Customizing
For many bikers customizing isn’t just the most important thing in motorcycling it’s the only thing. At first, I wasn’t sure if a short magazine article could even begin to cover such a personal and emotionally charged subject, but we’ll give it a try. I’m not going to get into any specifics but instead will attempt to shed some light on a few problem areas. There’s a bucket full of reasons to leave our bikes alone. In most cases, the modifications we make are purely cosmetic in nature anyway. That is, they don’t really make the motorcycle a better machine in any meaningful way. At best it’s only an attempt to personalize our bikes and somehow make them an extension of ourselves. We try to make them conform to our set of standards and hopefully they will serve us better in the days ahead. Unfortunately we sometimes create a bike that’s far less utilitarian than before and in some cases, downright unridable.
What are we really trying to do?
In a word, ‘Personalize’. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as we understand the consequences. Much, if not most of the stuff we put on our bikes will have a detrimental effect on the overall rightness of the machine. We just simply convince ourselves that we’re making an improvement and the recognition awarded by our friends and riding buddies goes a long way to justify our efforts as well as soothe any misgivings over the considerable expense. Conversely, most of the truly beneficial improvements will go unnoticed by almost everyone. You’ll probably have to point out any positive changes and everyone will just yawn as a statement of indifference. In the final analysis it all depends upon how we use our bikes.
How is the bike to be used?
This is precisely the question to be asked. It’s everything. The general category of the bike, such as: Cruiser, Chopper, Touring, Sportbike, Standard or Street Bike or Dragbike, etc, pretty much sets the tone for any customization efforts. Only the Cruiser, Chopper or typical V-Twin machine can offer an almost unlimited scope of customizing possibilities. There is, on the other hand, an almost complete indifference to anything functional. The resulting unrestricted focus on the aesthetic greatly expands the scope of possibilities. This is precisely why these particular machines are so popular. The Sportbikes, on the other hand are all about things functional. While this focuses a lot of attention on power and handling, it simply doesn’t permit an especially exciting opportunity to express yourself artistically. This is probably the reason you’ve seen so many silly looking custom sportbikes. Customizing a sportbike is much like trying to customize a ball-peen hammer. What’s the point? You can chrome-plate the head but it won’t drive a nail any better. A Harley, on the other hand, is like a Christmas tree. You don’t have to ‘do’ anything with it; you just decorate it to your heart's content. You don’t have to be concerned if it’s getting to heavy or if it functions the way it used to. It only matters if it looks good and reflects the overall appearance that you had in mind. Both situations have their advantages. It isn’t a matter of which is better, but only which one suits your talents and objectives.
Balancing act
All the big name bike builders enjoy the flexibility to build what they want or at least have a considerable influence on the objective. The customers give the general direction and builder executes the project as he sees fit. It’s pretty much understood that the best results will be achieved when the customer gets out of the way. For the small-time builder it’s far more difficult. He often has little opportunity to display his real talents; instead he is merely assembling a list of materials to satisfy the customer’s wishes. Unfortunately the customer often has few meaningful ideas and sometimes has little or no taste on the subject. In this case the end result may somehow fall short of the customer's visions of grandeur and the builder will have another bike rolling down the street reflecting few or none of the best skills of his shop. His problems tend to be self proliferating and it becomes difficult to break out of the mold. I have found that the best results are realized when the customer steps back and allows me to do my thing. Of course, if the builder has little to recommend him, the bike owner must assume a more controlling interest and role. This applies to any of the major regiments, engine building, painting, air brush work, etc. Naturally when the service provider is unknown, you’ll need to secure some degree of confidence before you, as the customer, can walk away from the process. As I said, it’s a delicate balancing act.
Individuality or lock-step conformity
In so many instances, the bike owner is unwilling to create anything on his own opting instead to duplicate whatever he’s seen on TV or at the local bike shop. As the owner of a motorcycle shop I tend to focus on function and consider upgrades only when it truly improves the bikes handling, performance, or function. I don’t think I’ll ever see the point in chrome fender ornaments, fishtail mufflers, twistgrip streamers, or anything that does nothing but add weight and cause problems. I also look critically at those items that interfere with long term ownership.
Long term problems
Most of the extensively customized bikes suffer from a number of problems. They tend to be built or re-built with only style or cosmetics in mind. Not only are the elements of performance and handling ignored but they are often sacrificed in the process. I’ve ridden some of these bikes that handled more like a school bus than a motorcycle. Their owners have completely abandoned any hope of riding them at all. In many instances the enormity of the project was its own undoing. It may have become far more expensive than anticipated. A simple spill or tip-over or in the driveway can require thousands of dollars to repair. I’ve personally seen several of these bikes suffer from widespread deterioration of the paint or chrome plating. This subsequently results in the owner’s frustration and complete abandonment of the bike and a complete loss of interest in it. He may even refuse to wash the thing or attempt to get things back in running order. If the bike had been left alone and just ridden instead, he’d still be riding it today. Adding to the problem is the fact that much of the goodies you see in catalogs or on display shelves are just plain junk. Almost anyone can start up a business manufacturing this stuff. Functional parts are a bit more difficult, but the purely cosmetic items are typically void of any concern for function. Much of it won’t even fit properly. It always amazes me to hear guys talk about making their bikes faster and then they proceed to pile on all the weight they can find. Of course this is even more difficult to understand in the case of a sportbike. Here they try to convert a Ferrari into a Buick. I suppose it can be done, but what’s the point?
