Overall I am extremely pleased with my final design for this class. Building a bike is extremely time consuming though, especially without the proper tools and garage, so I wasn’t able to finish it to my final desire. This was expected though and I believe I did enough to change the overall aesthetic of the bike for this class. Below are some of the builds I based my project off of and will continue to pursue over the summer.

I plan to customize the seat I bought a bit in order to get it to fit more flush with the curves of the frame. I also need to weld a loop on the back of the bike in order to match the shaped of the rounded seat. Additionally, I plan to upgrade some parts for performance. I want to buy sliding carbs and attach pod filters in order to make the bike look even slimmer while increasing it’s horse power immensely. Along the lines of performance, I will also be replacing the rear suspension with some modern adjustable shocks, and throw on a pair of fresh new tires on some blacked out wheels. I plan on getting some “knobby” or deep tread tires in order to help further the brat bike look. The original exhaust system is a 4 to 4 ,old school cone design but I plan to replace it with a 4 into 1 assembly further helping the performance and simplistic look of the bike as well as giving the beast a new roar. I’m debating looking for a sharper, more angular tank from a similar model and again stripping it down to bare metal but this time keeping the raw metal look or painting it a flat white. Finally I will top it off with some modern lights, low profile turn signals, and some sleek and small speedometers and tachometers.

This project has taught me a ton about bikes and the different styles and builds that are possible. More general though, this project have furthered my understanding of the design loop and the way of overcoming problems that works best for me. This was a unique class in the sense that there was little guidance and almost no restrictions. This may sound easier, but in truth it made it extremely difficult since there are almost endless possibilities and no direction when facing difficulties. This is was true design is all about though. No company telling you what to do, no class restrictions, just a problem, finding a solution, and overcoming the obstacles along the way. I look forward to continuing this project this summer and am one step closer to achieving my final vision and dream cafe racer.