|  | Topic : Factory 'Customs' |  |
| | | Thatch | | Thor |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 24/06/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,655 | | Location | : | Savannah, GA, United States |
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| | Posted : 15 Mar 2012 - 10:32 Post title : Factory 'Customs' | | | So, this seems to be a growing trend in the motorcycle market. The factory custom where you buy the up market version of an existing bike. Harley has done it for years with it's CVO line and now Yamaha is getting into it with their SCL line (currently one bike, the Raider SCL)
In the Raider's case you'll be one of only 500 people with the same bike after paying a $5500 premium for the added bits and pieces. To me that's not a custom, but a limited edition and that's all well and good if you want something like the bike above, but for me a large part of customizing a bike is making it "yours", not "500 people with similar tastes (and wallets)".
In someways good in that you can get a bike that's 'different from the rest' right from the factory. However, I wonder just how 'different from the rest' are you if you buy the same 'custom' as the next guy? But then, I bought a Triumph in large part to be 'different from the rest' and there were thousands of folks that did the same, so is that any different... I don't know.
I heard about Harley's latest initiative 'Art of Custom' and their online tank design wall. Link My initial thought it was going to be a service to basically slap a series of factory clip art items that could be slapped onto a tank to make your own somewhat custom design. I'm not sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing, but it turns out that's not it anyway. It's an online gallery of tank designs that will get voted on and the winner gets a new sportster with his custom design painted on the tank. This is in conjunction with an art show tour of actual custom painted Harley tanks like these. (sorry the images are a bit big)
 (I love this one actually... is it odd to have THE American motorcycle company tank painted in soviet propaganda style artwork?  ... still cool looking though)
and
Interesting, but not a move closer to actual customization.
So, what's your take on this movement? Do you think a factory custom is a good way to get a unique bike? Would you like a factory custom option for the bird and would you take advantage of it? Do you think 'unique' is ultimately an illusion the billions of us tell ourselves to feel better about being pretty much all alike?
Just a thought that's been banging around in my head lately. Personally it's not for me as I'd be pissed to find one bike that ends up looking like mine when I'm done, much less 500 but I don't thing any of us are under the illusion that I necessarily think along the same lines as most folks on here. (or is that my own personal illusion as well?  )However, I would like a bit more flexibility on paint choices from the factory, several colors, a couple graphic options ... that sort of thing.
Anywho, thought it might be worth a bit of discussion.
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| | | sprint5t | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 07/02/2011 | | Posts | : | 355 | | Location | : | Ely, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 15 Mar 2012 - 11:58 Post title : Re: Factory 'Customs' (Re: Thatch) | | |
Thatch wrote:
... you'll be one of only 500 people with the same bike after paying a $5500 premium for the added bits and pieces. To me that's not a custom, but a limited edition and that's all well and good if you want something like the bike above, but for me a large part of customizing a bike is making it "yours", not "500 people with similar tastes (and wallets)".
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I think $5500 is very steep for this "option" , ... I had an "actual" real custom paint job done for me by one of the industries best artists Link for ~£1500 (~$2,300) and added a few pieces made and bought for another few hundred. 
This isn't to say though that anyone who wants a "custom" without the all the headaches shouldn't have the choice to spend their money on this.
John
| Thread Killer Extraordinaire
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| | | Thatch | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 24/06/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,655 | | Location | : | Savannah, GA, United States |
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| | Posted : 15 Mar 2012 - 12:33 Post title : Re: Factory 'Customs' (Re: sprint5t) | | |
This isn't to say though that anyone who wants a "custom" without the all the headaches shouldn't have the choice to spend their money on this.
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Agreed, just wondering people's thoughts on it. $20k for a Raider is pretty crazy to me. (but then the fact that a base raider is on par price wise with the bird is crazy to me so...)
On the other side of the coin I know how much headache I went through on trying to decide what to do to mine, now I'm watching Birdy go through the same sort of headaches. Perhaps having 1 of 500 without the headaches is a fair proposition.
BTW, there are supposed to be a number of other performance do-dads on that raider on top of the paint (and the dual tone leather seat). The report I said just had things like 'item X' to maximize torque at 2500 rpm, but no mention of how much.
