Oh God, it's ROT weekend. The posers are back.

[FSCGunslinger]

Re: "When I was growing up I thought a custom was some that you made yourself."

Originally posted by fredintoon
Hi Ernie,
when you go to a symphony concert everyone applauds the conductor and all he does is stand in front of the people doing the work and wave a little stick, right?
I have great ideas for building a custom bike but no money to buy the parts or to pay expert craftsmen to do the difficult parts. But if I had the money to create a custom bike I would farm out the work with a clear conscience. The sign at the show would certainly say "sheetmetal by Sam, paint by Pete, Engine by 'Arold", etc. etc. But that bike would be MY idea, MY concept, MINE!

Here, here! I want to do some custom work myself, but Lord help me I'm just not the mechanical type. If I can design it and have someone else do it for me, I'm not ashamed of that. Like you said, I came up with the idea, I just needed some help implementing it!

[madmax-im]

CarolynS...in my estimation it matters not that you have the knowledge to fix your bike yourself .While I can see you do take a great deal of pride in learning ,working and riding your machines...in this case you have had someone else do some engine work is not as important as is bringing back to life another XS and demonstrating that it still has worth and validity in todays world.
Sucubus...Nothing I like better than showing the posers what a real bike is like and rubbin their noses in it...LOL...a few weeks back I rode to a convienience store and a couple of older H-D dudes with grey flowing beards and long hair braided into a ponytails watched me pull into the parking lot and park 2 spots from them.I was on my '81 XS1100SH Streetfighter...mostly blacked out and what really grabs their attention is the sound coming out of the 4 into 1 Kerker pipe...idle sounds like a smooth growl and blipping the throttle results in a loud "bark" that turns their heads.Once I turn it off they come over and ask, "thats a Yamaha XS1100?"I go yup and its 27 years old.I dont really want to insult the guys...then they say they remember these from way back and thought they'd never last...well i say whos' laughing now?See if your V-twins will last that long.They were pretty nice abt it and they wound up admiring it.Later after I came out they were waiting for me to fire it up again and i rode off in a roar I'm sure they'd appreciate...So I take just as much pride in these bikes...the cool factor is off the charts IMHO...One final note..I have always believed in myself and being an individual and doing things my way...just like a Yamaha sales pitch..."Go Your Own Way"And so we do..and defy convention and mediocrity!!!Long Live the Venerable XS/XJ1100!Ride On

[thewiz]

Well said, mdmx-im ...

I too have had similar experiences ... it's fun when they acknowledge us ... has happened to me a number of times .... I like the recognition, I think. I have a Kerker in the shed too ... think I'm gonna' put it on my new standard, I like that bark also .... oh boy !!