Topic: Is this stupid crazy, or what?

[TwoTired]

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/mcy/d/custom-built-cafer-racers/6341877318.html

It status and style really that expensive?

It seems my collection is near equivalent to a gold mine.     

[754]

Too bad they lack status and style..

[BomberMann650]

Clone Wars

[goldarrow]

Those guys are based out of San Fernando Valley/Los Angeles Area

[Kevin D]

40 grand worth of CB’s!

[seanbarney41]

40 grand worth of abomination thread material

[carnivorous chicken]

I always wonder if in places like SF -- or Seattle, or NYC, or wherever -- where there are plenty of people with more dollars than sense if #$%* like this actually sells. "Aggressive Tires."

[BomberMann650]

40 grand worth of abomination thread material

I thought abominations had to be unrideable, unsafe, or unrecognizable?

[RAFster122s]

Sorry, no insult intended to intelligent Californians on the list or friends who qualify.

It is in California, the land of fruits and nuts.

Trying to cash in on the popularity and hype of brat/scrambler style bikes by Histers with few skills but money to spend.  Bike prices are always higher in California but that is stupid lack of style, class, and taste.  No one told them you can buy a used Ducati Scrambler for what they want for their hack jobs.  Paint is not that nice on them from what I can see.  Put a bit more money with it and you can buy a new bike with its waranty and modern power and conveinence...none of the vintage bike upkeep and maintenance.

[Gene]

ppl w/more money than sense will buy these becuz they think they're cool. I don't know why. I paid a lot for my stocker 550 becuz we're in So. California, but these things are overpriced for what they are. They took all the good stuff off of 'em.

And yeah - I think they're up in Lancaster (?) they buy cheap-a$$ bikes from across the country and then "fix/customize" them according to current fashion.

[seanbarney41]

40 grand worth of abomination thread material

I thought abominations had to be unrideable, unsafe, or unrecognizable?

and these are all of the above

[Gene]

http://www.fuelwellmoto.com/build-a-moto

[BomberMann650]

40 grand worth of abomination thread material

I thought abominations had to be unrideable, unsafe, or unrecognizable?

and these are all of the above

Thats some harsh criticism

[Stev-o]

It seems my collection is near equivalent to a gold mine.   

Yes, but you would have to chop them up and customize them first...

[ekpent]

Cookie Cutter bikes.

[eigenvector]

I honestly would have thought that trend had died by now.

But really - its essentially 3 grand in material and another grand in time being marketed for 11 thousand.  Talk about a markup.

If you're into that sort of bike, I'm REALLY not, but if you are - please don't support over-pricing like this.

[BomberMann650]

I honestly would have thought that trend had died by now.

But really - its essentially 3 grand in material and another grand in time being marketed for 11 thousand.  Talk about a markup.

If you're into that sort of bike, I'm REALLY not, but if you are - please don't support over-pricing like this.

I think they're building vintage shop rates into their price.  Overhead and staffing and outside services.

Wether you like the style or not, somebody did the work to make that bike a reality.  If you can't respect someone else's build, what respect does your own work deserve then?

[seanbarney41]

What is respectable about taking an old motorcycle, that is really already a poor performer by modern standards, and making it perform drastically worse and then charging ridiculous amounts of money for all the "custom work", displayed on a corny website with options that read more like a Qdoba menu, and that their whole build style is a blatant rip off of a single custom shop in Japan that builds very simple stripped down choppers and customs from mainly sr400's and these guys can't even do anything that even looks half as cool...

Seriously?

Pretty sure I can tell from your posts Bombermann, that you actually ride your bike, and greatly enjoy it when you do, and you don't run retarded dual sport tires on pavement because in REALITY dual sport tires are a big trade-off both in the dirt and on the street, and you have not hacked your frame into a worthless wad of uselessness that really should not look cool to anyone that has spent more than 5 minutes riding anything as good as a half running yz50...and that is worthy of a lot more respect

[BomberMann650]

Thanks for the affirmation Sean.

[FuZZie]

I honestly would have thought that trend had died by now.

But really - its essentially 3 grand in material and another grand in time being marketed for 11 thousand.  Talk about a markup.

If you're into that sort of bike, I'm REALLY not, but if you are - please don't support over-pricing like this.

I think they're building vintage shop rates into their price.  Overhead and staffing and outside services.

Wether you like the style or not, somebody did the work to make that bike a reality.  If you can't respect someone else's build, what respect does your own work deserve then?

