CCWorks

Making dreams, reality. One bike at a time

My Thoughts

Why I build Rice

 

           This topic crossed my mind recently. You would be amazed at the responses I get when I say I build/modify Metric bikes. I recently went on the look for a person to make a steering neck for an up coming frame build. I had all kinds of people jump and say “yea I can do that. Mine comes with (add whatever verbiage) at no extra charge” and then I get to say,”really! You have bearings for a (add metric name) and you know the spec’s, I need one!” in return I get the “wOoooo, I thought you were in need of a Harley neck. We only do Harley, nothing else.” The funny thing is, I gave all the spec’s up front, and no one caught on that it was not Harley. Then I get the “why don’t you just use your neck that came off of the bike?” Well, my bike is almost done and it is real hard to sell a frame without one. Why do you sell Harley neck’s, why don’t they just use there’s? OOOOOoooo that’s right, it is against the law to build anything but Harley. Right?

           But anyway, I could go on for a long time about that. Now don’t get me wrong, there is not one thing wrong with building a Harley, or a clone, it’s just everyone has them. Kind of like when I was heavy into car’s, everyone hade a cool Camaro. Same concept. Everyone had to have one and they all look the same, once you strip away the paint and fabric. Every rolling chassis Camaro looks the same, just like every rolling chassis Harley/clone looks the same.

           You want to get to the heart of building truly custom one of a kind machines you have to open your pallet a little. Leonardo Davincie did not use only one canvas to make his master pieces, he used every medium he could get his hands on. Bikes are no different. If you stay with only one make, you get only one outcome. Now you start looking out side the box and you find something truly unique that wont be copied.

           Now there are some people that will say, “now wait a minute, you only show Virago. That’s one sided just like the rest”. Now that is true, as the Virago is the only one to date that I have documented and took the time to take pictures of, however untrue as I will build on ANY bike, not just Virago’s. You bring me a moped, and I will chop it for you.

           By working on Metric bikes you stand out side the crowd and are looked down on because you are “wasting time and money” on something that is not a Harley. I don’t see it that way. I see someone who looks from the outside, in. I see someone who is up to a challenge because there is not a flood of after market parts for Metric, so a solid 90% of what you do is hand made, not buy and bolt.

           Basically that is why I build rice. Could I build Harley? Sure, and I could look and act like everyone else, and be the 1% er’s of the world that are taking up more and more every day. Or, I get to be the bike builder that can go through the bike shows not having to worry about being bombarded by autograph’s and not even being able to sit down for a meal with out being hassled by people that “know you” that you don’t know. I like being the true 1%. The few of us who think out side the box and see a different canvas to paint our picture on. The different medium for our masterpiece, the true one of a kind.

                      Just another .02 from CCWorks