Bolt on vs. DIY etc

Im definitely not trying to open up any cans of whoopass here alrite!
Was just thinkin about this whole DIY budget thing etc that became such an issue in recent goings on.
More specifically I was thinking about my own bike.
Now im not a CTFS kinda guy, I dont class myself as a mechanic (but i like to have a go), I dont weld, but I used to be a tradesperson(albeit with wood) & Im not a total idiot.
Anyway...I realized that my bike is not necessarily big budget or all made up of bolt on parts.
For a start, it's an 883 sportster, the most budget harley there is.
I didnt buy it new, I looked for quite some time to find a bargain.
The sprung solo seat was cheap. I hunted for a bargain. I had to take it completely apart and put new rear studs at the right distance apart(got them welded in for 10 bucks) & then put it all back together again.
The shocks are cheap 2nd hand aftermarket big twin and need spacers to fit. The top shock covers didnt fit, so my metalworker mate in Massey trimmed them for me.
The speedo has the xena mod which I did with stainless pipe(free from a mate) and a pipe cutter(loaned from the same mate).
I had to rewire the indicators because I took the rear fender chrome struts off.
To lower the front fender I had to straighten the offset in the brackets in a cheap warehouse vice (that i have setup outside mounted on an old set of drawers) and then drill new holes.
Every part i got, I combed around the place to get the cheapest version I could get.
Now, i know that's NOT making everything yourself, and i know these things may seem very basic, but...the point is, I had an idea of what I wanted to do and it was done on the budget that I had. And Im just feeling my way along.
Everyone has their own budget - big or small or medium. When I was younger or at different points in my life I was happy to just ride any bike.
And if you can build your own dream bike (or bikes) then that's brilliant!
Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. I feel better now. I think I just needed to get that off my chest.

brett7777 wrote:

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. I feel better now. I think I just needed to get that off my chest.

haha good on ya

As far as I am concerned, working on your bike is working on your bike. I can barely weld but I'm a half decent mechanic and I have been painting cars and bikes for over 30 years.
I have never been interested in stock bikes. I customised my first bike when I was 16. Didn't make any of the parts but I modified parts to fit. The point for me is that you change your bike and you do the majority of that work yourself. If you can't do something yourself then you get someone else to help. If the parts you use or home built or modified then it usually (not always) makes the end result more interesting. If you just get a catalog and bolt stuff on with out having an overall design in mind it ends up either looking like a whore's handbag or just the same as the next guy who shops in the same place you do.
Bottom line is; try and do the work on your bike yourself; use as many one off pieces as you can; if you can't do it, get help; try and use the people inside our community where possible; be ready to help the others; and if you are bolting something new on,try and do it with taste.
I want to see unique bikes out on our roads, not clones but in the end, its your bike. Who cares if I don't like it? build what you want or can afford and then ride it like you stole it.
End of sermon.

Irishjon wrote:

End of sermon.

Preach it brother, hallelujah!

Irishjon wrote:

it ends up...looking like a whore's handbag

So...a whore's handbag is...a bad thing...right ?

irishjon wrote; ride it like you stole it.

Now there's a good T-shirt

That's where I got it from. Probably still have the t-shirt.
Funnily enough, whore's handbag is an Irish term and it makes me feel homesick. Who'd have thought?

Funnily enough, whore's handbag is an Irish term and it makes me feel homesick. Who'd have thought?[/quote]

I love that term, Whores Handbag
I think I should of called my build thread WHORES HANDBAG and general discussion.