Trade and private build fighters

[alfiestorm]

Having watched the fighter seen for quite a few years now it has developed from fuckin ell look what he built in his shed, he being anyone of joe public and showing there handy work in the hallowed pages of streetfighter mag which is what it was all about.
Now it's like, look at what fighters motorcycles have built this month at no EXPENSE spared you too could have this bike for only £80,000 which is all well and good but it is becoming all a bit of the same month in month out, all chrome and shiny bits.

I dont want to know how many services they JUST called on to design and cnc machine billet parts for them thats not the real world the real world is matey in his shed getting round problems without the luxury of being able to afford to hire the local cnc factory.
It used to be like that real world fighters being featured in mags all around the world.

I believe that there should be two seperate sections lets say in the streetfighters mag (it could be any of them that feature fighters) one for the trade to show off what they can do and supply and the other for what i am calling real world fighters what matey has produced out of his shed. Niether can survive without the other I dont think?

If it gets any worse we will be competing with hardly's for the fastest shiny mobile fuckin christmas trees. The fuckin yank bling thing is creeping in i reckon and it's all a bit fuggin gay lookin.

Now i have probably pissed a few people off let the abuse begin :D

[sharky]

Totally agree wiv ya mate. I enjoy grafting away in the garage making bits fit together....thats all part of the fun. A certain s/fighters mag started life as an off shoot from BSH and those bikes were real fighters. Of course there will be the usual 'people are too busy,don't have the skills' arguments, which is fair enough but why not have a go anyway. You never know 'til you try.
I knocked up my slab top yoke using a $100 pillar drill and my work mitre saw with a lump of alli from a scrap yard and the spray job was done outside using a gmc compressor and gun.
Maybe they should just run one trade produced bike each month and the rest 'Joe public' built.

[Brookesy]

Wake up with a hangover this morning did we sir?

[Brookesy]

Seriously,
I like to see a variety, but it is getting to be a bit of a joke.
Although - i'm in the "can't find the time" category at present.
Prefer to call it "the planning stage" though.

It's good to see some professional work - but i think a lot of people are missing the point. Making something you've dreamed up in your head is always goin to be more saisfying than dropping off your brand new CBZX14000 at the local custom shop and saying "build me a biiiiig looooong shiiiiiny piece of crap i can win lots of trophies with.

Personal expression is what custom bikes are about. Lose that and you've missed the point.

[stevo]

whether you've got ya own shop or a big shed or a small shed....

It should be about what YOU'VE done.... not what your wallet got done for ya...


Personally I like the mega$$$$$ machines because I can do most of that stuff myself and I like the ideas.....SO long as the lines flow and it goes together well... I hate the ones that look like someone spewed a cnc billet catologue over a set of engine cases...

A wanka is still gonna be a wanka no matter how flash his ride ....


The more any idea or subculture becomes mainstream ... the more ya gonna have wankas tryin ta buy cred...

[hooligan]

So 'cause i didn't/can't do it myself, i shouldn't own a fighter? I can't tattoo either, does that mean i shouldn't have any?
My bike is my only form of transport. I got tired of using the cheapest option (which wouldn't always be reliable), so i got things done properly.
Designed by me, built by exben. you guys use your own skills. I hire someone elses.
Does that mean my wallet did it, or does that mean I worked my arse off to earn the cash to pay to build my perfect bike?

[Large]

http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/upload/833206661539.gif

[fimpBIKES]

now wait a second
are u saying that if i go to all the trouble to design up my own triple clamps (which i did)
then i have a crack at making one with a big pedestal drill that is at work, then realise its not good enough for my liking (which i did)
so i designed up a new one, which i got the basic profile for water-cut by a local watercutting company
(uhoh, i didnt want to spend 40 hours with a hacksaw to get the shape right and instead got someone else to precision cut it for me on a million dollar water-cutting machine)

and then halfway through the drilling process i got an offer i couldnt refuse on some ex-racebike franks-racing triple clamps at 1/3 cost price that i shouldnt have bought them?

even a "budget" fighter is going to cost you HUNDREDS of hours, and depending on what u charge yourself out at that equals big theoretical dollars

it really depends where you draw the line
i currently pay a fair bit of rent just for a place with a decent sized shed

but if i lived in a smaller apartment and payed less rent
then i could afford to get work done by a specific shop

i think either way you are putting in the effort
and it seems unreasonably to expect someone to go out and purchase a milling machine

there is probably a happy medium somewhere in there


perhaps the best example of late being the creme-egg bike from the latest streetfighters mag
heaps of sexy little details by the owner

or that little single cylinder creme coloured thing from a few issues back that the guy had made 99% of everything off himself

i think if its a shop-made bike, as long as the person writing the review makes it clear that that is the case then it is a valid review

like bens Judge, if it WASNT the blingiest most gadgetty bike he could make
then it would reflect poorly on his company

[Gix11]

I basically agree with Chris (Hooligan). We don't all have the tools and experience in all areas of engineering and I'm not going to risk some ropey shed component with my life. I couldn't create the triple tree I had imagined in my head with the tools or skills that I had so I got Ben to do it. The subframe supporting the R1 tail plastics on the other hand was created in a mate's shed powered by Bunderburg Rum. It's steel and does the job perfectly and is a one off.

