I want to build my own motorcycle.

Hey members of A.T.S. I am looking to get my motorcycle licence soon and I was thinking about building my own bike. I would like to get some advice on parts. I am new to motorcycles so I could use the help. I can be good with my hands when it comes to mecanical projects. But I dont know enough about motorcycle parts and stuff like that. Right now I am building my own moped bike but it's not as practical as a motorcyle. Motorcycles have been with many members of my family for a while. My dad used to have a motorcycle and my uncle has three or four motorcycles. My grandfather used to collect old indian motorcycles before his death.

reply to post by paranormal78


best thing for you to do is buy a cheap street bike or even a non running bike, buy a repair manual and start fixing.

1. take off carb drain oils and clean everything .

2. new oils spark plug filters. check for spark .

3 if you have spark put some gas in and start.


I have built many Trikes, dirt bikes, harleys, hotrods, trucks . the best thing to do is start with a whole bike. get some experience and tools then you will know exactly what you want to build and how to plan it out..

good Luck pics are always fun... and get that moped running sell it for the bike fund.

reply to post by -W1LL
That sounds like a good idea. cheaper I'll bet. I was planing on building a bike piece by piece so I can be proud of it when I am done. But I might just go with your idea in the end. How much do you think I can get a cheap enough motorcycle that needs work for? I am looking at spending about a grand and a half on a used bike. And saving about two grand for parts and repair. Oh and cool picks W1LL.

Originally posted by paranormal78
reply to post by -W1LL

 

That sounds like a good idea. cheaper I'll bet. I was planing on building a bike piece by piece so I can be proud of it when I am done. But I might just go with your idea in the end. How much do you think I can get a cheap enough motorcycle that needs work for? I am looking at spending about a grand and a half on a used bike. And saving about two grand for parts and repair. Oh and cool picks W1LL.

it depends on where you are located but I bet you can find a bike that you like with a blown motor for a few hundred then buy a good motor and throw it in.

what kinda street bike are you looking for?
I like Honda best, some will argue that suzuki is faster its all rider preference Honda just feels more comfortable to me and they are reliable machines that run forever. you can probably find a cbr600 running for a grand.
look around on craigslist or cycletrader street bike forums are good for classifieds.

the trick is to be patient look every day and a deal will usually come up I have gotten some amazing deals. and all i had to do was clean the carb on most non runners that were sitting for too long and needed new gas oil & plug

reply to post by -W1LL
I have looked into honda bikes and they seem pretty good. but i might get something like an old victory or a thrump. they are kind of my style. i also like the modern street bikes to. ever sence i saw tron legacy i have had an intrest in motorcycles. thats what sparked my intrest. before then i was kind of affraid of motorcycles after my dad told me about a motorcycle crash he was in. but now i want one. the first thing on two whells i drove was a moped scooder from 2004.

reply to post by paranormal78


Well a grand is hardly gonna cover an old british bike. Unless you're looking for a basket case with non-matching numbers (which also might be difficult to get registration for). Your best bet would be looking at an older Japanese bike, in my opinion. Something from the 80's are usually quite reliable, once you figure out how to tune the carbs properly and getting everything else running tip-top.

I have a 71 BSA Lightning, that I need to tear apart one of these days, and rebuild from the bottom up. It still runs great, but I want to put a new coat of paint on the frame and the tank, and while its apart, I might as well tear the motor apart, and replace rings, and dig into the secondary, and see if I can't get that little gremlin in there figured out.

The big problems I've run into especially with British bikes, is finding parts for them. There are after-market parts out there, but it takes lots of searching, and sometimes the parts are so outrageously priced that it might be better to get a used bike for the same price as some of the parts. For example, the needle on my speedo broke, and to get a Smith speedo, I'm looking in the neighborhood of $200 for a used one. If I wanted a replica, that drops down to about $100.

reply to post by saabster5
A 71' BSA Lightning looks good fully restored. But I might go with an old Harley Davidson pan head. They look pretty cool. But I dont know how rare they are. I'll half to do some research on that.