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is it like plastic surgery

11K views 46 replies 27 participants last post by  Brigstocksbobber 
#1 ·
Now i know i may get some flack for this and i also know each to their own, but watching some of the transformations people are doing to the bobbers requires maybe knowing when to stop, (finding this hard to explain nicely), don't get me wrong some of the projects look fantastic and i love the results, but also i feel the Bobber should still look like a Bobber.

Again i know everybody has different tastes and that is a good thing but is it becoming additive to keep on going once you have achieved the look you want.

respect and regards

Tug:wink2:
 
#5 ·
Tug's point is well taken. I make some changes to all my bikes in order to make them fit me better or handle better than the stock product. Most of us don't fit the ideal average that manufactures use when developing the design of the machines they sell. Cost is also a consideration when determining the parts and materials for the price point they think will sell the most product.
We the consumers have to decide which bike will be closest for our comfort, performance wanted and other requirements as well as the undefinable aesthetic appeal. When one decides to purchase the Bobber, there are some compromises we are willing to accept, such as no passenger accommodations, no storage, just a minimalist bike as a bobber's traditional history implies. When we try to make the Bobber something it isn't we wind up with unintended consequences.
It is my opinion that if a rider likes long rides and camping as Roy mentioned then perhaps the Bobber isn't the appropriate machine for the job.
It's not my intention to pick on Roy, he's having a lot of fun trying to transform his baby but I think he should have started with a different platform. Sorry Roy.

Chico
 
#6 ·
Chico

I totally agree with making the bike your own but my main point is do you think it becomes addictive adding parts and not knowing when to stop, sometimes less is more, i have repainted a bike in the past with a custom paint job and liked it, but then looked at a standard paint scheme and preferred that.

Tug
 
#7 ·
If you think that someone has gone overboard with a Bobber, just take a look some of the chromed-out, lit-up, cringe worthy, moving discotheques people make from the Goldwings. It makes any Bobber look boring in comparison. But hey, to each their own!

The Bobber is a great platform to start on & the Speedmaster ever better (as it can carry a passenger and/or a higher payload).

I also agree that modding is exactly like cosmetic surgery; it can be done elegantly and with good taste. Or the needle can spin to the other end of the spectrum when it becomes an addiction.

 
#9 · (Edited)
Tug, you've hit on a very interesting topic! :smile2:

Why do any of us buy the things we do: function, form, aesthetics, character, personal taste, income?
For the sake of my argument, I'd like to stick to Chico's term: 'platform'.

Keeping to the subject of motorcycles, many of us are fortunate enough to own several of them.
The Varadero I bought specifically for its two up touring and luggage carrying capabilities, and I have customised it specifically for that purpose: hard luggage, gel seat, crash bars, hugger, Scottoiler, tall windshield.
The Bobber I bought based mainly upon its character. Yes, I have added leather panniers because I like the thought of having somewhere to stash my jacket and gloves if I stop off on a warm day. Equally, I can pick up a pint or two of milk and the newspaper without having to wear a rucksack (which I hate). I've also added some bling, and performed a few mods just to make it more 'mine'.

I agree with you that some, in my opinion, have been very extravagant with their modifications, but why not! We all justify what we do based upon our very individual desires.
Maybe the Bobber is that ideal platform that allows us all to imbue it with our own identities!
In Roy's case, he only has one bike, so why not transform it to fit all of his requirements? He could have bought a Guzzi California, but he didn't, he wanted a Bobber! :wink2:
 
#10 ·
Johnny,
I totally agree with you, and i wasn't pointing any finger at anyone, my real thoughts are the addictive side of adding to the bike or changing even after the bike has been perfected in the owner's eyes,
maybe pleasure is in buying more parts.

for me I get great pleasure in changing bikes, I change my bikes regularly, i have owned the bobber for two years now which is nearly a record. but i have also owned about 7 others in that time, some classic and some newish ones.
 
#12 ·
Hi Gents,

An interesting topic that I'm happy to explore.

In my own defence, I don't and have never had an addictive personality, so in respect of my bike, that's certainly not what's going on. Perhaps for me what's more accurate is that I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. If I can improve it (for me) I will. I fell in love with the Bobber platform when I first saw it and have loved owning it every moment. It came into my life during a very difficult time and not only riding but tinkering with it has been a wonderful, welcome and much needed escape.

I will agree that another platform would probably have been a more 'practical' purchase but I'm afraid where motorcycles are concerned I don't think I've made a practical choice in my life just ones from the heart.

I truly love my Triumph and love the unique way in which it's evolving.

As Freddy once said... "don't stop me now I'm having such a good time I"m having a ball"...:grin2:

Cheerio,

Roy
 
#13 ·
Some of us don't have the cha-ching for the surgery....

I like seeing all the tweeks, and major changes that people are doing.

For me, when I bought the bike, the only thing I did not like was the stock silencers. Other than that, I like the bike pretty much as is, save for a couple little subtle changes.
 
#15 ·
I think for some it’s all about the journey. It’s just fun getting there and the minimalist Bobber provides a great platform to make it your own, whether it’s in keeping with the minimalist aesthetic or adding a lot of bells and whistles. I mean, if you had bought another motorcycle that already had those mods standard, what would you do in your spare time? Besides, then your moto would be pretty much the same as everyone elses (is that even a word?)
 
#16 ·
I will echo kilyung's, and several other's sentiments, That the Bobber is an excellent starting point.

For me the Bobber was the closest thing in its "stock" form, to what I saw in my kaleidoscope vision of the perfect fun machine.

