Tim Allen's Monster on ebay

[Spidey]

Tough crowd.   

[Triple J]

so the 1098 swingarm is stronger and lighter?

So they claim.

[causeofkaos]

Tough crowd.   

ha ha you almost sound surprised.

[Spidey]

Disappointed, rather.

The coolest thing about that bike--that I saw from skimming the ad and some of the pics--is the well-thought-out geometry changes.  Not a lot of folks around here do that kind of work or even think about it.  It's pretty cool stuff, and something we could/should appreciate.

[DrDesmo]

Tough crowd.   

For the $ RetroSBK gets for their bikes, what were you expecting?

I mean, the Freddie Spencer bike was $114,000.  I can only imagine what Allen paid for this thing.

This isn't a garage-built special, and there's enough hyperbole and bravado in the way Kennefick speaks about his bikes to make people expect truly great things - which this bike isn't IMO.  I don't care that Robb Report used their typical superfluous, breathless writing style -- I care about what the bike actually is.  And in this case, I care about what the bike isn't.

Then again, there's an ass for every seat.  Just because it's a Ducati and expensive doesn't mean everyone has to like it and just because he's "the guy who made the bikes for Transformers 2" doesn't mean everything he makes is deserving of worship.

Tim Allen liked it, the new buyer will like it - and that's all that matters 

Adam

[Triple J]

Disappointed, rather.

The coolest thing about that bike--that I saw from skimming the ad and some of the pics--is the well-thought-out geometry changes.  Not a lot of folks around here do that kind of work or even think about it.  It's pretty cool stuff, and something we could/should appreciate.

That stuff is cool, like I said. Lots of custom work went into it. But...the plate on the swingarm, frame color, zip ties...

No doubt some cool engineering in it though.

[DrDesmo]

Disappointed, rather.

The coolest thing about that bike--that I saw from skimming the ad and some of the pics--is the well-thought-out geometry changes.  Not a lot of folks around here do that kind of work or even think about it.  It's pretty cool stuff, and something we could/should appreciate.

Absolutely agreed.  Functionally i'm sure the geometry blows a stock monster away.

Adam

[RetroSBK]

OK guys... a bit about the bike...

The frame is a Candy Apple red, as requested by the client.

The swingarm was handformed by Gregg of Greggs Customs fame, and is unreal. Way beyond the reach of anyone on this site, or any other, or they woudl be doing it. He is one of the best fabricators in the biz.

It isnt a gsxr front end, its a CBR, and why use it? Because it WORKS. When we built this bike, there wasnt a monster with Radial mount front brakes, and the CBR front end with Ohlins internals was simply amazing, so we had Speedy Moto whittle us up a set fo custom triple clamps, and make the required geometry changes and now you have a radial brake front end with suspension that works. If there was a better setup, we woudl have used it. The stock Ohlins stuff leaves a LOT to be desired in the performance end of things, but you get the look.

Why do that exhuast? because it works. The little boom box style exhaust sacrifice performance with too small of a collector volume, and hurts performance, no thanks. The motor is pretty mild, but well tuned. 132 was pretty easy to get to.

The master cylinder is not a Brembo part, it is a Nissan, and has a displacemnt and pull that closely match the OE setup as used on the calipers. The remote unit looks like ass when mounted on handle bar, IMO

The belt covers are made of lexan. They were simply too expensive to make, and we never went into production on them.

I like the zipties and I like a bike to look mechanical, there is beauty in the function of the bike, and the industrial-ness of a bike. I dont WANT my bikes to look like some chopper, with all the wires hidden. I could easily weld some lil bungs on the insides of the frame and "hide" the wires, but they are only hidden from small angles and look kinda lame stuck to the inside of the bike.

The Freddie bike.. Yeah, the full build bike was 114k, but the RADIATOR was 7k, my cost from HRC. The BASE engine kit from HRC was 35k. There was 18k of brakes on the bike. Good parts cost money, HRC parts cost yearly incomes. Trust me, I didnt get rich building those bikes, it was done out of respect for Freddie.

