LASSENC---->I came from the High dollar v-twin world, where a set of "raw" pipes costs upwards of $1000
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When I worked at the shop (3 years) , due to my environment, prices like that became normal to me.
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. $30,000 bikes were looked at as "entry level" models. The custom world of bikes is a weird one, let me tell ya...
Anyways, when I bought my CB, I had no other plans then to ride it to and from work, to save on gas, and get my motorcycle "itch" taken care of. I had sold my custom bikes to afford the 55 (best move I made)About a week after I bought the CB , I found this website, saw the bikes Carpy was making , etc..I knew for a few bucks I could change my otherwise "stock" bike into somethig more..Not that it is finished, but my CB has slowly became a bobber/custom/cafe/streetfighter monster that I am proud to call mine. I am all about the CB because parts are way cheaper, i mean WAY CHEAPER than anything American v-twin related. I could build 10 of these CB based bikes for the price of one stock HD. The CB handles my motorcycle itch fine, and the 55 handles the car/automotive side of my obession..
If money is an issue, I would stick with the CB , and do a few small things to make it the way you want. You can do a sweet paintjob (rattlecan), 16'' HD rear wheel (Ebay), some drag type bars (Ebay), custom tank (Ebay) , and have yourself a sweet low cost racer..You have your entire life to get the HD Bobber you want...
My 4cents...