Featured Customising Your Bike. Subjective Of Course But...

We all alter our bikes, adding bits’n’bobs, chopping’n’changing, sometimes for practical reasons and sometimes for aesthetics. I always find it interesting to see these changes and like everybody else l make a judgement. Do l like it? Would l want it on my bike? Would l buy a bike like that? However, l cannot for the life of me understand the use of pipe wrap on a modern Triumph, even a Bonneville. On an ancient bike maybe but not on a newbie. It always looks shabby, doesn’t make a new bike look any more authentic (whatever that means) and basically looks bloody awful, especially as most owners make a hash of doing it. So please STOP USING IT!
Phew, got that off my chest.
Now the question is, what changes do you absolutely hate and make you wonder what the owner was thinking of?

 

Yes, with you on this. Someone another form even has some sort of reptile adhered to his front mudguard - that's exactly the kind of thing that makes me a bit sick in my mouth.

I actually quite like the look of exhaust wrap on the right bike, but personally I'd NEVER use it.

 

ah, i can see your problem. i'm assuming you dont wear the following: check shirt, jeans with turn-ups, cool brown leather shoes, possibly a scarf and a short haircut/long beard. anyone without that get-up wouldnt understand pipe wrap, or firestone tyres, or a brown leather seat. you sir, are clearly not a hipster...

 

I dont like most bog standard bikes with some exceptions ...mostly Triumph and Harley's (older) i like most things custom where someone has actually put real work in and thought about it...most bolt ons like those mentioned bolt ons look hideous on a std bike but i have nothing against pipe wrap in the right place and it actually has a real purpose it keeps the pipes at a constant high temperature which actually speeds gas flow through the pipes apart from the obvious stopping legs from being burnt.
I guess most on this thread will hate my bike so no pic.

 

Tassels and leather fringes - why just why?

 

i have no issue with modified bikes. each to their own, but what gets me with the hipster thing is that bikes have become a fashion statement and we've ended up with a lot of people who ride a motorcycle as opposed to bikers. owning a cool bike doesnt make someone a biker. but hey, what do i know...

 

Oh dear
I’ve just spent 20k and I’ve only managed to do 150miles so far

 

In general and in my opinion some after market accessories just look terrible. Things like generic wind screens and saddle bags. I usually go for Triumph OEM accessories because there was thought put into how they look on the bike. Also integrated fitment on the bike. I know they cost more but it is a must for me to ensure accessories are functional as well as look good.

 

You know me so well

 

Does it really matter that some people ride bikes but don’t fit your definition of a biker? The way l see it is the more bikes on the roads the better and l don’t care who’s riding them or why. Bikes have been a fashion statement for decades, nothing new there. Just because a group of people choose to dress in a similar way and choose to ride a bike should they be vilified? Isn’t that what happened to a previous generation in the 60’s?
If you go to the Bike Shed in London or the Bike Shed Show you will see people that you would probably categorise as hipsters. Many of them are passionate about motorcycles. I’ve never thought to ask them how many miles they ride, especially as l don’t know what the minimum requirement is before you can join the ‘real bikers’ club.

 

Just remind me, what are the financial and mileage parameters that define a real biker?

 

Spending 20 grand on a bike and only riding 200 miles in a year makes you an idiot in my book!

 

Still an idiot though

 

If you want your blood bubbling give this a watch, i think it ticks all your boxes, money, not doing it yourself, plus a few new ones that havent been mentioned, self confessed "lifestyle coach" (read narcissist), youtuber, suberb Jaime Oliver style mockney,



I mean, buying a limited edition bike (obviously these days that is not so rare) that someone might actually value and then removing everything that made it thus.........

 

Hit the nail on the head there Jez, all of the above for me too!

 

I have that friend.......

 

To become a biker all you have to do is look at the weather forecast and if it’s going to rain within the next 3 days then you don’t go out for a ride

Now motorcyclist only look at the weather to see what to wear

Now where’s my tin hat

 

Horrible tacky headlight peaks. Nasty looking and serve no function at all.

 

In defence of The Bike Shed show (and l realise this will aggravate some people), it really is a great place if you like to see a whole range of bikes that have been customised, modified and changed by very talented, imaginative and skilful people, some of them professionals but 100’s of bikes there are built by amateurs in sheds, who love to discuss their work. You would have to a be a very strange or bigoted motorcycle enthusiast if you couldn’t find something to admire.
The people who go are ordinary people, like the people on this forum. There is no dress code. Beards are not obligatory.
As for prices, last year it cost £25 for the whole weekend (you can go Friday, Saturday and Sunday if you choose). Beer is reasonable, better and cheaper than the NEC show. A cup of proper tea (made in a teapot, not your crap teabag in a plastic cup) is under £2, so you won’t go bankrupt. The food is good quality and again cheaper than the NEC. It’s a great atmosphere, just a group of people with a common interest in motorbikes. What’s not to like?
If you don’t like bike shows or gathering together with other people who share your interest, then of course you wouldn’t go, but otherwise it’s worth the effort.
l now await the outpouring of scorn and cries of indignation that will probably follow.

 

Hmmm...I went there once ...it just felt all wrong and the folks there seemed to my jaundiced eye to be a bunch of poseurs...sorry.
I'm with those who hate Maltese crosses and skulls etc.
I was actually a member for 15 years of a backpatch club and irritated most of my fellow inmates by refusing to make my bike less practical than it was when it left the factory.
On one memorable club outing whilst stuck in a traffic jam I caused much pouting by remarking that " I say chaps, I see that skulls are ' in' again this year."
I'm no longer a member.