Great Bike Build Off

[t-boy62]

Did any of you catch the Great Bike Build Off (I think that's what it was called) on Discovery Channel last night? Isn't it amazing how a builder's personality totally comes through on the bikes they build? It's almost like you could figure out who was going to win just by the builder's personality. I totally got into Indian Larry's theory about how bikes are machines and a lot of what is done today in customizing takes away a bike's mechanical personality. Yeah, spokes rule!

 

[Bornhard]

yeah...there was some good competition on Discovery Channel, though I think one of those bikes should of won that didn't.

 

[seedeucer]

Personally I think there is a bias on this show towards "old school" choppers. You'll notice on the first show Lane vs Bourget that the bike show was centered around old school. This was a definite advantage for Lane. Besides Laconia I think the crowds who voted were geared towards old school.

I am a Paul Yaffe fan. Although I don't think the Discovery Channel project was his best work I still think it should have won. IMO at the time they were built, nobody could touch Cashmere, Sliver and Prodigy. That's why he won the Oakland Roadster Show three times in row. Paul can also build old school but chose instead to go modern. It makes me wonder if he had instead gone in the other direction whether or not he would have won.

Now, all that's left is old school vs old school. I think if you were to take a poll of all the bikers in the world it would still be weighted more towards "modern". After all that is what sells the most.

 

[t-boy62]

I think Yaffe vs. Bourget and Lane vs. Larry would have been less apples vs. oranges than the show turned out to be. And that Perewitz flame job required way more skill than any of the other bikes that won. I think if the voters could have seen the show before they voted the results would have been different.

 

[Nate Hansen]

yaffe is an *** , and an egotistical prick to boot

the only bias I saw was against borget, at the horse thing ("chopper" show you know)
perewitz's and lane's bikes were voted for at an easyriders show, hardly chopper oriented

perewitz's paint required the most skill? did you see the paint on Indian Larry's tank?

 

[ezrider]

i couldn't agree with Nate more

 

[seedeucer]

Say what you want about Yaffe but they're all egotistical pricks. Some just let it hang out no matter who's watching. The others are just *** kissers who cover up for the camera. They've achieved star status and are no different than pro athletes.

That whole thing about it's a machine and you should be able to look at the things that make it run is like trying to say a stripped down deuce coup with no fenders and hood is better than a ferrari because you can see the motor and tires.

 

[ezrider]

seedeucer, ever meet anyof the mentioned builders? i didnt think so. i meet Indian Larry about 5 years ago at the Connecticut bike expo, let me tell you one of the most down to earth guys you could ever run into with his only passion being motor cycles. as far as Yaffe goes i think he is having flash backs from all of the acid he bragged about dropping on the tv show( by some of the prices he asks for his parts, he has got to be on drugs) Bourget builds a pretty mean scooter love to have one just cant justify the price i think he built 60 or so of the bikes fearured on the show and the price tag of about $65000. Billy lane in my oppinion is a true artist and puts Jesse and OCC both to shame and i am not just saying this becouse of the show, been reading about him for a couple of years now and he has pure tallent . never meet Periwetz but a friend of mine who owns a bike shop knows him personally and says he is a great guy with the same passion, doing it for 30 plus years so i guess you really have to love it. just my oppinions others may feel diffrent

 

[Osh]

Didn't catch the Jaffe-Indian Larry segment so can't comment on that but i think Billy lane is a hack.He may have a vision but when i see him cutting a tank into a lot of pieces and then trying to weld that **** back together i have to laugh.there must be a inch of bondo on that turd. Can't imagine how many leaks that thing will have in the future.
As far as Perewitz's flame job was so tuff to do, I must have been doing this stuff way to long to be impressed with overlapping flames and shadows
Jaffe may be a jerk but I have seen a couple of his bikes and thought they were pretty nice although pricey.

