Hi everyone, I'm new to bike building and restoration. I have been reading a lot of posts on this forum that have helped me no end so I decided ide like to join in, learn some stuff from the all knowing members & share my follies/ triumphs and hopefully it may help others!

I am currently undergoing a cafe racer build on a 1986 k100
Rt. I have overcome several issues to get her purring, but unfortunately when waiting for bike to get up to temp while replacing the oil she overheated and cut out owing to a faulty radiator fan/temp switch (luckily after cooling started up again... Phew!). Now awaiting parts.

Be aware that removing the rear frame loop disturbs the bike's karmic field.   Leaves the door open for much bad mojo.

O dear, please expand Point-Seven-five m.. I had been toying with the idea of a chop then welding new pre-fab seat loop back with lugs.

What type of bad juju might I accrue??

Blackthumb wrote:I had been toying with the idea of a chop then welding new pre-fab seat loop back with lugs.

What type of bad juju might I accrue??

Often this action seems to result in a bike's stalling in front of a graffiti-filled wall at an abandoned industrial building then never being seen again.

Lol.. I see! 😂
I Shouldn't worry to much about that, I'm more of you're country lane jaunt kinda man 👍🏼

Welcome Blackthumb

Seems that removing the rear loop results in threads here and on other K bike forums requesting help with electrical and running issues.

Bricks with rear frame loops just seem to keep chugging along munching miles in the thousands.  Those without loops seem to be beset by starting, running and illumination problems.  Just an observation.

Point-seven-five wrote:Bricks with rear frame loops just seem to keep chugging along munching miles in the thousands.  Those without loops seem to be beset by starting, running and illumination problems.  Just an observation.

Spooky, but accurate.  There's a trail of tears following some of those chopped bikes; that is, if they get moving at all.

Wow... That's weird! I'll have to research this further. Perhaps it's poor build quality or something? One does see a lot of "unfinished project bikes" on EBAY. I am quite meticulous when I immerse into a project. I am someone who likes to explore the outcomes of variables and have definitive answers before moving ahead... Things can take a while... Hopefully if I balster my skill set & knowledge base on these k's I will be successful.

https://media.giphy.com/media/ToMjGpnXBTw7vnokxhu/giphy.gif

Blackthumb wrote: One does see a lot of "unfinished project bikes" on EBAY.

Do you need more proof?

Over the twenty one years of owning my Brick I've never ever seen a Brick coffee, scrambler, chopper on the road. I have observed them partially done in sheds and garages. And a few mates and I have bought stripped off parts. So where do they all go???

Regards Martin.

I have a feeling it may be a cashflow/time issue. I have calculated roughly the cost of my build (however little things do pop up out of the blue) and just for parts, with myself doing all the labour, it is about £2200 on top of the cost of the actual bike itself. So i will never recover the money spent, but I don't intend to sell or try to ballance the books. I am doing this for the love of the machine, the experience & make memories as I am building with my daughter.

... Its sad there are so many abandoned projects, so often the journey is as important as the destination.

Good theory however I lot of owners restore their standard Bricks back to better than new. Which can be just as expensive, and you do see them back on the road. So the question remains where do they go???
Regards Martin.

I've got it... They become the obligatory "rugged functional art" centerpiece in an over paid under, apriciating upper-middle class bad boy wanna-be's douchey mancave... 🙄

I used to use this at least once a week until they made it illegal. Now my man cave bike.
Regards Martin.

Thats a pretty awesome machine MartinW, shame she's layed up now!

MartinW wrote:I used to use this at least once a week until the made it illegal. Now my man cave bike.
Regards Martin.

That pic looks quite funny with your signature "K75s Hydrid"underneath it

Welcome to the forum Blackthumb

Unfortunately no BM bits. But it does have rotary hoe, lawn mower, washing machine, air rifle, bicycle, motorcycle,
and compressor parts. Picture of the other side.
Regards Martin.

That's Awesome Martin. Love it

MartinW wrote:Over the twenty one years of owning my Brick I've never ever seen a Brick coffee, scrambler, chopper on the road. I have observed them partially done in sheds and garages. And a few mates and I have bought stripped off parts. So where do they all go???

Regards Martin.

Running 100%       Took a bit to iron out the kinks but considering how much support and info is out there, these bikes are not difficult to customize.

I've still never seen one on the road in OZ.
Regards Martin.

I've traveled pretty extensively around the U.S. and must say I see the occasional brick, but have never seen a cafe/scrambler.  I must admit I spend all my time out on the road when traveling and almost never get near a dumpster by a brick or poured concrete wall in the gritty parts of large cities.

What do people do with them after they've taken all the photos?

I'll be honest, it's a sunny day bike.  Once you pull all the fenders and windscreen off it, it's pretty miserable to ride in the rain.  Then again, I'm not broke... it's much safer to drive my car in the rain than ride the bike, so why not.  I can't say I'd choose to ride it in the rain even it were stock - the driver's in the Chicago area are oblivious enough... add to that the reduced stopping distance in the wet and it begs the question.