Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

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Brenhden
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by Brenhden »

Willandkate wrote:
Willy_Eckerslike wrote:Why is it that all these custom bikes still end up looking the bloody same?
Yep, got to agree. And you can't got further or faster than a pootle down the road to the next coffee shop.
I've got some plans afoot to create something different, fun AND usable. It'll cost a few quid but I'd rather that than spend my cash on an 'off the peg' solution and watch it depreciate.....
Willy is right, its funny that when people want to make something personalised and just for them it seems to come out the same. Current fashion is a combination between The Fonz and Mad Max, I guess it shows what we were watching when we were young.

However Will and Kate, people have been round the world all sorts, Kate rode here to from Oz on Serow I believe. The new fashion for these bikes is a 'second bike' fashion.
And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.

Suzuki DR200 Djebel.
πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§πŸ‡«πŸ‡·πŸ‡§πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡±πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΈπŸ‡¬πŸ‡·πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ
stormfield
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by stormfield »

Willandkate wrote:Hey stormfield that is scarily like what I have in mind except mine would be a bit wilder. Thanks for posting it, any more pics of ones like that?
Great minds etc! :)

I keep an eye on the Bike Exif website, they normally have some interesting ones.

Am all for bikes having personality, although I agree that a lot of custom bikes tend to be similar especially when it comes to the saddle, it's almost always cut short and angled up like a dog's arse!
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Freeloadeur
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by Freeloadeur »

I realised last night that I got on a bit of a high horse somewhere in between chatting with Sprockette about starting a flat-tracker/etc./etc. thread on here and actually starting one.

What was meant to be a gentle thread with plenty of pictures turned into a manifesto for the neo-retro, nu-custom, call it what you will scene. Butt as I'm on my high horse I may as well have a bit of a gallop.

First off, apologies for posting a bunch of bikes that all look the same, I was wanting to stick to the theme a bit. A glance through the BikeExif site reveals a huge number of bikes which look nothing like any of the bikes I posted, some of them are way out there showbikes, some are C90s. But the thing they all have in common is that they were designed and built by or for the individual who rides them and not for the masses.

Personally I have a thing for the classic bike style, round headlight, miinimal bodywork, tubular frame and twin rear shocks. All thrown together with a set of wider bars and a knobbly tyre or two. So I end up with something in between a flat-tracker, a scrambler and a desert sled. To me that combines just about everything that appeals about motorcycling in a bike that can be used everyday. A bit of a jack of all trades bike.

Of course in many ways it's all just re-inventing the wheel. At some point in the past Ted Simon's round the world Triumph morphed into Steve McQueen's Husky which morphed into any number of 70's Japanese dirtbikes and on to the big Dakar bikes which led to the early Adventure Bikes and here we are now 40 or so years later with huge machines capable of munching thousands of miles but which are so far removed from those earlier machines as to be almost unrecognizable and where we are reduced merely to consumers of the latest bike or farkle.

The new scene gets the rider involved, in the creation of their machine and in the day to day running and repair and that's why I reckon they might just be the future for all types of biking.
Happiness has 125cc ...
Zookman
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by Zookman »

Anyone been watching 'Worlds greatest motorcycle rides' on The Travel Channel this week ??
Henry Cole has been riding a Matisse Desert Racer replica through South Africa...

Image

In a short space of time, this bike has been pissing out oil, the shocks have snapped off and a crack was discovered in the frame.
Some of these retro bikes might be nice to look at.... but i'll stick to modern Japanese bikes thanks.
picos mestizo
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by picos mestizo »

IMG_6557.JPG
IMG_6557.JPG (80.44 KiB) Viewed 1724 times
This is the Special I use in the Picos Mountains on pre 1985 rallies.
1979 SP 370.
Forerunner to the original 1982 DR400.
Suzukis first 4 stroke dirt bike of 370 cc 27hp.
Unfortunately they were eclipsed by the slightly prettier Yam. XT 500.
Split magneto with points.
2 valve with screw & nut adjuster.
135 kilos with a nicely spread 5 speed box.
With a modern 6volt regulator 100w is on tap.
Geared up a comfortable cruise of 70 mph & 0-60 >7 secs.
70 mpg & great to ride in the Picos ranges.
Panniers, tail pack & tank bag got me there last year with 10 days riding the gradients & rio's.
Tough, Light, Economical & Fixable.
Lightness is everything.

Lightness with Grunt is a Scratcher!

An Adventure is not a tank transfer.
V_King
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by V_King »

the retro bikes are nice to look at and ok for sunny ride out for a roadside brew.

they have charisma and is ok to have as a second bike, but to do some travelling, on most of them you'll be happier when of the bike than riding it (I mean a few weeks into the travel). of course there are exceptions, but I am talking about majority.

also, a lot of folks associate deus with bike manufacturing. they are selling lifestyle, with a very strong marketing, and bikes are just a small part of their overall business (clothing, push-bikes, more clothing, "art" etc.)
""
mark1150
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by mark1150 »

Freeloadeur wrote:I realised last night that I got on a bit of a high horse somewhere in between chatting with Sprockette about starting a flat-tracker/etc./etc. thread on here and actually starting one.