BTW, I didnt write the articles on my stuff, I just build bikes... If you want to read some more direct reviews look in Cycle World or the CW Sport Bike Annual from last year, where my Rainey bike was featured. They called it Perfect 10. The best custom they had ever ridden. (even if they didnt like the thumb brake)

Anyways, long story short, I can appreciate that some people like my work, and some people dont. If you cant afford one of my bikes, dont bash me for it. If you dont like my work, fine, but dont bash me for it. If you dont like me, bash away, Im an asshole and I know it . I build a bike to what a customer asks for, outside fo the Tribute bikes, which are my expression of what I love.

The other side of it, if you can build a bike that is unreal, and awesome, send me some pics, and I will help you get it notcied in a magazine or on my TV show.

Will

[Monstermash]

The swingarm was handformed by Gregg of Greggs Customs fame, and is unreal. Way beyond the reach of anyone on this site, or any other, or they woudl be doing it. He is one of the best fabricators in the biz.

 Will,

 I for one am a little offended by this comment. Who do you think you are anyway? Have you seen some of the work done by some of our members on this site? I didn't hear anyone 'bashing" you or your bike but you act like you are the only one who can send something out to have it fabricated.

 And as far as the "no expense spared" comment in the OP I can think of many ways corners were cut. How about fabbing up something nice to mount the reservoir for the rear shock? Maybe put it under the seat on a piece of billet, attached to the rear foot rest mounts?

 And as far as the front end goes, how is using a CBR front end classified as no expense spared? Yeah, the factory Ohlins that is available as OEM on some Ducatis is not the best in the industry but how about a set of R&T's or Marzocci's?

 And then there is the exhaust. I guess just bolting on a Leo slip-on was better than sourcing an end can from an AMA team and then fabricating up a custom midpipe. 

 I'm not bashing the bike but some of the words used to describe it are less than accurate. I'm curious, how much did it sell for originally?

 And as far as sending you some pics........ Welcome to the DMF!!!

[ICON]

Will,

 I for one am a little offended by this comment. Who do you think you are anyway? Have you seen some of the work done by some of our members on this site? I didn't hear anyone 'bashing" you or your bike but you act like you are the only one who can send something out to have it fabricated.

 And as far as the "no expense spared" comment in the OP I can think of many ways corners were cut. How about fabbing up something nice to mount the reservoir for the rear shock? Maybe put it under the seat on a piece of billet, attached to the rear foot rest mounts?

 And as far as the front end goes, how is using a CBR front end classified as no expense spared? Yeah, the factory Ohlins that is available as OEM on some Ducatis is not the best in the industry but how about a set of R&T's or Marzocci's?

 And then there is the exhaust. I guess just bolting on a Leo slip-on was better than sourcing an end can from an AMA team and then fabricating up a custom midpipe. 

 I'm not bashing the bike but some of the words used to describe it are less than accurate. I'm curious, how much did it sell for originally?

 And as far as sending you some pics........ Welcome to the DMF!!!

Well put... 

[Magnus]

Tim Allen??   Cmon, that dude is such a tool...

[DrDesmo]

OK guys... a bit about the bike...

The frame is a Candy Apple red, as requested by the client.

The swingarm was handformed by Gregg of Greggs Customs fame, and is unreal. Way beyond the reach of anyone on this site, or any other, or they woudl be doing it. He is one of the best fabricators in the biz.

It isnt a gsxr front end, its a CBR, and why use it? Because it WORKS. When we built this bike, there wasnt a monster with Radial mount front brakes, and the CBR front end with Ohlins internals was simply amazing, so we had Speedy Moto whittle us up a set fo custom triple clamps, and make the required geometry changes and now you have a radial brake front end with suspension that works. If there was a better setup, we woudl have used it. The stock Ohlins stuff leaves a LOT to be desired in the performance end of things, but you get the look.

Why do that exhuast? because it works. The little boom box style exhaust sacrifice performance with too small of a collector volume, and hurts performance, no thanks. The motor is pretty mild, but well tuned. 132 was pretty easy to get to.

The master cylinder is not a Brembo part, it is a Nissan, and has a displacemnt and pull that closely match the OE setup as used on the calipers. The remote unit looks like ass when mounted on handle bar, IMO

The belt covers are made of lexan. They were simply too expensive to make, and we never went into production on them.

