In 'our circles' we strive for factory originality, or for perfection. Lately, 'patina' has become the new perfection and 'time originality' has become more and more accepted. I once saw a BMW fundamentalist with a face contorted in disgust next to an almost perfect BMW R90 S in my eyes. The thing was worthless in his eyes. Only good for scrap. Because frame, block and box were not 'Nummergleich'. Apparently a different gearbox was once fitted.
Converted bikes are timeless. And they were never created by bearded trendsetters, influencers and geniuses. Motorcycles were usually built out of genuine poverty. The block was broken. And there had to be something that was running, available and affordable.
In the classic world, the pursuit of originality is quite a thing. And what is 'original'?
It is often grumbled that 'nobody does anything anymore'. Just like with a lot of grumbling, it's not that bad. But some really 'do' much more than others. Harm Schrage is such a person. We came into contact with him through the fanfare. This is what he did. In his own words:
The King Self-Build Days of Motoport Hengelo have restored an old tradition: Making your own motorcycle is a party. This party used to be easier to celebrate because the RDW still roamed around in twilight areas and…
Fortunately, there is a huge range of neo, semi or real classics that are too good to throw away, but for which a real restoration would be far too expensive. Making café racers is a winter thing... Cheaper than restoring them...
Self-built engines Nowadays you would be summarily executed for: Self-built engines. But in the past it was not a strange thing to build a different engine block in a motorcycle. Of course most of us know the British crossbreeds: Tribsa, Norvin,…
Bitsas and Bastards: DIY motorcycles “Just make your own motorcycle”. Nowadays you would be summarily executed for it. But in the past it was not a strange thing to build a different engine block in a motorcycle. Of course, most of us know…
A mysterious engine. A clumsy home-build or a genius concept? These photos have been circulating within well-known circles for a while. Like a kind of search pictures. The most in-depth analysis came from a forum user who clearly recognized an attempt to do something…
A unique engine project. And clearly much more than a 'craft' put together on a rainy day. The machine must be built by a 100% technician. You can tell immediately because it's so ugly. By the way, that's what we mean...