OK - I think it's important that this is addressed. When I received pictures of this restored drag bike recently I took it on face value, and failed to make the connection that I had seen this very same bike before. Besides the pre-restoration magazine feature it was in and some internet coverage, I had also seen the bike when it was first listed on ebay some years ago in all its original glory. The auction was pulled due to no bidding and a private deal was struck. Drag bikes can be a hard sell, because for the most part they are primarily collector items at this point. I don't think the sale price was ever disclosed, but my hunch is that the price was not very high.
Here's what she looked like not that long ago...
When I failed to make the connection with this survivor and was looking at the restored bike on its own merits I wrongly assumed that the bike had some real problems giving good cause for a restoration, and told the owner the results were fantastic. Now that I know more I'm at a total loss as to why this bike was rebuilt? Unfortunately this type of thing happens all too often when the current owner does not understand patina, or does not like the color, or gets obsessed with a little corrosion here and there without stepping back and looking at the big picture. I'm going to refrain from a full on rant, but the point is that people come and go. Life is short. Sometimes it boils down to being the caretaker of history and just enjoying something for your time and passing it on to the next guy to do the same. I REALLY WANT TO HERE WHAT YOU PEOPLE THAT DIG THIS BLOG THINK. Please comment...
OK - I think it's important that this is addressed. When I received pictures of this restored drag bike recently I took it on face value, and failed to make the connection that I had seen this very same bike before. Besides the pre-restoration magazine feature it was in and some internet coverage, I had also seen the bike when it was first listed on ebay some years ago in all its original glory. The auction was pulled due to no bidding and a private deal was struck. Drag bikes can be a hard sell, because for the most part they are primarily collector items at this point. I don't think the sale price was ever disclosed, but my hunch is that the price was not very high.
Here's what she looked like not that long ago...
When I failed to make the connection with this survivor and was looking at the restored bike on its own merits I wrongly assumed that the bike had some real problems giving good cause for a restoration, and told the owner the results were fantastic. Now that I know more I'm at a total loss as to why this bike was rebuilt? Unfortunately this type of thing happens all too often when the current owner does not understand patina, or does not like the color, or gets obsessed with a little corrosion here and there without stepping back and looking at the big picture. I'm going to refrain from a full on rant, but the point is that people come and go. Life is short. Sometimes it boils down to being the caretaker of history and just enjoying something for your time and passing it on to the next guy to do the same. I REALLY WANT TO HERE WHAT YOU PEOPLE THAT DIG THIS BLOG THINK. Please comment... 
I agree with you 100 percent.Maybe fix the problems make it run, then leave it alone.It is history
ReplyDeleteI`m really not into telling others what to do to their bike . But what I don`t get is , why would you buy something like that and then make significant changes ? Why not buy a cheaper project bike and mould that how you want it.
ReplyDeleteBTW , the new header pic is killer .
I couldn't agree more. I did ruin some shit as a kid but then came to my senses quick. Leave it alone! Don't even clean it! Especially a racer.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part I agree, but you really have to look at it on a case by case basis. On old customs it seems tough to make the call too. If you find and old Von Dutch bike with his paint touches, obviously you can "restore" it. Once you touch the paint the historical aspects of it are dead. If you find a nice period built custom built by the common man, I don't don't see a problem with "restoring" it to period correct condition. Take the abuse and years in the back yard off of it. Race bikes are a slightly different story. If it was some well know bike like Joe Petrelli's Knuckle streamliner and everyone knew what it looked like nice and clean because of all the photographic documentation, I'd say yes that bike needs to be restored. If it was some working stiff's race modified bike, leave it alone. As for the bike you posted, I remember it on ebay and thinking how cool it was. The restored version of it seems quite different than the original pics. Was did it look like when it was built? Did the new owner take it back to it's original encarnation or did he just use it as a base for a period correct drag bike? If he just wanted a period correct bike, he should have built it on his own. If he made this bike original again then I don't see a problem, but if he changed the original bike, he's a moron. Sometimes preserving history is cleaning it up and sometimes it's leaving it alone, but it is never to change it. That's my thought.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends if the guy's going to race it. If he is then fair enough, you'd want to know everythings working how it should. If he's not then he's blown it. Big time!
ReplyDeleteI though this might create some controversy. I'm all for patina and originality and have several bikes that are in original unrestored condition. When I got it the drag bike it was ROUGH. Kinda ugly too.The pictures you posted are after i gave it a very long and sympathic clean so I could see what I had. I hated the home made fairing and I can't ride it the the funky aftermarket seat and I do intend to ride it at least once. With th exception of the different rear fender/seat combo and removing the fairing (both of which I still have) the bike is unchanged. That includes a bunch of very crude and iffy details.I think its important to remember that this obsession is all about what makes a guy happy. I like taking shit a part and putiing back together. i can't help it if a little bit of "what I like" rubs off on the stuff i touch.The next guy can add his piece to the bike's history. No harm , no foul. tx jeff T
ReplyDeleteI forgot, I also took off the bent ill fitting exhuast pipes and put on drag pipes. I got rid of the "beer can" shim stock on a few components too. I think that may fall under the "safety" catatgory. Jeff T
ReplyDeleteThanks EVERYONE for the comments. I think FHJ nailed it. Most of the old bikes I get are completely clapped out, or were peices of crap to begin with. Pretty much all my projects are just collections of random parts too. I think it's important that people think long and hard about the restoration question only with the bikes that are worthy of NOT restoring. Those type of bikes are pretty rare and that can be a hard call. We're living in a time where a guy can still pull a highly valuable machine out of a shed it's been sitting in for decades and buy them from unknowing family or even the orginal owners for next to nothing. It's important that the people in this scene think about it because there will come a point where all the survivors have been found. I think it's appropriate that the owner of the bike in question (Jeff T) got in at the end. If you replicated the orginal seat (minus the color!) and painted the fairing to match, the bike would be really close to the original build, but better quality and ready to race again. I can dig that. Thanks Jeff for understanding and playing this out with us.
ReplyDeletePaul
The bathtub drain plugs in the volocity stacks are way cool!
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