I like the zipties and I like a bike to look mechanical, there is beauty in the function of the bike, and the industrial-ness of a bike. I dont WANT my bikes to look like some chopper, with all the wires hidden. I could easily weld some lil bungs on the insides of the frame and "hide" the wires, but they are only hidden from small angles and look kinda lame stuck to the inside of the bike.

The Freddie bike.. Yeah, the full build bike was 114k, but the RADIATOR was 7k, my cost from HRC. The BASE engine kit from HRC was 35k. There was 18k of brakes on the bike. Good parts cost money, HRC parts cost yearly incomes. Trust me, I didnt get rich building those bikes, it was done out of respect for Freddie.

BTW, I didnt write the articles on my stuff, I just build bikes... If you want to read some more direct reviews look in Cycle World or the CW Sport Bike Annual from last year, where my Rainey bike was featured. They called it Perfect 10. The best custom they had ever ridden. (even if they didnt like the thumb brake)

Anyways, long story short, I can appreciate that some people like my work, and some people dont. If you cant afford one of my bikes, dont bash me for it. If you dont like my work, fine, but dont bash me for it. If you dont like me, bash away, Im an asshole and I know it . I build a bike to what a customer asks for, outside fo the Tribute bikes, which are my expression of what I love.

The other side of it, if you can build a bike that is unreal, and awesome, send me some pics, and I will help you get it notcied in a magazine or on my TV show.

Will

Will,

Thanks for responding, it's great to have you here ( seriously! ) and talk about your contributions.

You and your guys do killer work as I said earlier.  The Yoshi bike you put together is one of my favorite bikes ever, ever, ever with amazing attention to detail:



I don't think anyone here is bashing you because they "can't afford your bikes" or because "they don't like you" at all -- in fact, you might notice quite the contrary (lots of Monster owners can afford lots of expensive stuff ... ) It's just an opinion about how the bike itself turned out.  I wouldn't take it personally 

I doubt your clients all universally have the same tastes either 

Cheers,
Adam

[DrDesmo]

Oh, and speaking of custom monsters, check THIS baby out:

- Pace (F1!) custom radiator
- Loads and loads of custom work

http://www.simonvicki.co.uk/wheels_pages/_s4r_pages/S4r_stage_8.html



Threadjack over 

Adam

[Sterling]

Tim Allen??   Cmon, that dude is such a tool...

I chuckled...

As far as the bike in question is concerned...  I think it is a beautiful specimen of a bike.  Do not take this the wrong way, but I believe all bikes are beautiful in their own way.  Everything has a story or purpose; from custom swingarms all the way down to a scratch in the tank.  Will, why ask people to not bash your creations?  I thought constructive criticisms, even though people have different ways of delivering it, was just that... constructive.  If only we could all be properly receptive to all input, we could create some amazing things.  That being said, lets keep the double standards to a minimum.  If one does not believe they should receive any bashing, they should not deliver it.

If everything was the same, no one would be special.  Lets allow everyone to do what they do so we can continually evolve these machines we all know and love.

"Why can't we all just get along?!"

 

[RetroSBK]

Monster Mash, the midpipe of that exhaust is custom. They made the production piece based on the one we made, althought the locatin was changed to work with stock footrests.

Sorry if you are offended, but Gregg is the best. Thats why his client list includes RSD and WCC. The look of the swingarm may not be your taste, but the fabrication is beyond 99% of the guys that do it for a living.

The R&T and Marz forks are junk. Period. The R&T forks are the 90's KYB stuff, great at the time, but not so much since. The Marz forks dont work and are quite heavy. So we used the best avail (gas charged forks were not avail to the public at the time) and had them anodized and TiDiox coated, with Ohlins... It was a good enuf setup to win AMA superstock races, prolly good enuf for us. The shock location was again, dictated by the client. the original shock had no remote on it.

What I chaged for it is between me and the client, but Tim paid no more than anyone else would, he is a great guy and a hard core enthusiast.

Thats a nice looking bike, and pretty well thought out. Me personally, I prefer the 2v bikes since I got my first one in 93.

DrD, I dont take it personally, Im just posting here trying to help in my very limited spare time. My bikes are functional art, or at least I like to think of them that way. Huge amounts of time goes into every detail, like the grinign on the frame to remove the bubblegum OE welds.

To everyone, please dont offended to me being brash, Its just me, full throttle and very passionate.