If you've clicked the link at the bottom of my posts and read through my picture blog thing, you'll know that it was one set of Triumph's PR pic's that hooked me. And I freely admit that I didn't even realize what I was looking for until I saw these pictures.

I grew up reading Easy Rider, and drooling over David Mann's artistic renderings of the perfect Bobbed Chopper. So, for me, and I'm guessing many of you here, the "part's addiction" is simply the result of the need to achieve our own unique personal interpretations of the perfect machine we "see" in our mind's eye, which we can't really know until we actually see it. I know I have several examples of "humm, thats not how I thought it would look" which are now collecting dust.

I think what I'm trying to say through my ramble here is, it isn't so much an addiction, as it is experimentation, to make real the elusive vision each of us has of the perfect bike. And just like experiments, we fail sometimes, and have to back track, or take a different path entirely.

I think I'm more or less there with mine, short of a couple of more extreme (read that as expensive) things, and I am quite happy with how my Triumph is turning out, spare parts and all!! :laugh:

Plastic Surgery is a pretty good analogy though! And as the saying goes, "there's no accounting for taste!"
 
#18 · (Edited)
I have modded many bikes over the years and it took a long time to learn that less is more. When you start taking off expensive things you have overdone you learn quick! I love going to bike and car shows to see what people have done, but more importantly to see what NOT to do! To me Bobbers should be minimalist bikes, that is in the definition.
I wanted to brag about my great self control and say I didn't touch my Bobber this year but then I remembered about the seat, my forth attempt at perfection!


Of course if you look at the 3rd pic you can see where I really blew the bike and mod budget for the year! Land vehicle Motorcycle Vehicle Motor vehicle Car


Bicycle saddle Vehicle Motorcycle accessories Leather Motorcycle
 

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#19 ·
I have modded many bikes over the years and it took a long time to learn that less is more. When you start taking off expensive things you have overdone you learn quick! I love going to bike and car shows to see what people have done, but more importantly to see what NOT to do! To me Bobbers should be minimalist bikes, that is in the definition.
I wanted to brag about my great self control and say I didn't touch my Bobber this year but then I remembered about the seat, my forth attempt at perfection!


Of course if you look at the 3rd pic you can see where I really blew the bike and mod budget for the year! View attachment 36833

View attachment 36835

Same here, agree. I have done minimal "custom" work on my Bobber unlike my many Harlys which I spent thousands of $'s on.. A nice brass gas cap (hated the locking thing). brass license plate frame, a few other brass trim parts. other than that, the Bobber is what it is, a Bobber, why I was drawn to it. The only other option I might go with is a forward control kit as my knees are giving me grief.


BUT, to you that want to tweek yours to the extreme, feel free without any diss from me. Carry on... :wink2:
 
#20 ·
When I first had my BB I certainly fell into the trap of changing things for change sake. Ultimately I have a box full of parts and items that I didn’t like when fitted or that I ended up changing for a second time.
The items I have purchased which give me the most satisfaction and practical benefit are the Corbin seat, Motone X-Pipe, V&H Pipes and Fox Shock. If I could start again I’d save a fortune and be just as happy with the bike.

I lucky that I also have a Tiger XCA and learned from the BB. Pretty much everything I’ve added to that has served a practical purpose. It’s a very different bike but I’ve found that I get just as much pleasure from doing some very affordable and reversible things to personalize it. I’ve just wrapped my panniers and they really stand out as being a little different without messing with the bike.
 
#22 ·
I agree, basically, but most of us have gone a bit overboard modifying something at one time or another, right? I am certainly guilty so I hate to judge others unless the results are particularly distasteful (or I'm taunting friends by pretending their mods are distasteful).

By the mid-80s I had spent more money keeping my 8-valve Kawasaki ahead of the 16-valvers than it would have taken to simply upgrade. But I had tons of fun doing the mods and certainly enjoyed the way my sleeper stunned so many street racing foes. It's also nice having something totally different than everything else. So lets vicariously enjoy how far the other folks go on their mods and be thankful it wasn't our wallets that took the punishment!

That reminds me, where is Trirocket3 with his latest dyno results?!!!

-GPz/Gary
 
#23 · (Edited)
As mentioned in my earlier post, I think this is an interesting topic, which I have continued to ponder.

I know my bike has evolved beyond the Bobber concept and that is fine with me as I never bought the bike expecting it to be a 'bobber', as I saw the potential for the platform in creating my own vision.

However I do understand that for some any build can look a little OTT. I have certainly seen bikes that I've cringed at. I think, at least from my perspective, it's not about what you do (too much or too little) but how you do it. I tend not to like bikes that are just a miss-mash of parts with no rhyme or reason, this can easily be over done. But rather I think if a build has a specific goal or theme that the builder is attempting to create, then I find it hard to critique, as it's one builders 'vision'.

As for my own project, I have tried to keep this in mind, hence my continued efforts in regards attention to details; blacking out the bolts and in how the lines of the panniers run along the bike etc.

But as always 'each to their own' be it bike or opinions. But wanted to share some thoughts.

Cheerio,

Roy
 
#24 ·
If the bikes weren’t meant to be modified then why do they offer a catalogue of parts and accessories? Aftermarket accessories are a major part of the industry’s profits and our common passion for this particular model. The Bobber is an excellent base for design and development thus giving us a canvas to our individuality and creativity. How boring would it be if we all kept our rides stock? Regardless of how many or few changes, release the artist within!!
 
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