 

[ezrider]

Most Yaffe fans are true " RUBS ". people who have way too much money and dont know what to do with it so they go out and get them selves a Star Wars looking scooter and call them selves " bikers" and take it from show to show on a trailer of course becouse you cant insure them. Bourget owns a Bike factory enough said, Perwitz builds bikes that look like they come out of a box, the only thing fabricated on his bike was the exhaust system and he bragged about that paint job he did on the show, this months Easyrider has another Perwitz bike with a paint job that looks pretty simular, where is the originality and . Indian Larry and Billy were the only ones to " fabercate" old school or not. billy's exhaust may not have been the smartest idea but it was original, Larry built a bike you can Ride and appreciate the craftmanship that went into it along with mimorializing a true GOD to the custom automotive industry, Big Daddy Ed Roth

if it were a money contest Bourget would get the prize, a d!ck head of the year award would go to Yaffe , Lane and Larry get my vote for creativity

 

[kustom paint workz]

alright I just have to hop in on this one. First Indian Larry is the coolest and by far the most involved with what he's doing. I'm not one for the old school but seeing that bike and the way it was all put together made it even better. Always like Yaffe's stuff until I saw the show, I don't care about the arrogance but he just seemed like a stem. Perewitz's bike was cool but to me looked to much like a stock bike. I dig most of Lanes stuff, Didn't care much for the tank but the ideas and the overall look was cool. To me I guess it all comes down to what a rider looks like on the bike. Perewitz and Yaffe were sitting up to high and reachin down for the bars. Just my opinion though.

 

[79elkyss]

OK, I'm not a biker, I can't afford one. I like to watch these shows to see what goes into putting a nice bike together. I have done some metalwork before and was more impressed by Indian Larry and Lane because they were doing more hand fabricating on their creations. The other guys put a lot of work into their bikes and I'm not one to take anything away from them, but it seemed to me that Larry and Lane put more of themselves into the bikes they built. Some day I'll find a basketcase when I have some money and see what I can do. In the mean time I'll just absorb as much information as I can.

 

[Bornhard]

A lot of good comments above! ezrider's comment above is about dead on.

That Perewitz’s flame job is not that difficult. All that’s needed is a little practice and a clear mind, so you don’t get mixed up about which flames over laps which.

Lane had a pin up girl painted on his first chopper that looked fairly good.
One thing I admire about Perewit’z is that he paints and builds. I’ve seen better perewit’s bikes and paint jobs than the one on the show.

Bourget’s bike appeal to me the most. My eyes for some reason enjoy the curves of those bikes more than the other bikes. I doubt I would pay the price he’s asking though.

Yaffe’s company making 6 million a year, was upsetting. What a jack *** that fell into a good thing. I’ve got a Custom Chrome catalog in my shop & there’s some Yaffe parts in it. You can by a used Harley for the same price of one of his gas tanks! Sh!t I would rather go out and find some stretched tanks and cut & weld them to a custom shape than buy those high priced tanks.
Not a Jesse James mark, but his Sturgis chopper looked better than just about all those bikes on that biker build off. The Sturgis bike is on his west coast choppers web site if you want to see it.

Indian Larry is about as old school as the come and he does seem like a down to earth friendly guy. He’d probably help turn a wrench if he saw a fellow biker broke down on the side of the road.

It was interesting seeing all the competition and what was created. Whether it was good or not.

 

[t-boy62]

Seeducer, Nate, et al:

I agree with some of what has been said and I’ve never met any of the builders on the show so I can’t comment on their real personalities. I’ll admit I tend to like Old School everything, I guess I’m old (41) and I like stuff that reminds me of the good old days. You’re correct that styles and trends are cyclical. Fifteen years ago late sixties and early seventies customs looked ridiculous whereas today they are “in style”. In fifteen years watch for it: the stretched tank look will seem dated and passé and there will be new innovations like nothing we could imagine.

As for painting skills, maybe Perewitz’ paint job was just run-of-the-mill crossover flames, but to me, as an art school drop-out (Art Center School of Design), art like air-brushing Rat Fink (God rest his soul) or a Vargas girl was something 95% of my junior class could do but laying out tasteful crossover flames is outside the scope of most regular artists’ (not painters’) skills.

T

 

[Nate Hansen]

Originally posted by seedeucer:
That whole thing about it's a machine and you should be able to look at the things that make it run is like trying to say a stripped down deuce coup with no fenders and hood is better than a ferrari because you can see the motor and tires.

<font size="2" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">huh?
that's apples and oranges dude

choppers arent meant to hang with a gixxer in the corners
they're meant to rip and destroy
bare bones, nothing that you dont need

a guy building a chopper doesnt care about all that fancy crap, he just wants something that he can tear around on and scare people with

just like the "biker" on his billet-clad barge who's content with cruising and is scared of the dude splitting lanes and making time on his chopper

seedeucer - you cant afford the custom motorcycle that you want? whatd you pay for that deuce?

