What is it in a bike that grabs your interest?

[Conquiztador]

Have to admit that factory bikes do very little for me. No matter where they come from or what type.
Also of the shelf bits that are bolted on to a bike will not give me a hard un.
Motors that have had thousands spent on the inside to make them go that .25 of a second faster does nothing to my sleeping habits.
A bike that is built by a pro for someone that can afford it makes me yawn.
Classic bikes that have been painstakenly restored to their former glory get a glance but thats about it.

What makes my heart beat faster is a bike that has been customised by the owner using bits he has made him self. A bike that has personality and class. A one off. Where the overall presentation has been taken in to account and where there is very little "bling".
It also has to be a bike made for riding and not a show pony.

Get rid of all bits you do not need for riding, tidy up what's left, make it look nice and you have your self a bike that not only stands out in a crowd but you get up at 5am so you can get a long days riding on.

Well, thats my look on it anyhow. What's yours?

Here a pic that gives an indication what I am on about. The make of the bike is not important to me.

[colsan1]

my big passion is for anything 2 stroke. Although my daily ride is a zr7.
I've had suzuki gt's, rdlc's, kr1s's, rgv's, i like stuff that is pure function
and not there because it looks nice.
I hate the sort of thing in your picture,even though its not cluttered up with half a ton
of heavy steel bolt on rubbish.
while i can appreciate the engineering thats gone into it
i just dont get the concept of bikes that dont handle, dont go very well and dont stop.
still, it'd be a dull world if we all rode the same thing.

giive me something like this anyday

[swbarnett]

I can certainly appreciate the personal look.

Mainly for me it's a mix of sleek lines, good handling, reliability and practicality. Something like the VFR800, CBR1100XX of even the FJR1300. Not that I've tried any of these but I hope to move in that direction in the not too distant future.

[nudemetalz]

I like most bikes, and I've had a wide variety, from a 500 V4 2-stroke to a 500 V4 4-stroke, a 125 road-racer and also all sorts of others.

Buying a Guzzi was a lifelong dream of mine. It's the first non-Japanese bike for me. To me it exudes passion, has the right look, the right feel and the right noise ( )
It's not for everyone, but then they don't make Guzzi's for everyone.

I do like the V-twin in Conquiztador's picture and also the NSR in Colsan1's pic.

[Big Dave]

For me it's versatility.
I now covet bikes that can handle any sort of road well.

[alecks69]

pure go fast and turn hard.

fuck the looks how shiny it is dosent matter.

i ride a cbr but it has no fairings do i care? answer is no i dont i cant see the bike unless im standing 10 feeet away holding my knob which aint fun. and if you dont like it dont look! easy! oh that goes for you copers out there to dont look and it wont hurt you

[Mekk]

Raw metal and grunt for me. I like plastics to a degree, but nothing exudes passion like a barebones V-twin thumping away. I'm a sucker for sound, acceleration and torque.

[BMW]

What makes my heart beat faster is a bike that has been customised by the owner using bits he has made him self. A bike that has personality and class. A one off. Where the overall presentation has been taken in to account and where there is very little "bling".
It also has to be a bike made for riding and not a show pony.

had a GB 500TT with a duc 900SS faring on it. Looked very good and was done by me and another guy.

see pic.

[Pwalo]

Simplicity, and functionality. I like Japanese sportsbikes.

[vifferman]

Dunno.
I know what I like, and what I don't, but I dunno why. Some of it is looks (more specifically, the engineering), but a lot of it is character, which is kind of a hard thing to define.

[DMNTD:Me]

As I like most bikes I've found myself buying one of each style which has resulted in a lot of bake beans on toast but to me it's well worth it.
Currently have a extraordinarily fast inline litre bike,a divine Italian vtwin thou and an insane vtwin trail bike on steroids which I have to admit I prefer out of all of them.
Next baby will need to be built as I'd much rather a personal statement than a production line piece of plastic that thousands of others have too...yes I will be keeping the others as well as.

It'll be along these lines...

[R1madness]

For me it is the elusive combination of speed, handling, brakeing and looks. I like an angular look to the bodywork. Crisp sharp lines. But it must be functionalbe as well. No point looking a million miles an hour if you can only ride it for 100km.
Thats not to say that i dont like customs, true customs i mean. The starting style (sports, cruiser, naked) doesn't matter, just that it reflects the owners take on motorcycling and has been done well.
Cheesy bolt on "factory custom" bits are for people with no imagination.

[slowpoke]

Yep, not keen on the glitzy chromed-every-fuggin'-thangstuff....but it still has to look nice. I like the sporty stuff, something that looks menacing/purposeful/functional even when it's standing still.
I'd love to have the time to make all sorts of my own parts or execute my own ideas, but time is one thing I don't have at the moment.
I know I can't ride anything I build or buy to it's maximum but I'd still love to make a bike for myself regardless of cost and other peoples opinions.

[skelstar]

The Confederate Wraith has always grabbed my attention.

[RantyDave]

The Confederate Wraith has always grabbed my attention.

Yeah, they're beautiful, eh? The only downsides I can see are that there's something nasty and exposed looking on the right hand side, and that I'd be concerned getting spares since they appear to have made the engine themselves. Oh, and it's, like, fifty grand US or something.

They should make a cheaper version. Use a Rotax engine, or Triumph's 1050 triple. It's a seriously beautiful bike.

Dave