Building a custom motorcycle has never been more popular, with even the major manufacturers keen to capitalize on the growing trend. A custom motorbike is the product of an owner using their own skills to produce an individual machine, and with the right tools and approach it is well within most people's means to take a standard machine, new or second-hand, and make it their personal statement. Providing clear and practical advice, this new book, Customizing Your Motorcycle - Shed-Built to Show Bike introduces the reader to the techniques and processes needed to customize any motorcycle. Eschewing the practice of using expensive off-the-shelf parts, it shows how the shrewd use of salvaged and alternative sources is not only economic but also results in a satisfyingly unique custom machine. Projects demonstrate how to make custom parts, while examples of how different custom bikes were built by the author show how they are designed and put together. The book covers: An introduction to the main styles on which today's custom scene was founded; Choosing a suitable bike and how to make decisions when buying second-hand; Workshop setup and tools; Components of a bike and custom parts; Basic improvements and the essential maintenance to make a safe and usable bike; Modifying frames and building seats, tanks and other components; Welding, cleaning and preparation for painting. Richly illustrated with 409 colour photographs.

How to Build a Motorcycle leads you through all the key stages - from initially finding the right project for your skill level, to sourcing a base bike and safely taking on some full-on bike-building tasks. With clear, easy-to-follow instructions, proper advice and specially commissioned step-by-step illustrations throughout it is an ideal aid to getting your hands oily. Written by Gary Inman, the co-founder of independent motorcycle magazine Sideburn, and illustrated by Adi Gilbert who is best known for his bicycle and motorcycle drawings whose clients include Harley-Davidson, Guy Martin, Wired magazine, Sideburn magazine and Nike, this is a must-have for all motorcycle lovers. Read this book, even dip in and out where relevant. If it makes sense, schedule some time, clear your mind, pull on some old clothes, grab your toolbox and get going. The chapters in How to Build a Motorcycle will tell you how to complete a huge variety of tasks that will allow even the greenest of novices to get their hands dirty and start modifying with purpose. If you belong to this camp, start with some of the low-input, high-reward jobs, such as fitting bars, swapping the rear shocks or wiring in a new tail light. Even though these require relatively little work, they'll transform the look of your bike, and completing them will fill you with confidence to undertake the more difficult jobs, such as fitting more modern front forks or even making your own frame. The book comes with a glossy 32-page section on finished bikes and is a reference and the perfect gift for all fans, from those who merely like to tinker, to riders taking on a full build.

The urge has found you daydreaming more than once. The urge to define, bend, shape, fabricate, invent, shove, break. To slide your leg over the seat you finally got back from the leather shop. To twist back the throttle grip you wrapped yourself. To lunge into the darkness of an open highway on a creation all your own. More than a motorcycle, this is about your identity. It's about building something as unique as you are. In The Build, Robert Hoekman Jr compiles insights from today's best builders to help you plot out your own beautiful beast. Loaded with photos, The Build features firsthand advice from the masters of moto design, including John Ryland (Classified Moto), Alan Stulberg (Revival Cycles), Jared Johnson (Holiday Customs), Jarrod DelPrado (DP Customs), and the legendary Max Hazan (Hazan Motorworks). You've seen what can be done. It's time to do it yourself. Get The Build.

"The motorcycle is back! Similar to the fresh contemporary scene that has established itself around bicycles in the last few years, the motorcycle is currently undergoing an aesthetic rebirth. A young subculture worldwide is discovering the motorcycle as an expression of its personality and creativity. The Ride explores motorcycle riding as it is meant to be: as a means of getting around with attitude, as an extension of one's own body, as an expression of personal freedom, but also as a significant challenge to technical expertise, craftsmanship, physics, discipline, and driving skill" -- Publisher description.

How to Build a Motorcycle leads you through all the key stages - from initially finding the right project for your skill level, to sourcing a base bike and safely taking on some full-on bike-building tasks. With clear, easy-to-follow instructions, proper advice and specially commissioned step-by-step illustrations throughout it is an ideal aid to getting your hands oily. Written by Gary Inman, the co-founder of independent motorcycle magazine Sideburn, and illustrated by Adi Gilbert who is best known for his bicycle and motorcycle drawings whose clients include Harley-Davidson, Guy Martin, Wired magazine, Sideburn magazine and Nike, this is a must-have for all motorcycle lovers. Read this book, even dip in and out where relevant. If it makes sense, schedule some time, clear your mind, pull on some old clothes, grab your toolbox and get going. The chapters in How to Build a Motorcycle will tell you how to complete a huge variety of tasks that will allow even the greenest of novices to get their hands dirty and start modifying with purpose. If you belong to this camp, start with some of the low-input, high-reward jobs, such as fitting bars, swapping the rear shocks or wiring in a new tail light. Even though these require relatively little work, they'll transform the look of your bike, and completing them will fill you with confidence to undertake the more difficult jobs, such as fitting more modern front forks or even making your own frame. The book comes with a glossy 32-page section on finished bikes and is a reference and the perfect gift for all fans, from those who merely like to tinker, to riders taking on a full build.

In the old days all a person needed to build a killer custom motorcycle was a bike, a set of tools, a little know-how, and a creative vision. But with the rise of the high-dollar, haute moteur Gucci choppers, the true custom bike has gotten out of most riders’ reach, right? Dead wrong. In this book Jose de Miguel, a custom builder from way back, sets out to prove that those good old days never ended. In the clearest and simplest terms, he shows readers how they can turn odds and ends found around the shop into one-off motorcycle parts--and make a cheap, run-of-the mill custom build into a drop-dead show stopper. Following de Miguel’s lead, along with his straightforward illustrations, any resourceful owner with rudimentary mechanical skills, a basic tool kit, and--most importantly--a modicum of imagination can build the bobber of his dreams for less than the price of a new bike.