 

[ezrider]

seedeucer,lighten up , seems like your taking this personally. i never claimed to meet all of the builders, just telling you my opinion about the one i had run into and talked to along with a couple of his friends, seemed like a down to earth guy. you the one who said
Member # 3251

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Say what you want about Yaffe but they're all egotistical pricks. Some just let it hang out no matter who's watching. The others are just *** kissers who cover up for the camera.
They've achieved star status and are no different than pro athletes

just voicing my idea of a person i meet once. first impressions are usally a good one by my standards. as far as me taking things personal, i am not. i sport the biker trash look, Sleves, hair down to my waist line , but in my profession i dont deal with a lot of the " general public" so i can look like this. i do collision work 45 hours a week and do the cutom paint thing, yes i have my own business also, not bad for somebody who is sporting the "biker trash" image, so if i wanted a Yaffe or Bourget bike i sure as hell dont have to wish i had enough fundage to get me a high dollar scooter becouse believe me its there brother. i work in the business not just watch discovery channel so i think i may know just a little ( not everything) about the subject.
i never refured to you as a Rub just ment only a rub would pay somebody to build a bike for them in that price range ,most of us can build a scooter of that calibur for a Third of the price or less takeing a lot more pride in our own labor, try it some time you'll see what i am talking about. and yes i have been in to the Bike thing for 20 plus years not just a phase i am going through becouse its the in thing now
i think we should do a poll on the great biker build off and see just who the king is according to the Flames Board..

 

[Bornhard]

t-boy62....I've seen a lot of cross over flame jobs out there on bikes, but not a lot of good pin up girls....now if you're referring to painting a pin up on illustration board, that still takes some skills, but it's a lot different airbrushing that girl on sheet metal. Plus I've been an artist all my life and around a ton of other artist and I've seen very few of them that are able to paint a sexy pin up girl, or a cool skull....just puzzled how 95% of any junior class is doing it.

 

[t-boy62]

Hey Joe,

I was talking about juniors at Art Center, easily one of the top two art colleges in the USA. We were required to be proficient with an airbrush and if you couldn't make something look photorealistic in the rendering course you wouldn't be able to pass the portfolio review and remain a lowerclassman until you gave up. Notice I said I was a drop out. The pressure in a school like that is unbelievable and wasn't for me. The top ten percent of graduates get lucrative jobs in art and design related fields. The other 90% end up working in record stores or, now days, probably at Starbucks. I agree there is a difference in painting on artboard and on sheet metal. I painted a couple half-baked cholo-looking trunk murals back in the day and it ain't easy but if you can master frisketry on flat board you apply the same ideas to curved metal. Keep in mind I'm not an auto or mc painter by trade, I just do my own stuff and some of my jobs I'm satisfied with but would be never put forth as something professional that someone would pay for.

 

[Bornhard]

misunderstood you then

though I went to an Art College & I guess they were letting the students slide, 'cause they weren't forcing them to create photo realistic art (at good realistic art) before graduation.
well anyway, I just didn't want for someone to say or think that painting good mural work was easy. I see now you weren't suggesting that anybody can paint a Vargas pin up.

 

[seedeucer]

Opinions and assholes ez. Everybody has em. I'm sure you've met all the other builders too right?

Rubs? Boy you take this **** personally don't you? You sure you're not related to Larry? You don't even know me. I have a 2001 Softail Deuce. I've been riding bikes of some sort for 35 years and can't afford a custom built like I want. I guess if I used the same logic as you, then I would say anybody who would want an old school bike is just bitter trailer trash who wishes he had enough money to own a yaffe.

Never met Larry but I have met Yaffe, Ness, Nasi, and James. While they were all somewhat personable on the surface, I couldn't give a **** about what their attitudes are like.

I never said I hated Larry's bike. I like certain old school bikes just for the novelty. Just like I love old hotrods.

I see a trend happening. Old School. It will trend just like all the expensive customs have done recently. Then when everybody has one, people will get tired of looking at them, move on to something else and then you can continue to berate the "new" style.