How do you respect that work?
They may have put 4g into making them, but pick what you think is the best one and tell me what you'd pay for it?  I'd go first but I don't even see one I'd go 2G on. 

I'm just not seeing any build quality at all, in fact I'm sure if you look tru the build treads you could pick out first timers with spraybombs making them look like hacks.

You should be giving them the horn

[MoMo]

40 grand worth of abomination thread material

I thought abominations had to be unrideable, unsafe, or unrecognizable?

and these are all of the above

gotta agree but............  as Mr. P.T. said, "there's a sucka born every minute".  So there must be a market....Larry

[BomberMann650]

Fuzzy, I'll bite.

Exhibit C) Gunsmoke, sticker price $7,900.

I can't bring myself to hate this one too much.  It's their most reasonably priced "model".  It closely matches my own vision of a blue/silver cb.  I admit, I'm biased.  It's #$%*ing blue. 
If it weren't for a cardinal fork brace sin (quickly remedied) I'd ride it. 
They've packaged a refurbished machine.  Actually has some seat padding, reasonable bar height.  But left out a rear set foot control.  Oh well, I'll live.
Things that are shiny, are shiny, things that are black, are black. That block got some treatment and a known good set of headers.  If they're specialists, the I'd expect the motor to be tuned to perform with its pods and notable lack of muffler.
I like their choice in headlight/gauge layout.  I'll even forgive the retro tire choice because I rode gs-11's for 8,000 miles.

You're right there might be $4k in goods sunk into this bike.  So if we do the standard retail markup, $7,900 is bang on.  Which has to pay the tech, the lease, and whoever made that hip white website.

But for $7,900, I'd want to change three things and would refuse to pay tax, title, license as a negotiation tactic.

[TwoTired]

An advocate?
Which of those examples will Not rub the seat hoop with the tire when the springs are compressed?  4" of suspension travel, 2" of tire to hoop clearance when there's no weight on the seat.  Where are there public streets so smooth that suspension travel isn't taxed too its limit?

Who wants a "racer" that can't turn nimbly in the twisties?  Only one of them has tires that won't necessarily require gobs of force on the bars to hold the desired turn line.  At best these might be happy going in a straight line.

How far past the most local of hang outs will you enjoy riding these implements of bodily torture?

I can only think these are poser bikes.  Real cafe racers were modified to go fast between cafes, as in to be ridden and ridden hard.  These bikes are modified to be art projects, best placed on pedestals like airplanes on pylons at the airport entrance.  Don't pay the builder for stellar engineering, pay only if you feel there was a credible fantasy artist at work and are willing to pay to be "trendy".

I take consolation that they are for sale but not purchased (hopefully never).  I weep because there were probably some good bikes that got destroyed to make something that will hardly ever be ridden and the dusty heap will be scrapped in less than ten years when the "trend" morphs to something else.

Great bikes diminished to less than mediocre and largely non functional.

[74cb750]

An advocate?
Which of those examples will Not rub the seat hoop with the tire when the springs are compressed?  4" of suspension travel, 2" of tire to hoop clearance when there's no weight on the seat.  Where are there public streets so smooth that suspension travel isn't taxed too its limit?

Who wants a "racer" that can't turn nimbly in the twisties?  Only one of them has tires that won't necessarily require gobs of force on the bars to hold the desired turn line.  At best these might be happy going in a straight line.

How far past the most local of hang outs will you enjoy riding these implements of bodily torture?

I can only think these are poser bikes.  Real cafe racers were modified to go fast between cafes, as in to be ridden and ridden hard.  These bikes are modified to be art projects, best placed on pedestals like airplanes on pylons at the airport entrance.  Don't pay the builder for stellar engineering, pay only if you feel there was a credible fantasy artist at work and are willing to pay to be "trendy".

I take consolation that they are for sale but not purchased (hopefully never).  I weep because there were probably some good bikes that got destroyed to make something that will hardly ever be ridden and the dusty heap will be scrapped in less than ten years when the "trend" morphs to something else.

Great bikes diminished to less than mediocre and largely non functional.

Hear Hear!

[FuZZie]

Fuzzy, I'll bite.

Exhibit C) Gunsmoke, sticker price $7,900.

Yea, I picked the same bike, pretty much on color alone... ;(
But My tastes are more like TT's so they got docked for all the missing oem bits.
Then the few bits that would have been ok to change (pretty much all on your points list) I didn't like.