It’s all in the hidden detail
Quite often, the real work that goes into building a scooter goes unnoticed and, therefore, isn’t always fully appreciated.
How many times have you looked at a custom scooter of any description and thought about the hard work that went into creating it? While we admire them for their overall appearance, the finer details often get ignored, which is a shame.
It’s true to say that sometimes there’s so much going on that it’s hard to take it all in at first glance, and therein lies the problem: Not enough time is spent looking at every aspect.
When it comes to full-blown custom machines, we’re usually attracted to the paintwork. An engraved pike nut holding the rear hub on doesn’t often get a look in, but the strange thing is that if it were missing, the job would look unfinished.
The only way to take it all in is to study every part of the machine, from the front wheel to the back, but how many of us do so at a custom show? I vividly remember seeing Jeremy Howlett’s creations on display with huge crowds taking in every detail, ensuring they didn’t miss anything. Perhaps that is why each scooter that he built craved so much attention: People wondered what part had been engraved or plated this time.
Custom scooters that aren’t so ‘full on’ don’t often grab the limelight and might only get a quick glance, but that doesn’t mean to say they were any easier to create. The truth is, the only person who knows how much effort has gone into it is the owner. They had the initial idea of how they wanted the finished article to look, but very few people have all the skills required to achieve their vision, and that’s where things get complicated. Many processes in the build will be farmed out, painting being the prime example. You have a theme and the images you want painted onto the panels, but the painter must interpret that idea, which can be challenging. Often the creative process becomes a team effort, but this can take considerable time and is a classic example of the endless hours required to make a custom project happen.
Even ancillary components, such as the seat, can throw up problems. Not only does the shape need to be just right, but the material and stitching must be carefully chosen to complement the rest of the job. Any single component can be subject to this type of debate and be altered in some form to complete the project, so the opportunities to take up time, and money, are almost endless.
Another thing that gets in the way is expecting those with the skill to be able to correctly execute a plan. At the outset most customs are simply a plan inside someone’s head; it’s naïve to believe that the professional tasked with the job can simply wave a magic wand and create it without any fuss. That isn’t always the case, and the more innovative the idea, the more obstacles need to be overcome. That’s why custom scooters can take so long to build... getting the details right takes time and skill. These are just a few reasons why it’s so challenging to create a custom scooter and why those who’ve never attempted such a project remain oblivious to what happens behind the scenes of the build.
This might be going slightly on a tangent, but there’s another aspect of the custom scene that goes overlooked; the engine. Anything from a street racer to a track bike must have a tuned engine. Quite often a specialist engine builder will have completed the work; even though there are many good home tuners. We only see the scooter in question accelerate fast
down the road or do 100mph on the track, but the work that goes into it is often overlooked. Most of this is cylinder work, with many hours spent porting a barrel and casings to extract every last drop of power. A hand-built exhaust may be required to complement the tune, together with many other components that are required to get the perfect engine set-up and performance. Again, none of that is taken into consideration as we watch the thing shoot off into the distance.
What I am trying to get at here is all the work that goes into building any scooter, not just custom ones, that often remains unnoticed. That doesn’t mean to say a list of the man-hours and problem-solving required should be drafted for all to read. Imagine doing that when featuring them here; one scooter could take up an entire edition of the magazine on its own. We could drone on about how awkward this part and that bit was to get right, but people would soon become bored of it all.
My suggestion is that the next time you’re at a show or reading about a scooter, regardless of what it looks like, remember there is always a much bigger story to it than what’s immediately obvious. Take a little time to look and study it more closely, because it’s the hidden details that makes most scooter builds stand out, even if you don’t see them at first glance.
Very few people have all the skills required to achieve their vision, and that’s where things get complicated