Background Tidbits

I started riding two wheelers in the Philippines where I grew up. We rode "underbone" motorcycles because they were quite nimble at the 100-125 cc range and priced economically (usually $1000). They were usually always customized, it was rare to see a complete stock model. My parents bought my brother a Honda Dream (as they were called back then) and the first thing he did when he parked it in our driveway was to strip it down to almost bare bones. I never saw the mud guards, engine guards, rear fender, and mini-fairings again.



This was a common practice because those parts interfered with the bike's wind resistance and weight, which were crucial points if you were going to race this little beast on the streets. Of course everyone did. It also helps when your country doesn't have any helmet laws or any type of protective equipment laws for that matter.

Once I started remembering the things we did to our motorcycles back then, I realized how customization is an essential part of the process to being attuned to your motorcycle. One model is factory built to appeal to tens of thousands of people. I look at it this way, stock bikes are blank canvases, you can do what you want with them as long as you start with a solid foundation.

Fortunately, I have a bit of mechanical experience from being an Aviation Support Equipment Technician in the Navy. Since it's such a wide field, I've been lucky to work with hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems, diesel engines, nitrogen equipment, and air conditioning. I'm far from being an expert, but I have the basic concepts down which have been enough to enable me to start working on my bike. Some of the things I say may contradict common world notions because I've learned most of this from the military, and if some of you don't know, most of the time we do things ass-backwards or completely unconventional. The Navy's theory on electronics vary from certain notions in the real world (as I like to call it), especially in aviation.

The Custom 650 is not a bad canvas for a starter bike. This blog shows an impressive 650 Custom in progress. He has a direction where he wants to take his bike to and has the ability and drive to get it there. Think about what you want to do with your bike. I'm already set on mine to make it a easy-to-handle and rider-friendly bike if that makes sense. I won't be concerned about looks for the mean time, only on comfort factors. There's an idea brewing in my head for what I want it to look like, but I'm going to take baby steps to get there.