Lurker's V-twin build
- Thread starter Lurker
- Start date
Lurker, you and you bike totally rock!I can't believe it! I got a feature on Pipeburn, one of my favorite motorcycle sites.
Check it out!
http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2012/10/1/vekst-boardtracker.html
Boy, can I ever sympathize. That's why my current creation, the red Tempus, is styled after a mid-teens street cruiser, rather than a board tracker. My first bike had the downswept handlebars of a board-tracker. After a 30 minute ride, I felt like Quasimodo. It hurt to stay hunched over; it hurt to straighten up; it was hard to breathe properly after a while. I started taking shorter rides and just figured I was getting too old.Horribly Uncomfortable pretty much sums up my personal reasons for not "board tracking it" any more. 47 year old backs like to stay uprightThey are beautiful to look at though!
With the upright position on this bike, and the nice long handlebars, and the surprisingly comfy leather saddle, I am in no pain and I can ride as long as I like.
I just read the comments on Pipeburn of Lurkers bike. Seems to me there are a lot of jealous and negative folk over there. Thankfully this site is a lot more positive. Well I love your bike Lurker and totally understand the reasons for building a board track bike. It seems to me they wouldn't question a big $$$$ show bike that never gets ridden but god forbid someone builds a beautiful board track bike on a reasonably limited budget, with limited tools and space. We get it!!!!! Sometimes its as much about the journey as it is the destination......Beautiful work Lurker.
That was my first thought as well when I just read the comments. What a bunch of mean spirited, miserable people who just had to write some crappy comment.
That bike rocks the board tracker world. To make something that nice in your apartment take some kind of genius and skills.
Steve.
That bike rocks the board tracker world. To make something that nice in your apartment take some kind of genius and skills.
Steve.
Nice to have an article. Too bad some of the commentaries were from jerks who probably couldn't do the same work with the same tools in the same conditions. It's a beautiful bike and I would be very proud to own it.
Hi Lurker,
Great job on the article and the video! Your a true builder who breaks new ground with your designs. You have all the skills needed to pull it off, too. Engineering ability, artistic talent, and the drive to see it through to a finished machine. Nice job!
Great job on the article and the video! Your a true builder who breaks new ground with your designs. You have all the skills needed to pull it off, too. Engineering ability, artistic talent, and the drive to see it through to a finished machine. Nice job!
Thanks again guys, my favorite part of this forum is the positivity from all the members, you guys are the reason I post here. Even tho the members here all build for different reasons we all share one common thing and that is the diy attitude.
I find that my v-twin is either a love it or hate it type of bike. As with anything people have a preconceived notion of what something should be. To me this is not a bike or a motorcycle it is a labor of love and a work of art. For me the journey of this build was the destination. I am now trying to continue that journey by incorporating this bike into other forms of creativity (videos ect.) I built this bike for me and me only, if others like it thats great, but if you don't that is totally cool too. My one and only hope is that it will inspire others to get busy and make something, and try things that seem impossible. I bet you will find that things are easier than they seem.
I find that my v-twin is either a love it or hate it type of bike. As with anything people have a preconceived notion of what something should be. To me this is not a bike or a motorcycle it is a labor of love and a work of art. For me the journey of this build was the destination. I am now trying to continue that journey by incorporating this bike into other forms of creativity (videos ect.) I built this bike for me and me only, if others like it thats great, but if you don't that is totally cool too. My one and only hope is that it will inspire others to get busy and make something, and try things that seem impossible. I bet you will find that things are easier than they seem.
I am new to this forum and was wondering how to post a new thread? I want to get suggestions on bicycle locks. I just has my bike stolen and I want to prevent it from happening again. New bikes even better, so I'm not to torn up about it. Thx!
Exactly my feelings, you just happened to say it first. WELL DONE !!! Bravo ! -Vinny
Congrat's on the trophy! I have to comment on the 'Ho-Hum' reaction at the Harley Dealer. I'll be the first to admit that I view the current batch of Harley riders with a grain of salt, 90% of 'em take their bike to the Dealer for basic service like oil changes and chrome add-ons. They don't know more than putting gas in 'em and turnin' the throttle. You experienced first hand the different reaction when you get away from that crowd and went to another gathering, real bike people that time. Pardon my rant, but when a builder busts his knuckles for a year on something and is outdone by the 'Credit Card Bunch' it gets under my skin. Great Job !! Enjoy your ride, because YOU built it. No one at the Harley show was able to say that. -VinnyI have been busy trying to get my self moved into my new apartment the past few weeks and haven't had much down time. However I though I would do a quick update.
I took the bike to a motorcycle show at a Harley dealer a few weeks ago and got a "ho hum" response from the crowd. I find that Harley folks can be a bit snobby about their bikes. However I did manage to take home 3rd place in the non-Harley class. I was up against the Orange County Choppers style bikes.
Every Thursday they have a bike gathering down the street from my house and I took the bike there and got a fantastic response. When I pulled in a crowd immediately surround me and I could hardly get of my bike. I took a seat within earshot of my bike an just observed the crowd. At one point I had 20 people around the bike inspecting it and guessing at what it was. One of the guy spent about 45min inspecting it. Only one person realized it was a tribute bike. Most though it was German or some other european bike.
Here is another image just because and so you can see the width of it.
Bikes like ours are lost on the "Credit Card Bunch". They're missing out on the sense of power a person feels when he imagines a creation unlike most others, something unique in all the world. Then, rather than leaving it a mere figment of his dreams, he gathers materials and drags this dream out into the material world, making it real, making it work. Then he climbs aboard and rides it. Lurker has that talent. He doesn't just think of things, he makes them real too.
