I've been called a bloke too terry, whatever the hell that is. Certainly I think fine looking motorcycles should be considered art, but only if they're ridden. The creations by some being called art I rarely understand. That goes for cafe's, flat seaters, whatever.
I'll say this. When these art forms suck OEM parts out of a declining circulation, they better be capable of being ridden or else suffer the verbal abuse from those who might need the parts otherwise. It's obvious the examples built without rider comfort as part of the equation that they'll never be a machine ridden. But in the end build your motorcycle man, I could care less.
I never understood owning unridden showpiece motorcycles either, maybe if I had the disposable income... Ride them dammit.
This is NOT directed to anyone in particular:
On balance, I would PREFER that all bikes be ridden, and not be pretty paperweights. There are pristine examples of the sandcast CB750 at Honda headquarters that are preserved for posterity and not ridden; I think they even procured one from World Motorcycles here in the US.
I'm not sure if my K7 Cafe is considered an abomination in anyone's eyes (I hope not, but you can't please everyone) since it is definitely NOT STOCK, but it certainly is NOT a trailer queen. I ride the piss out of it, even more than my trouble-free modern bike. If you don't like it, keep in mind that I didn't build it for you. The modifications are performance-oriented combined with my aesthetic choices. In contrast, some of the restored bikes on this forum are trailer queen/museum pieces that are NEVER ridden. I don't think that makes them bad, either.
I do believe that, on the whole, our forum members acquire, use and maintain bikes that could otherwise be rotting in a field or crushed at a metal scrapyard, and enjoying these bikes pleases me.
Some might not like a Honda chopper, bobber, cafe, street tracker, etc., but others might not like them stock either. I like many (not all) of the variants, including stock. I've just never owned one pristine enough to restore it. My 550K1 is as close as I've gotten to a stock vintage bike.
That said, I also own a RC51 -- the HRC homologation bike that was the basis of two AMA Superbike titles (Hayden), two World Superbike titles (Edwards), Suzuka 8 hours winner, and Daytona 200 winner. That bike had far more race victories than the CB750, which arguably is its great, great, great, etc. granddad. I HAVE modified mine with Ohlins suspension, Leo Vince exhaust, Brembo RCS Radial Master Cylinder, and other performance mods. The RC51 is also a collector, made in FAR fewer numbers than the CB750. Mine is a fairly low-mile bike and mostly stock, but I ride IT. Are my mods sacrilege? I hope not, and I don't think so.
I'm not a huge fan of the steam punk aesthetic, but I can appreciate the fabrication skill and time that goes into a Shinya bike. I'm not a big fan of slapping pipes, etc. on a bike without any function, just to make it look at the turn of the century industrial, but if that's what you like, do what pleases you. Personally, I like Noddy's bike in its present condition, but it isn't mine. Oh well, I'm old! That said, I don't think there needs to be so much nastiness going back and forth. Playful banter is cool, but we don't need to get too pissed off. Nobody seems to go ballistic when someone cuts up a CB750 frame and builds a rigid chopper.
That said, I am one of the members who likes Terry's offer!