If you ask me, whatever parts make up a bike is irrelevant as long as it was your ideas that were realised and even bolted together by yourself, it is your personal expression. If you took a stock bike to a builder and said make me something cool, then you are a wanker and had no input in the build whatsoever other than your obviously too easily gained dollars. A true Streetfighter is made up of many individual pieces which make a whole. That whole may sometimes not be to everyones liking, but fuck me, it's their own impression and worthy of building. If Streetfighters (which I guess the top end ones are) get like the $150,000 dollar Harley's that were being trailered into the Gold Coast Bike Week a few weeks ago then it proves the wankers have taken notice of us. As you said, the buider should be credited in this case, not the owner.

[Iceman]

I'm all for companies building show bikes to promote themselves, it's a good way for people like me to see what can be done with the right skills and equipment.

On the other hand I can appreciate the work of others who like myself cannot afford all that custom bling and spend hundreds of hours in their sheds with their mates creating their own one off fighter.

No matter what you talk about, whether it be streetfighters, race reps, harleys, cars, boat or planes. There's always going to be ones that were built to sit on a stage in front of a camera, and ones that have been built to look good by and to their owners whilst on the way to work.

Who gives a fuck where they came from, they are all made with the same intention and from similar insperation.

[sharky]

[:0] Ya right Alfie.....certainly got peeps fired up.
My point was that there are too many of the big buck trade built bikes, Not that there was anything really wrong wiv 'em. I mean we wouldn't have seen the likes of Ben's for example.
I Just hope the fighter scene doesn't go the Hardly way and end up as who can spend the most...
And yeah, if you can afford it and can't do it yourself, you pay someone....If everyone could do carpentry I would be out of a job.
Mate in the uk was a genius with metal, crap with wood...so we traded.:D

[Gsxar]

My 2 cents

I think its like life – it’s about passion and what’s put into it & some help along the way.

I think a streetfighter or any form of modification is all about creating something you love, to your individual desires & likes
Regardless of who has machined what part, is the end result someone’s dream?
Something they have put a part of themselves into and hoped to create – and sits back with a massive smile on their face, thinking now that’s my idea of a bike…… What can I do next?
Talk to the owner, and then it’s easy to work out how they feel about their bike or if it’s just a money pit to impress;).

[hooligan]

I mailed the clip-ons today, Jo... I didn't make those either:D

Uuuum, uuuummmm, guess what guys, unless you're going to start casting your own engine casings, forging pistons etc, we all have fighters that have a sunstantial amount of work by the Japanese/Euro/Yank factories.

Personally I prefer to do my own work, where I can (How's those Buzz Saw discs comin' Ben?), and I'll either get other bits made to order, or off the shelf (I'll bet noone here has made their own lightbulbs have they?). What distinguishes a Fighter builder/owner is the amount of effort that goes into building your own bike. Emailing an order for a Judge replica from Ben, just because you read a copy of Rapid, isn't really what it's about (anyone seen Mono lately?). Spending 6 months talking with Ben, looking at what's around, getting parts made up to your own design/req's, etc etc etc, and Ben doing the actual construction is just as much a Fighter as my bike, in my books. (No fuggin way could I do a Judge quality paint job)
The work that goes into your own fighter doesn't necessarily have to be the grease-monkey work, but you do have to work at getting your own 'individual' fighter done. There is NO factory fighter, just factory bikes that can become fighters, once someone 'works' it over

[suxukifreak]

My 1400 and Kat have never been near a shop and thats they i want it.
Just me and MY garage.
My 5 cents worth :)

[alfiestorm]

To help clarify things a little before someone gets hurt with all these toys being thrown out of thier prams.

A trade built fighter is built mainly to show what the particular shop can offer you in services and parts and also the quality of thier workmanship in the hope that it will persuade you to purchase fightered bikes, parts and or services from them.

Private owned trade built bikes. These bikes are bought by those lucky enough to be able to afford to have one built for them to thier own requirements and good on em.
These bikes should be in the same class as trade built bikes and if shown in mags the people that done the work should be credited with bringing to life the owners idea and not fobbed off as i done it all myself moosh init, that realy pisses me off as there have been a few features in the mags that claim to be home brewed and are clearly not.

A private built fighter is one that is built by using self fabricated parts and or trade supplied parts and also parts designed by the owner but manufactured by the local engineering company but more importantly it is the idea of the owner and is put together by the owner.

I think this summs it up :D

I just want the fighter seen to be kept in perspective and real and not get lost in the world of the comercial money giants and become just another pastime like hardly's have become.

[Slingblade]

HHMMMMMMM. Talk about Pandoras box.

One thing to remember about the so called "bling" show bikes is that these bikes are a direct conduit for the amount of custom fighter parts available to average builders. The more parts made for show bikes the more choice you have when you are looking for a nice whatsimadoodle for your bike.

The other benefit of having dedicated builders is the knowledge base for the fighter community is hugely improved. So when you want advice on building a turbo yamahonduki, you can talk to someone like Ben, who says "oh yeah, i did one two years ago. Whatever you do, dont bloody use x brand turbo, i had one lunch itself". You have instantly saved yourself shitloads of cash before you begin.

I think you will find your average streetfighter specialist(even the german ones) aint like Orange County Choppers with unlimited funds. These blokes are trying to make a living doing something we would all give our eye teeth to be able to do.

[fimpBIKES]

i should note that if it isnt street-ridden

it aint a STREETfighter ;)