let's not forget to mention BDM's bullchet customer service. They crappy QA. oh yea and if something craps out in warranty your waiting atleast 2 months for a replacement. My homie had one he just toolnit to jalan to sell that pos so he can buy another road King when he gets back. His first bdm was cool looking but it had a back firing problem and would die out while riding. After talking to bdm they weren't doing crap to help him out so he got himself a lawyer and the tune they were whistling changed. They let him pick out of 4 bikes they had. He got one changed the pipes torque cones all done at an s and s certified shop and bam this one was golden but then the led light falls out while on the freeway took 2 months for a new one. Now he's trying o register his bike in japan and they are telling him they can't tell him the horse power or final drive ratio even though he had the oe torque cones and pipes put on because they don't know that information

 

I, even back in the 1970s, never called them Choppers. A frame-up build is more aptly a "custom" I think. Put that's neither here nor there.

Properly set up I can ride as far as anyone, and besides almost all the folks I ride with (with stock bikes) seem to stop every 125 miles or so for a smoke or to take a leak. Maybe too many of us focus on the disadvantages of customs (and sure, I've got no windshield, no radio, no plush seat, and no warranty) but what I do have is a bike I built myself. I know every nut and bolt, every strength and weakness, I know what to keep an eye on and what not to worry about so not much surprises me. I can fix anything on my bike that breaks, fails, or I didn't fab up or design right in the first place. And yes, the actual build process did include plenty of frustration and despair. But the first time I started it up, and the first time I rode it, was something I'll never forget.

Yes, I know, it's also very exciting to sign a check and have someone hand you a key, but since I've done it both ways I know it's not the same. I'm not sure what a good analogy would be but maybe it's like the difference between a girl you know for 2 years and then marry, and a girl you know for a week and then marry. I've got a simple Evo motor I can keep rebuilding until the day I die, no mysterious trouble codes, my throttle is reliably connected to my carburetor via steel cables, and during the entire build process I only set foot in the Harley dealership once (maybe twice) for some oil and filters, LOL. I fabbed up everything I could possibly do myself down to making my own Banjo bolts.

I know not everyone has the time, the inclination, or the mechanical ability (but believe me, that last one you'll learn as you go along) to build a motorcycle. And that's cool. But generalizing about those who do with, "they're only trailer queens," and, "it's just a bar-hopper," or, "that's just bolt on stuff from a catalog," isn't totally fair either. On the other hand I've ridden a few of my friends newer stock bikes (usually after they asked me to fix something for them) and there's no way to say they aren't very cool bikes too. I might even buy one some day!

BTW, I'm 57 years old so don't think you're ever too old for a custom hard tail! But in the end there's nothing more I enjoy more than going out to my garage with a new or better idea and with steel being cut, and the sparks flying, trying to make it work.

 

I love how you went with the fatbob tanks instead of the typical stretched sportster tank everyone else goes with.

 

Thanks, I went with Fatbobs (these particular ones I got for twenty bucks at the Long Beach Swap Meet and then put in another 20 hours of labor pounding out the dents, LOL) for some practical reasons and some other reasons not so practical. I just think Harleys look better with Fatbobs. They give the bike a brestier (is that a word?) and prouder look. They also, because I mounted them up high and I sit low in the frame, do keep a certain amount of wind off me. The forward curve of the tanks deflects some of the wind up and around me.

The practical benefit is of course more fuel. I can outlast any of the guys with Villain style tanks, which seem popular with many custom builders, never mind those with peanut style tanks, and almost go as far as anyone with stock mounted Fatbobs. I do lose about three quarters of a gallon in usable fuel because of the angle they sit, I can't quite fill the tanks completely and my petcock is mounted in the stock position so I can't scavenge all the fuel, although reserve still works like normal, but not many folks, even on softails, will go that far without stopping.

 

The "trailer queen" and rich guys buying choppers is the main difference between "then" and now. Choppers were made by blue collar guys building and fabbing bikes out of what was laying around. 180 degrees from today. Choppers weren't trophy bikes, like they are today. There were a few after-market parts makers in the 70s, but not nearly the number of today. And turn-key customs/choppers were not the norm.

 

I went thru a period a few years ago when I wanted one pretty bad. I'm glad I waited and the desire passed.
I still like to look at and appreciate the good, one off builds.
Thats a pretty cool one a few posts back

 

Dude, c'mon...........you ride w/ attitude to "rude" that bitch!

 

I totally agree with that . . .

My first Harley was 1969 FLH I bought used in 1975 from a dealer for eleven hundred dollars. Anything I did to that bike, like raking the neck with a cutting torch and a crowbar, and welding a hard tail on, I did myself. There were a few custom part guys around like Sugar Bear building springers, but I doubt I was making a hundred a week and all that was way out of my league.

So just by trial and error I turned a bone stock FLH in to this:



In those days I'd never even heard of rake and trail so it's miracle, just by eyeballing it, that it was even ridable. And I guess, looking back now, I think I just keep building the same kind of bike over and over again trying to get it right. And sometimes that's how long it takes . . .

 

It's chocolate or vanila.

Either you want stock or you want custom.

No point in saying why this one way is better or worse then that one. Ride what you like. I will say that a stock bike is the way to go for me. For those that like custom there riding. That's all that matters.

 

twizted biker , i love that avatar , ive seen it soooo many times but i still laugh ,