Overdone Or Not Done Enough?

xxSLiMxx

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Okay so here is my question that goes out to all of you custom MB builders out there!

What do you consider "overdone" and "not overdone" when it comes to the paint jobs and "style" of our bikes?

I ask this question because over the winter i plan to turn my fully chrome frame in to a flat black, red rimed, 2inched white walled "rat rod" style bike and i keep getting comments from all over saying its "overdone" Personally i don't care what anyone else said about it being over done, Its my bike and ill do with it as i please! Plus i happen to like the "rat rod" look.

So what sets "overdone" apart from not being overdone? Like really what hasn't been done to death yet? $50,000 paint job on a $100 bike frame? Solid gold frame? Like seriously? What is "original" yet still feasible for the common MB daily rider?

Let me know! Maybe it's not "overdone" maybe its just 1000's of people are still doing it right! (y)

Keep on ridding riders!
Slim,
 
It is a matter of what YOU want. I consider custom paint to be "overdone" on these motorbikes, but the next guy might consider dual front disk brakes to be "overdone". You can build these motorbikes anyway you like without spending big bucks (compared to a motorcycle).
Any way, I admire the creativity, resourcefulness and craftmanship of these bike builds whether or not I like the "style" or genre of the bike.
 
An alcoholic is anyone who drinks more than you do. Put twelve banjo pickers in one room and you will hear twelve variations of "Old Joe Clark"- and each one is the "BY GOD TRUTH"! What you call "svelt" I am likely to call "anorexic". And there is the undeniable truth- SOMEBODY voted for Obama... just nobody I know will admit to it...
"Overdone" and "underdone" depends on;
1) what you are trying to do
2) who's standards you are trying to go by and
3) how much the aforementioned standards mean squat to you
If you dress it up in Barbi Pink and Barney Purple- well, I won't ride it, but that's not what you had in mind- is it? Paint is cheap and can be removed. Chrome gets a bit wearing over time when the whole frame is done in it- but there are those who wouldn't have it any other way. Wear your pants where they fit you and don't worry about anything other than indecent exposure. The first lesson I've learned about this addiction is that advice is plentiful, encouragement is in steady supply and rules are few and far between... except in California and Seattle. If you MUST get advise/endorsement from other individuals, chose those who's work you admire.
Carry on.
the Old Sgt.
 
I agree, its a matter of preference. Personally to me paint is very important. I think of our bikes are forms of art. Metal all bent and twisted to create an interesting form of transportation. Some need to take it too far.... some could give a rip. The choice is yours I guess.
 

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I prefer simplicity in design, and simplicity in finish, myself. It is, however, entirely a matter of taste - I have some, others don't, don'cha know?

Oh, and Sarge?

I voted for Obama. Not because I expected or hoped for him to make things better, but because I hoped he'd precipitate a revolution, which this country desperately needs. Oh well, I expected too much from the sheep.
 
I remember someone telling you that "rat rod" is overdone, but someone could say that "red sports cars are overdone", too-- that's not going to change the fact that there is a huge contingency of people who LOVE and will buy red sports cars. You'll kill yourself trying to find a paint job that NO ONE has done.

Do a paint job because YOU want it, not because someone else wants you to want it.
 
flat black, red wheels and whitewalls :sick:.
flat black is not a custom paint job and neither are red wheels and whitewalls.
would you rather have a bike that looks like 10,000 other "rat rod" bikes?
or would you rather have something that's one of a kind, with glossy colors and chrome parts?
I vote for glossy colors myself, and go one step futher by having someone throw some tradtional Hot rod pinstriping on the tank to really set your bike apart from the crowd.
no 2 pinstripe designs will be the same and it will truly make your bike a one of a kind. (but that's just my opinion.)
It's YOUR bike and you can do what you want with it.

As far as being overdone, you just have to know when to stop and when enough is enough.
you either get it or you don't.
 
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flat black, red wheels and whitewalls :sick:.
flat black is not a custom paint job and neither are red wheels and whitewalls.
would you rather have a bike that looks like 10,000 other "rat rod" bikes?
or would you rather have something that's one of a kind, with glossy colors and chrome parts?
I vote for glossy colors myself, and go one step futher by having someone throw some tradtional Hot rod pinstriping on the tank to really set your bike apart from the crowd.
no 2 pinstripe designs will be the same and it will truly make your bike a one of a kind. (but that's just my opinion.)
It's YOUR bike and you can do what you want with it.

As far as being overdone, you just have to know when to stop and when enough is enough.
you either get it or you don't.

and you know, for me, what you describe would "look like every other bike out there". Sure, the color combos might not be identical, and yeah the stripe patterns are going to vary, but to me it would look like yet another chrome-encrusted "hot rod attempt". Not every attempt at "something different" ends up looking good.
 
and you know, for me, what you describe would "look like every other bike out there". Sure, the color combos might not be identical, and yeah the stripe patterns are going to vary, but to me it would look like yet another chrome-encrusted "hot rod attempt". Not every attempt at "something different" ends up looking good.

I see what you mean, but i am talking about my bikes personally.
There are no other bikes out there that look exactly like mine, and i gurantee it. I've made some of my own one off parts, custom paint AND i use 20" frames.
It's not too often that you see a 20" frame used for a m.b.
Most are cruisers or mountain bikes, which makes the majority of them look the same to me.

again, it's all a matter of opinion and we could go on for hours about this.
There is no real right or wrong, just an opinion on what looks good and what doesn't.
i think as long as the bike is assembled right, engine installed correctly and maintained it's all good.
looks are just a bonus, but for me, looks are just as important as to how well the engine runs, how well the bike rides and stops.
Anyone can build a motorized bike just to ride (and we've seen them all....dirty, oily, thrown together and cluttered) or you can build a bike that will make people stop and take notice because it's well built, clean, uncluttered and DIFFERENT than all the rest.
again, this is just my humble opinion and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
 
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