If you have ever been involved in a bike building project, then you know what a major undertaking it can be. Aside from the obvious financial obligations, there are other areas of concern including, but not limited to: planning the project, having the shop space to build the bike, and knowing the right people to help you out when you get in a bind, not to mention finding the time to get the project done. The first item I mentioned - planning the project - is without a doubt the most important aspect of any build.
Needless to say, building a bike is not as simple as deciding to build a chopper, making a few calls, waiting for all the parts to show up, and riding your new scoot a week later. Face it, if it were that easy everyone would be doing it.
Although there are many manufacturers out there that build every part one could conceivably need to put together a bike, there's still more to it than that. Certain combinations of components work very well with each other, while others do not. Not to say that they are of a bad design or the like, but to say that some parts just really complement each other while others don't.
This headline, "Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts," is something that every bike builder out there should attempt to achieve on every bike they build. Say for example, you take a good, quality rigid frame, pair it up with a great-looking front end, and you make a roller. Throw in a motor and trans, and now you have a great-looking ride. The question is, does it perform as well as it looks? That's still to be determined. You sit on the bike and grab the bars - they feel great. You stretch your feet out and put them on the controls. Once again, you like what you feel. You fire up the motor, let it warm up, and you're off. As you roll out onto the street, it becomes all too apparent that the steering is very slow and heavy at slow speeds. This could be a real problem when negotiating the bike through tight spaces. Once you get the bike above about 20 mph, the steering starts to get a bit lighter and more responsive. So what happened?
To find out, let's go back to the planning stage of the project. You bought a proven frame from one of the major frame builders and you picked up that expensive front end you've seen on a few bikes, mounted some good quality tires and wheels, and still the bike just doesn't handle the way you want. Not to burst your bubble, but you didn't take the time to correctly work out the rake and the trail numbers. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the frame or the front end. The problem is in how they work in conjunction with each other. By doing a little more homework, it would have become apparent that by adding a set of raked trees to the mix, the axle would have been in the correct location to make the bike handle properly, thus, making the best use of your chosen components. Now this isn't intended to be a lesson on how to set rake and trail; the intent is to make you think about your build completely before you pull out your checkbook and start emptying your bank account. By thinking things through, you can not only end up with a better motorcycle, but you can save yourself a few bucks in the process by not having to redo work - over and over again.
This same thinking goes hand in hand with the aesthetic aspects of the bike as well as the mechanical. How many bikes have you seen out there that look as though if things were done just slightly differently, they would have greatly added to the appeal of the bike? This could be as simple as taking the time to properly radius a fender before sending it off to the painter. Things such as carrying a particular design concept from front to back, whether it be color, texture, or graphical in nature; keeping an eye on the lines of the bike, making sure lines flow from one piece to another - all of these little things are what separate the good bikes from the really great bikes out there.
So whether you're getting ready for your next build or if you're in the middle of one right now, take a moment to step back and survey your project. Ask yourself some questions, preferably some that you haven't asked before. Use this time to give yourself the opportunity to build the very best bike you can.