god bless the TLC discovery channel...... The Tuttles are like a train wreck.... they have the best equipped shop on the planet - hands down. Unfortunately they have zero design skills. Some of the guys on Biker build-off are closer to artists than builders.... Some are hacks with a nice shop and tons of bad-ass equipment. Chica, Indian Larry are 2 of my favorites. There is an episode in the can for jap bikes - don't know when it will air. Biker build-off has suffered as of late.... most of the truly gifted builders are celebrities now, and that show is really a whipping. I have first hand knowledge.... I'm on an episode of Biker build off with a buddy of mine....it 's fun, but I wouldn't want to do it more than once or twice. The exposure some of these guys get is invaluable....for example, my buddy received FREE of charge: a 6' engine lathe, metal cutting bandsaw, drill press, new welders - mig, tig & torches along with the coolest tool I've ever seen - an Anoka power hammer....If you can visualize it you can make it out of metal. We were talking one night after building & he thought that that single episode saved him about 5 years in accumulating equipment. The bike I helped with was fabricated by us (when I say "us" I mean him w/ me lending a helping hand.) Tanks fenders etc all metal - NO FILLER- He is, outside of my pops, one of the best metal workers I've worked with. He had a good mentor - his last job was working for Chip Foose - one of the best builder/designers that there has ever been. It's not really his or my style, but it's impressive close up and is actually a very comfortable ride. Not as nimble as the sohc's, but a great cruiser. check out www.fullerhotrods.comhttp:// it's the bike that pops up first..... that rear tire is 32" tall!
Most bikes are sold "as is" with the buyer having to take care of the legalities (titleiing, inspections etc) And many have waivers that are signed as well when you take ownership of the bike.
It's funny, I #$%* and moan and pick most of those cookie cutter bikes apart when I watch the shows, but I have my TIVO set to record all of them......
Hey, ¿which one is the one you helped with?
Regarding Chica, what's the merit of him? He just draws some sketches but the metal forming is done by his stupid right-hand man. The one I LOVED was a bike built by a tiny, shy japanese guy named Shinya Kimura. He built a bike out of parts from a scrapyard, pure industrial, with all the mechanism on sight. I loved it.
Another one that gets my credit is the Martin from the Martin bros. Not only is he a metal worker but a great painter too. The same than Ron Finch, but I can't stand his tone of voice and his over-psychedelic designs.
Cory Ness seems to be a good guy, but it must be hard to get sucess by yourself when you are shadowed by your own father. Arlen Ness is an icon, but in my opinion, most of his designs are way too experimental and not much eye-appealing to me. It must be easy to build a bike with such a workshop, warehouse and dad's friends.
Another thing i've noticed is that, when you want to make a living out of building bikes, you must have lots of tatoos and work with black t-shirts with either the HD logo, or some other cool messages. If you are getting bald, just shave your whole head and leave a goatee to look cooler. They must despise one century of bike engineering and design, and build their bikes just by drawing some sketches on a piece of paper. Like Eric Gorges said, "I like to put form over function". No wonder his gas tank would give an autonomy of 30 miles...
I've seen up to episode 20 so still there are a few waiting to be seen and commented. I bet some of them have even made a bike with negative trail!!!!
Raul