$20k yamahas and $30k+ Harleys make the $20k Triumph Explorer I priced out for myself seem like a deal though.
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 15 Mar 2012 - 13:21 Post title : Re: Factory 'Customs' (Re: Thatch) | | | From a purely business perspective - if the market is there for a $5,000 factory custom and the company makes money doing it then they should.
I would rather spend the $5,000 doing something unique to my ride, but I'm also not an artist - I know good art when I see it (arguably), but suck when it comes to creating art from scratch so I run the risk of creating a $5,000 POS. Given that, I understand why some would go the factory custom route.
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| | | CornerBanger | | Jupiter | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 07/07/2010 | | Posts | : | 1,113 | | Location | : | Charleston, SC, United States |
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| | Posted : 15 Mar 2012 - 13:36 Post title : Re: Factory 'Customs' (Re: Thatch) | | | I am with you on this Thatch. Customizing has the root of custom, meaning, taking something common and adapting it to your liking (IMHO). And, that gives you a one off (well almost). I would rather pay 5k and get something that is my own that I like and know body else has, even though it might be full of headaches. I experienced them doing my bike this winter, but in the end, it was worth it.
By the way, the dirt track tank took my idea... WTF lol
| There are those who own and there are those who ride! 
2010 Thunderbird
2007 Kawi KX250F
2010 Kawi KX85 (My boy's ride)
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| | | DizzE | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 12/07/2010 | | Posts | : | 3,141 | | Location | : | Sunnyvale, CA, United States |
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| | Posted : 15 Mar 2012 - 14:27 Post title : Re: Factory 'Customs' (Re: CornerBanger) | | | Well, besides his stuff is way too busy and goofy to me, I never got the concept of wearing art.
I would not like to ride it. As for 500 other people, I have the Phantom Red Haze and the only other
place I've seen that is here on the forum. But, then, all Road Kings look alike and they are everywhere.
So, Comic Art? Why not, for that? It's already pretty funny.
In Yellowstone, I ran into a guy with the Pacific Blue and White paint. (I told him about our forum)
But, I never saw that paint again or another Bird, in 4000 miles,
The Bird is the (un-spoiled) word.
| | Post edited by DizzE on 15 Mar 2012 - 14:32 |
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| | | mjgt | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 16/09/2011 | | Posts | : | 2,201 | | Location | : | North Somerset, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 16 Mar 2012 - 07:57 Post title : Re: Factory 'Customs' (Re: Thatch) | | | I agree with you thatch, a factory custom is just a limited edition, not a custom. A custom bike is a one off, built or designed by the owner to be the only one ot it's type. When I bought my speedtriple in 2000 it was labled the first factory streetfighter, another wrong use of the label. If it has factory in the title, its a production bike.
| Mick . . .  Keep the rubber side down!!
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| | | Lionheart | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 19/09/2011 | | Posts | : | 136 | | Location | : | Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire , United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 17 Mar 2012 - 14:18 Post title : Re: Factory 'Customs' (Re: CornerBanger) | | |
CornerBanger wrote:
I am with you on this Thatch. Customizing has the root of custom, meaning, taking something common and adapting it to your liking (IMHO). And, that gives you a one off (well almost). I would rather pay 5k and get something that is my own that I like and know body else has, even though it might be full of headaches. I experienced them doing my bike this winter, but in the end, it was worth it.
By the way, the dirt track tank took my idea... WTF lol
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I with you mate....
| Lionheart
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| | | CornerBanger | | Jupiter | | | | Reg. Date | : | 07/07/2010 | | Posts | : | 1,113 | | Location | : | Charleston, SC, United States |
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| | Posted : 19 Mar 2012 - 13:00 Post title : Re: Factory 'Customs' (Re: Lionheart) | | | Careful Lion, Feduke will use your tank for his next avatar...
Looks really good!!! I like red heads!!!
| There are those who own and there are those who ride!
2010 Thunderbird
2007 Kawi KX250F
2010 Kawi KX85 (My boy's ride)
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