Frame Maker is back... with a KDX450!

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thepauly
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Frame Maker is back... with a KDX450!

Post by thepauly »

frame maker wrote: Thanks, I appreciate the props!

Right now I have no plans to sell it. The first Dirtbag chopper I built (based on a VF700 Interceptor) I sold for $1900. I had a potential buyer interested in the second Dirtbag Chopper (based on an RD400). I offered to build him a duplicate, but when I added up all the effort that went into it the dollar amount came out to $7000-8000 not counting him fining an RD400 to chop up. That isn't much compared to new bikes, but does seam high for essentially a rat-bike. Anyway, that should give you an idea of what something like this bike would sell for... but not a lot of buyers out there.
That really shows how much the labor adds up to on any project. These budget builds wouldn't be much to look at if the builders had to account for their time. Do you have any idea how many hours went into this one?
frame maker
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Frame Maker is back... with a KDX450!

Post by frame maker »

thepauly wrote: Do you have any idea how many hours went into this one?
Rough estimation is about 150 hours over the 4 week build time. I usually put in 12 hour days on the weekends and a few hours every night after work on weekdays... but that is just "the build" portion.

What isn't included in that number is the countless hours of planning that I put into my builds. Most people go into these with a donor bike and no idea what to do to it until they start cutting, so they just figure it out as they go. For me, the build is the very end of a long process of planning, drawing, and making CAD models of all the new parts that I have to make. Since the planning, which also can include gathering parts, isn't considered part of "the build" I spend months, sometimes years planning and working out details on paper and in CAD. The bike I have planned for this year has been in my head for about three years. I have dozens of pages of sketches and it will probably take a few weeks just to get the CAD model built and dialed in so I'm ready when the build off starts. Like many things in life, preparation 95% of the battle.
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KDXGarage
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Re: Frame Maker is back... with a KDX450!

Post by KDXGarage »

Congratulations on the cool bike! That is a tremendous effort! :supz:
Thank you for participating on kdxrider.net. :bravo:
To post pictures from a device: viewtopic.php?f=88&t=24128
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