CCWorks

Making dreams, reality. One bike at a time

My Thoughts

Bikes

 

           Back many moon ago I got into riding bikes. It was before the “Biker Craze” that has exploded the past 5 to 8 years now. I started before the affluent made it a status symbol to ride Harley. Back when you didn’t have Harley signature clothes and LONG before the Japanese got into the picture with the Harley clones. Now don’t take me wrong, I’m not bashing anyone for why they ride, what they ride or when they ride, I’m going to talk about the style of bike. Bike design has come a long way in a relatively short period. I say that like it is a good thing, but in reality, is it? Harley took the lead right off the bat. They had a cruiser long before any other company even thought about it. Then you throw in the celebrity hype by Arnold, Leno and the rest of the 1% that can drop $40 to, you name it, on a scoot because it looks cool. You have a recipe for a windfall of profit to one company. By the time the Japanese manufacturers caught up the waiting list for Harley was 2 to 3 years, prepaid of coarse and they couldn’t keep up with the demand. In steps in the Japanese with there own V-Twin bike. The kicker for theirs is that all aftermarket parts of any use are supplied by, you guessed it, the dealer. So they supply the ride and the $1000nd’s of dollars of do-dad’s to go along with it. On top of that you can pick up a clone for a fraction of the price of a Harley, or one of it’s competitors like Iron Horse or Amen. Now you throw in the wild card. Discovery channel has a new series. You know, the one where they build the theme bike and the dad threw crap and the first son was arrogant and the second played ignorant. Then every one had to have the chopper.

           Bet you thought I was going back into my rant about “Old School, Chopper, and Billet Barge” didn’t you. Well you are wrong, I’ve already beat that horse. I just wonder what the next craze will be. I just think it’s funny to see someone go and spend $40,000 and up on a bike that for one, is not a Chopper, it is a production long bike, and two, it never gets out of the garage unless it’s nice out and the temp is above 75. I knew it was coming though, I saw my first production long bike with a for sale sign on it in front of someone’s house. Bike don’t seem so cool now does it? Cherry bought it to be cool then dropped it like a hot potato when the “feeling left”.

           Next steps in the EPA. They want their piece of the pie to. This brings my point to bear even more (pun intended). With the new EPA law that just took affect, all the “Choppers” you see will now have to be EPA compliant. Even more showing that they are not “Chopper’s” but production bikes. They come from an assembly line just like HD only smaller, with less overhead and fewer people. I don’t dog any one out for doing what the law says, but for people to throw the name “Custom Chopper” on a production bike is a crock. You go to Nissan and special order a new car, pick whichever one you want, you don’t call it a “Custom Nissan” It’s a friggen Nissan!

Everyone wants to rant and rave about how one bike is better is better, one style is better. It’s just a bike, meant to be ridden. So get out there and ride and quit your whining. Regardless of if, you ride a crotch rocket, a cruiser, a production long bike, or you actually build , work and ride your own.

                      Just do it.