Custom bikes

AHarvey · 24 Jun 2013 at 06:39

I've been browsing bikeexif.com and there's some lovely bikes on there:

http://www.bikeexif.com/buell-custom-motorcycle

http://www.bikeexif.com/honda-cb-cafe-racer

however I was looking for a donor bike myself to start tinkering with and modifying, something cheap and cheerful to start.

My questions is regarding registration and insurance though.

Say you buy an R6 and start making design changes to the frame and changing the engine..at what point would it stop being an R6 legally? I know kit cars need SVA tests to show they are road worthy, is there such a thing for a bike and when would a modified bike need that?

I hope that makes sense...I've been up all night and my brains a little fried

Fireskull · 24 Jun 2013 at 10:39

I love that site, been following it for a few years now, some beautifully crafted machines on there

Griffo · 24 Jun 2013 at 14:38

New site to bookmark! Those are lovely looking things.

VoG · 24 Jun 2013 at 15:04

As long as you keep your engine & frame numbers intact, you can get away with murder, to put it into context, decades ago, as in the early 90's, I bought a blue GSX1100, a few years later i sold said bike, how ever, inbetween buying, owning, then selling the bike, i attacked it with a hacksaw, angle grinder, pipe bender, welding plant, spray gun etc. according to the docs it was still a blue Suzuki GSX1100.

Insurance on the other hand can be quite the pain once you start racking up modifications.

AHarvey · 24 Jun 2013 at 19:04

VoG said:
Insurance on the other hand can be quite the pain once you start racking up [/IMG][/URL]

yeah that's my concern..would it be cheaper to modify and insure or would it be best to find a specialist kit car style insurer and re-register the bike as a new one. Must be possible as you can do it with cars?

nice mods btw

VoG · 24 Jun 2013 at 22:12

AHarvey said:
yeah that's my concern..would it be cheaper to modify and insure or would it be best to find a specialist kit car style insurer and re-register the bike as a new one. Must be possible as you can do it with cars?

nice mods btw

Don't re-register the bike as a new one, it's an unnecessary bureaucratic expense that can be avoided for all but the most off the wall creations. Carole Nash are supposed to be good for heavily modded bikes, tho ive never used them myself so couldn't vouch for that, so your best bet is to ask around on various biker forums to find out whats what from the horses mouth.

AHarvey · 27 Jun 2013 at 00:13

Thanks for the advice VoG