What was meant to be a gentle thread with plenty of pictures turned into a manifesto for the neo-retro, nu-custom, call it what you will scene. Butt as I'm on my high horse I may as well have a bit of a gallop.

First off, apologies for posting a bunch of bikes that all look the same, I was wanting to stick to the theme a bit. A glance through the BikeExif site reveals a huge number of bikes which look nothing like any of the bikes I posted, some of them are way out there showbikes, some are C90s. But the thing they all have in common is that they were designed and built by or for the individual who rides them and not for the masses.

Personally I have a thing for the classic bike style, round headlight, miinimal bodywork, tubular frame and twin rear shocks. All thrown together with a set of wider bars and a knobbly tyre or two. So I end up with something in between a flat-tracker, a scrambler and a desert sled. To me that combines just about everything that appeals about motorcycling in a bike that can be used everyday. A bit of a jack of all trades bike.

Of course in many ways it's all just re-inventing the wheel. At some point in the past Ted Simon's round the world Triumph morphed into Steve McQueen's Husky which morphed into any number of 70's Japanese dirtbikes and on to the big Dakar bikes which led to the early Adventure Bikes and here we are now 40 or so years later with huge machines capable of munching thousands of miles but which are so far removed from those earlier machines as to be almost unrecognizable and where we are reduced merely to consumers of the latest bike or farkle.

The new scene gets the rider involved, in the creation of their machine and in the day to day running and repair and that's why I reckon they might just be the future for all types of biking.
So what you are saying is that instead of having corperate dealers such as Honda, Yamaha etc, we will have dealers by another name I.E. so called custom builders?
Who won't be backwards in coming forwards when charging for their products, and remember anyone who can't or hasn't the engineering nauce to make something for themselves will be pretty much at their mercy, so prices will inevitably rise.
BTW Here is something that I built back in the early Ninties.
Image

Image
I didn't then nor do I now concider it as underground, or bubbling below the surface of the mainstream.

And FYI Bobber, Chops, Rats, Desert sleds, Street Scramblers and Streetfighters etc, have been around since the New Testiment when the Triumph was heard throughout the land, so hardly new.
I'd say that the real reason for the likes of BMW making "Retro" rides is because the harking back to the good old days appeals to the potential buyer who remembers them, that is to say someone in their 40's - 60's today.
In 20 or 30 years time ask a 50 year old what retro is to him or her and you'll probably see ATs, Teneres, GS, GSXR, YZF's etc; anything built prior to their particular place in time would probably attract the lable of being vintage or vetran. Retro is exactly that a retrospective look at things.
BTW, I don't think that there isn't anything modern that couldn't be labled as a "jack of all trades" as most bikes are comfortable and reliable, and easily capable of going to the shops on, as scratching around on a Sunday morning, or taking to the trails.
I'd also question the morphed linage from Ted Simons Triumph to McQueens Husqvarna, to any number of japanese dirt bikes?
As for the"NEW SCENE" being the future it certainly isn't new as Chops, Bobbers, Cafe Racers etc wouldn't even be heard of if people were satisfied with a standard product, call it modifying, farkeling or whatever you like, it aint new nor is it a groundbreaking descovery; so the future?? not from wher I'm sitting.
The end of the road is the start of the fun



A bad day on the bike is still better than a good day at the office

DRZ 400

XR 400 R
stormfield
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by stormfield »

I suppose it's a case of styling or tarting up an existing donor bike but using more personal ways, rather than buying off the shelf blingy bits.
In other cases more work is involved e.g. A complete rebuild
badsanta
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by badsanta »

Zookman wrote:Anyone been watching 'Worlds greatest motorcycle rides' on The Travel Channel this week ??
Henry Cole has been riding a Matisse Desert Racer replica through South Africa...

Image

In a short space of time, this bike has been pissing out oil, the shocks have snapped off and a crack was discovered in the frame.
Some of these retro bikes might be nice to look at.... but i'll stick to modern Japanese bikes thanks.
Hmmm,Can't seem to find an Henri Matisse Desert Racer replica,however I can........(sorry,couldn't resist) but like you I'll stick to the modern stuff,and having recently assisted in the rebuild of a '40's Indian Chief engine has definitely convinced me to stay with the modern stuff
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Re: Flat-Tracker, Street-Scrambler, Custom-Bobber. Why Retro is the future (for adventure biking).

Post by Zookman »

In last nights show, Henry Cole gave up on the Matisse after all the problems with it and hired a modern bike to finish the trip. A KTM 990 Adventure.
Then that broke down and had to be recovered on the back of a pick up.

Titter.
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