kits, to make other bikes as unique, cool or personal as you want. In fact, I’m more than all for it. As long as these kits have interchangeable parts, keeping it fresher than if it was one kit that you couldn’t chop and change. I mean, rather than having Option A, you could have the Option A tank, with Option C fairing, Option L forks sitting on an Option P frame. To me, that would keep everything very, very unique, and if you like a particular bike that blew past you on your way to work, then you can find the parts it had and make it up yourself.

I agree with the homebuilt aircraft analogy, and perhaps I had the wrong idea when I wrote earlier. I’m thinking the endless chrome plated cruisers, and how after a while they tend to look the same. I for one would love a chance to head down to the local bike shop, order some parts and after a frenzied afternoon of bolting on parts, stand back and admire something that is mine, oh mine. If it’s me, if it makes me smile when I jump on, then I’m (obviously) happy.

By: chris

chris — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 01:28:03 +0000

or maybe just a small production run? maybe 50 units? surely you could make enough money selling fifty $10,000+ kits to recover the cost of the original custom. and 50 is a really small number when you consider how many people in the country own/want a bike. you’re still cool because whenever someone sees YOUR bike, it’ll probably be the first and only one they ever see.

By: kneeslider

kneeslider — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 19:33:47 +0000

OK, let’s see if I can make my point another way. Consider homebuilt aircraft. Many homebuilders can put together fairly complex airplane kits which are not cheap, look great when finished, perform very well but which they may be unable to design from scratch and without some prebuilt parts, probably not be able to make everything on their own without great difficulty. Getting a group of these builders together at Oshkosh during the annual EAA fly-in doesn’t make them feel like they’re flying something generic, but instead, they feel they’re part of a select group of builders who put in the time and effort to finish something fairly rare and yes, cool, and they swap stories and become friends.

Most any motorcycle would be a lot easier to build than any airplane kit but if the original custom builder kept the price up a bit and there was still some work to do, you would be in little danger of seeing yourself on every corner.

Granted, this would not appeal to everyone, but forget big V-twins for a minute and suppose someone like Jean-Luc Borgetto came up with a kit so you could recreate the MV Agusta 500 he built, don’t you think a few guys might take a shot at something like that? If you knew someone else who was building one, you might call each other if you ran into some particular difficulty. Once finished, builders might meet once a year and show off their bikes and compare notes and help the new builders just starting out.

Maybe it’s just me, but I like the idea.