Photo: Thunderbike
Whenever a custom motorcycle pops up in a conversation, talk inadvertently hits that soft spot that is cost. And generally speaking, the cost of a custom two-wheeler is often times at least as high as the cost of the base bike. But not in this case. Not by a long shot.
Harley-Davidson is selling an off-the-shelf, unmodified Low Rider S for $18,199 at the time of writing. A so-so price many can afford, and that's why we get to see so many of these blacked-out performance cruisers on the roads.
A good chunk of Low Riders eventually end up in the hands of some custom garage, and that's when their true potential reveals itself. For it to be able to do that, though, a lot of money has to be invested.
The bike you're looking at now is called Hot Flames. It too started out life as a Low Rider S, and it too ended up in the hands of a custom crew, in this case the Germans from Thunderbike. Unlike many of its other siblings, though, it got converted for pennies, if you really think about it.
Thunderbike never shares the exact cost of its builds, but it often lists the parts that go into its projects. We always do the math and find out that, in most cases, the cost of the added extras matches the one of the base bikes.
But not this time. Granted, the ride doesn't look all that different from stock, but look closely and you'll see at least 21 aftermarket elements fitted all over. The list includes anything from the riser at the front to the turn signal strip at the rear. Covers can be seen everywhere, there are new handlebars and footpegs where needed, and a new seat.
How much are they worth, combined? Just a little under $4,000. And that makes the Hot Flames one of the cheapest Thunderbike projects we've ever come across.
Again, that's not the total cost of the build, but only of the parts used. It was kept so low because this time we get no aftermarket wheels, no conversions at the rear, not even an aftermarket exhaust system slapped over the 117ci, 105 horsepower engine. All of these are generally speaking very expensive affairs that drive the price of a custom project way up.
You should keep in mind though that the under $4k price does not include the man hours spent putting the ride together, and not even the paint job – the painted flames on the fenders and fuel tank look exquisite, and are responsible for giving the bike its post-conversion name.
Even so, we're probably dealing with something that, all things considered, is worth around $30,000, and that's never too high of a price to pay for the privilege of riding a unique bike.
A good chunk of Low Riders eventually end up in the hands of some custom garage, and that's when their true potential reveals itself. For it to be able to do that, though, a lot of money has to be invested.
The bike you're looking at now is called Hot Flames. It too started out life as a Low Rider S, and it too ended up in the hands of a custom crew, in this case the Germans from Thunderbike. Unlike many of its other siblings, though, it got converted for pennies, if you really think about it.
Thunderbike never shares the exact cost of its builds, but it often lists the parts that go into its projects. We always do the math and find out that, in most cases, the cost of the added extras matches the one of the base bikes.
But not this time. Granted, the ride doesn't look all that different from stock, but look closely and you'll see at least 21 aftermarket elements fitted all over. The list includes anything from the riser at the front to the turn signal strip at the rear. Covers can be seen everywhere, there are new handlebars and footpegs where needed, and a new seat.
How much are they worth, combined? Just a little under $4,000. And that makes the Hot Flames one of the cheapest Thunderbike projects we've ever come across.
Again, that's not the total cost of the build, but only of the parts used. It was kept so low because this time we get no aftermarket wheels, no conversions at the rear, not even an aftermarket exhaust system slapped over the 117ci, 105 horsepower engine. All of these are generally speaking very expensive affairs that drive the price of a custom project way up.
You should keep in mind though that the under $4k price does not include the man hours spent putting the ride together, and not even the paint job – the painted flames on the fenders and fuel tank look exquisite, and are responsible for giving the bike its post-conversion name.
Even so, we're probably dealing with something that, all things considered, is worth around $30,000, and that's never too high of a price to pay for the privilege of riding a unique bike.
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