One Prime Example
One of the best examples of ‘things not to do’ would have to be chrome plating your cast aluminum wheels. Just about everything is wrong here. Aluminum is too soft to provide a good base. It’s also impossible to tell if the plating was properly done or not. In other words, it may last a few years or only a few months. By the time you find out it’s too late. There are other problems as well. When you have anything chrome plated all the internal components, such as seals, bearings and other hardware, must all be removed prior to the plating (dipping) processes. After the wheels come back from the chrome shop you or your shop must now press the bearings back into the machined hubs. Unfortunately they no longer fit as the chrome plating has now reduced the inside diameter of the hub. Most shops have mechanics, not machinists, so they grab their Dremmel tool and attempt to remove the offending chrome plate. This is nearly an impossible task as the chrome is ‘extremely’ hard and once removed the aluminum beneath cuts like soft butter. The frequent results are bearings that are now loose in the wheel. This year alone my shop has uncovered many of these. When a customer comes into my shop to have a tire mounted on a chrome wheel, I say something like “Oh oh, we’ll have to carefully inspect that chrome for damage before we touch them”. I’d have to say that ‘most’ of the time we’ll discover chrome that’s peeling, bubbling, or already damaged from a previous tire installation.
My own experience
Some years ago I also got caught up in the showbike scene by building a big twin show bike. I was actually pretty successful winning 43 first place shows out of 45 shows. In those days most of the stuff we bolted on our bikes had to be hand made and there wasn’t much out there to serve as a guide either. Even the dual side pipes had to be welded up and hand-bent a few sections at a time. While the bike was becoming more and more impressive as time went by it was also becoming less and less a motorcycle. One day while riding it up Main Street it occurred to me that this thing wasn’t any fun to ride at all. It sure attracted a lot of attention but even that was becoming less and less a motivation as time went by. I missed the riding experience that I’d known years before. A good solution might have been to spring for two motorcycles but I didn’t have the funds for that so I sold the showbike and entered into a series of Sportsters and Japanese sportbikes. I still like to spruce up my bike but never at the cost of performance. The engineers have done a good job on these machines and great care must be taken to avoid going backwards from a functional standpoint. I often find myself looking at a bike in a magazine where others are saying “wow, that’s neat, incredible”, etc. All I see are the problems, the added weight, uncomfortable riding accommodations, and the waste of money. Unfortunately, many of us get caught up in a never-ending game of outdoing, or outspending the other guy, that we frequently fail to achieve any real success at all.
Strategies
This really isn’t much different than building a house, a boat, or even a business. Rushing ahead is a sure way to spoil the results. Look at as many completed bikes as possible reflecting the general approach you’d like to take. When you think you’ve discovered the bike of your dreams, show a picture of it to some professionals to get their opinion. If there are fundamental problems it’s a lot cheaper to discover them early. I recently orchestrated such an effort for a customer and he eventually changed the whole concept in favor of something a bit more practical.
Some general observations
Owners are often so enamored over the prospects of riding their exciting creation they completely overlook the details. Here’s a brief list of some of the most common mistakes:
Turning over your bike to a painter can be a big mistake. They are painters, not mechanics. I frequently see all the hardware getting shuffled around. While this may sound harmless it can be rather serious. Inserting a screw that’s too long or too short into an engine case can result in stripped threads.
Proper preparation is necessary before and often after chrome plating yet these are seldom carried out properly if at all. For example, when an engine side cover has been plated the gasket surface must be machined or ‘milled’ to restore a flat surface. Remember that these parts will have been dipped and it gets into everything, including all those areas where it’s not wanted.
Those really extravagant paint jobs may be all but impossible to touch up. Be sure that a scratched fender can be repainted without having to re-paint the whole bike.
That new paint will almost certainly be less durable than the original. Let it cure for a while and be especially careful where screws are tightened against the fresh paint. You may want to use thin plastic washers under these screws to avoid distorting the finish.
When a bike is only a few years old, all that customization is pretty nice, but as it approaches a classic or antique status all that customization work tends to diminish the bike's value. I’ve probably had as many customers wanting to get their bike back to a pristine stock condition as to continue making it a fashion statement. Unfortunately this is always more difficult to do.
Dave Leonard
Precision Cycle Works