I lived just a few miles outside Laconia New Hampshire for years. It was fun to watch the wanta be bad guys paying for their beer with their platinum credit cards and the real bikers walk in and help themselves to the beer and never pay.
Never say it was right but it was the stark difference between the real and the fake bikers. Another test would be that the real bikers would walk over and look at your bike and talk to you about it since they too are bike builders and know what it took to do it.
The weekend warriors never changed a spark plug in their lives like Vinny said and they have no concept of what you have done.
Steve.
Never say it was right but it was the stark difference between the real and the fake bikers. Another test would be that the real bikers would walk over and look at your bike and talk to you about it since they too are bike builders and know what it took to do it.
The weekend warriors never changed a spark plug in their lives like Vinny said and they have no concept of what you have done.
Steve.
It’s been my experience the better the builder, the least likely they are to openly criticize someone else’s work...
-Kirk
-Kirk
When I took mine to the little car show out here there was a humungus biker riding an 08tricked Harley that guy stood there looking at the bike for 1hr,I explained a little history about the boardies and he never said a word when he left he walked up to me and thanked me for bringing it and said it was the most amazing bike he'd ever seen, well I thought the same about his bike.
I guess the good response for a bike like ours comes from the true cycle enthusiast and the rest are just haters, I have run into some Harley guys who were bit snobby to about anything other the a Harely so I can relate to what you are saying, but yer bike is bomb dude, keep taking it to the shows and and keep the history of the boardies alive!
Congrats on the win.
I guess the good response for a bike like ours comes from the true cycle enthusiast and the rest are just haters, I have run into some Harley guys who were bit snobby to about anything other the a Harely so I can relate to what you are saying, but yer bike is bomb dude, keep taking it to the shows and and keep the history of the boardies alive!
Congrats on the win.
During the filming of the Shaky Shrines music video they also shot a short interview with me. If you have a few minutes please give it a look.
link:
http://vimeo.com/70374665
This is what Shaky Shrines had to say about it.
Co Bappe is a creator: At his day job, Co is a graphic artist who makes screen-printed apparel for major retailers, and in his free time, Co taught himself how to build board-track racing motorcycles inspired by those of the 1910s and 20s. After countless hours spent watching instructional Youtube videos and studying friends who were certified welders, Co began to draw 1-to-1 scale mockups of motorcycles on butcher paper. Instead of downloading and copying schematics for older bikes verbatim, Co’s designs are all original. Co combines an Art Deco aesthetic with his childhood recollections of the Rocketeer on his latest build while staying true to form by utilizing parts (like a Briggs and Stratton tractor engine) that model the technical aspects of his turn-of-the-century predecessors. When Co Bappe sells a motorcycle, it is only for enough money to buy the parts and raw materials that he will need for his next build. Simply put, Co Bappe is a creator. He is someone whose purest joy and love of life can be seen through the small window in his welding mask. Co Bappe’s motorcycles are true works of art, made to be marveled for their beauty and grace as much as their power and function.
The Shaky Shrines project is a similar labor of love; like most musicians, we all have day jobs and busy lives outside of this band. However, that sentiment is not the point of this: Rather, it is our intention to highlight those around us who may not have the opportunity or good fortune to step on stage in front of a supportive crowd any given night of the week, or pack all of the tools for their trade into a van and travel city-to-city doing what they love. Playing music for all of you is an awesome and beautiful thing for all of us, and we hope that you can help us extend and share that sensation for Co Bappe and his “ROLLING ART”.
Sincerely,
Braden, Brendan, Nate, Nate, and Chris of 'Shaky Shrines'
link:
http://vimeo.com/70374665
This is what Shaky Shrines had to say about it.
Co Bappe is a creator: At his day job, Co is a graphic artist who makes screen-printed apparel for major retailers, and in his free time, Co taught himself how to build board-track racing motorcycles inspired by those of the 1910s and 20s. After countless hours spent watching instructional Youtube videos and studying friends who were certified welders, Co began to draw 1-to-1 scale mockups of motorcycles on butcher paper. Instead of downloading and copying schematics for older bikes verbatim, Co’s designs are all original. Co combines an Art Deco aesthetic with his childhood recollections of the Rocketeer on his latest build while staying true to form by utilizing parts (like a Briggs and Stratton tractor engine) that model the technical aspects of his turn-of-the-century predecessors. When Co Bappe sells a motorcycle, it is only for enough money to buy the parts and raw materials that he will need for his next build. Simply put, Co Bappe is a creator. He is someone whose purest joy and love of life can be seen through the small window in his welding mask. Co Bappe’s motorcycles are true works of art, made to be marveled for their beauty and grace as much as their power and function.
The Shaky Shrines project is a similar labor of love; like most musicians, we all have day jobs and busy lives outside of this band. However, that sentiment is not the point of this: Rather, it is our intention to highlight those around us who may not have the opportunity or good fortune to step on stage in front of a supportive crowd any given night of the week, or pack all of the tools for their trade into a van and travel city-to-city doing what they love. Playing music for all of you is an awesome and beautiful thing for all of us, and we hope that you can help us extend and share that sensation for Co Bappe and his “ROLLING ART”.
Sincerely,
Braden, Brendan, Nate, Nate, and Chris of 'Shaky Shrines'
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Glad you are getting proper recognition Lurker. It feels good when you get both satisfaction on a job well done and praise. The video was very good. I like the headlamp you chose btw. It fits really well. I'm about to do a heap of overtime at work till the end of the year so I can buy a Harley like I've wanted to but everything has interfered in one way or another. When I get it I'm going to transform it to a vintage MC that will surely turn heads. Keep up the great work Lurker.
Very cool video, Lurker! Everything about it. The bike, the music, the backround, and of course you. Quite an accomplishment! And to think we all knew you before you were famous.
