Kit builder or fabricator.......which type are you?

Are you a kit builder or a fabricator?

  • I use kits exclusively to build a motorized bike....

    Votes: 2 3.9%

  • I fabricate builds from the ground up.....

    Votes: 13 25.5%

  • I do a little of both (kit and fab)......

    Votes: 34 66.7%

  • What......I just ride these things....

    Votes: 2 3.9%
  • Total voters
    51
  • Poll closed .
Hmmmm lets say 3500 miles one way and 35MPH average speed.
That's only a 4.17 day one way commute! No stops along the way, just cannonball it.
You might need to call in first and let him know you'll be a little bit late.
 
My bike is not 100 per cent stock, but I would describe myself as more of a creative engineer than a fabricator. I customized my pocketbike pipe by cutting apart and putting back together with fiberglass and hi temp paint. I made an air filter cover out of a soup can. I added a rear caliper brake to a beach cruiser. I found ways to attach my mirrors to my throttle grip and clutch handle. I converted my bullet light to LED. none of the things I did required any actual metalworking or fabrication, although the bullet light LED conversion did require removing an LED bulb from a flashlight and then soldering wires to allow it to work properly. So I would definitely call myself a creative engineer. If there were a garage that worked on motorized bicycles, I would probably work as a mechanic there.
 
I was a kit builder for a while. I just got tired of constantly mucking around with the cheap engines that may last a fair amount of time or may blow up after a few days. I never knew which. I even took a break from gas bikes and played with electric for a while. I wouldn't consider myself a fabricator though. Takes me much too long to make anything. My welding skills are also terrible. I get the job done but they look horrible.
 
Venice Motor Bikes said:
I voted 'both'... The majority of what I do every day is installing kits onto bicycles for people who don't have a lot of money to spend... But even then, there's a lot of extra work that goes into those bikes to make them reliable that people don't think about, like beveling the sides of the rear sprocket, making shims & engine mounts to properly install the engine & customizing the exhaust pipes (that always seem to be in the way of the frame or pedals).

Then you get into the $2000+ bikes... I have to start from a old 1950s frame & build up from there. I have to reweld the fork, relace the wheels with better hubs, build a full custom fitting expansion pipe, disassemble & port the engine... & the list goes on. For some reason, even though I build BTR bikes that look similar, they never bolt together the same way. :/

I'm so busy building regular bikes these days that I don't have any time to build the full custom choppers that I used to... I think I'm going to have to hire someone to help out in the shop pretty soon. Anyone need a part time job?
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...****, IF I COULD FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH MY MORTGAGE HERE, I'D ALREADY BE AT YOUR GARAGE DOOR, TOOLBOX IN Hand.....I seem to spend WAY more time building bikes lately than I do tattooing, just need to figure out how to profit instead of being the coolest broke guy in town!
 
do a lil both.the kits are a great start but mods will be made,most of all i love beating the crap out of ol sgt.scruffy off roading although i think its been getting the best of me. next off roader i build needs suspension. love to tinker with these things also.
 
thegnu said:
Allen, even I can hear the voice in your head whispering " get the welder , get the welder ".
Gary
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Oh, it'll happen one day soon. And then I'll be practicing on pieces of scrap metal for a bit, then I'll be stretching a bike frame. Then...who knows.
 
Allen_Wrench said:
Oh, it'll happen one day soon. And then I'll be practicing on pieces of scrap metal for a bit, then I'll be stretching a bike frame. Then...who knows.
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Right now harbor Freight has their 90 amp flux core MIG welder on sale for $109.99 ($40.00 off). They work great for a beginner's welder.
 
I generally use the kit (and bike) as supplied, but with modifications I've learned here as well as the other site and a few tricks I've figured out on my own. Not yet to the true 'fabricator' title as I have not built/modified a frame... but my hubmount has quite a bit of attention and I think my lighting system looks bloody cool. But am I a kitbuilder or a fabricator? BAH! I'm a HOWARD! We tend to make things happen!
the Old Sgt. usflg
 
i do a lot of fabrication at work,as a small engine mechanic.
never really motorized anything,but modified/re-purposed thingaves with motors.
this was my first bike,i feel the need to customize things,or make more dependable parts.
lathe in garage and all the other tools a ticketed mechanic should have.
im already planning my next one.
 
Like a lot of senior members, I started putting engines on bikes long before it was ever discovered or accepted as a hobby. Growing up on a farm, there were always spare engines from roto tillers, hay balers, and other equipment lying around begging for a kid to wire, weld or bolt it onto something. Fast forward to retirement and extra time to burn, and the availability of stuff on Ebay. I was surfing one day 5 years or so ago and found a used Chinagirl. Once I received it I was hooked again on my childhood facination with small engines and two wheeled conveyance. Some of the parts didn't show up with the rest of the kit, so the fabrication phase started from necessity. Then, thinking there were better ways to do things, more and more fabrication came about. Probably, whether you are a kit person or a fabricator depends a lot on how many tools you have, how creative you are, and how much time you have to burn. In the final analysis, if you are designing, ginding, and welding, you aren't riding!!!!.shft.vs..weld
 
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