At least a stretched out bike can serve a purpose -- it keeps a drag bike from wheelying off the line during a drag-race.  But, alas, I think most of these guys have done it purely for looks and style.

Serowbot wrote on 07/19/19 at 16:23:25:


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You and me both.  When I was young I fancied myself some kind of drag racer (1970 Kawasaki Mach III H1).  But I was never really any good.  Then later on, with better handling bikes, I fancied myself some kind of road racer.  Once again, I wasn't any good.  About the only thing I can say about my skill is that after 51 years of riding, I'm still alive.  

Did you ever notice that you rarely see anyone riding one like the first bike, the one that looks like Arlen Ness created an even worse than usual crime against style? But you see them for sale shortly after completion, always with very few miles. It is always nearly the same text too, "The pictures speak for themselves. $48000 firm".

I don't care how ugly you want to make your bike if you are going to keep it and ride it. But there should be jail time for doing that to a bike then selling it a week later because everyone laughs at you when you go by.

At least it's a finished (assuming) completed bike however grotesque it may be.
Looking through bike ads is nearly heart breaking seeing all of these abortions for sale. The "project" and "roller" junk people are peddling ought to be a crime. Jackasses take bikes that in many cases are perfectly good running machines and take angle grinders and cutting torches to them, post some blogs and pictures, then get bored or run out of money, patience, skill, time so they want to offload their broke, unsafe pile of scrap for silly prices. And then they probably try it again.
All the while more and more classic bikes go extinct.

If it's a bike that was rotting in the back 40 or junkyard then fine have at it.
But when they post the before pictures of a working running bike and then the after pictures show a pile of spray painted scrap metal for shame.

I don't know which one of the two is worse now. At least the owner of that Honda didn't do the other usual mod of moving the seat forward several inches then extending the pegs and controls to gain back the lost leg room.

Well people do want this stupid "cool" thing. It would appear they will go to any lenghts to achieve it.

That ape hanger thing pictured is insane. However, I will defend his right to be stupid. Some countries "certify" their bikes, so much so that any mods are illegal. I think Germany might be one of them.

Keep the government off my back!!

The bike was fine, until the heat melted it...