Is there money to be made in custom bikes?

As I see it, the thing with customising is .... one mans meat is another mans poison, you love em or you hate em. For me customising, even if only changing paint,,seat, suspension,bars and mirrors or whatever is down to the owner but I know loads in here will disagree, unless we are talking a Vetter ,Hurricane X75 kinda style then that doesnt count to me,lol. Lots of the guys in here have done forms of customisation tho and the good old Bonnie is a fave weapon of choice. Be good to see some pics too

 

Another tip - anything you remove keep, if altering the tank then buy one to alter and keep original. That way if you do sell - the buyer has the option to restore to original condition. Concors always sell. Hope this helps and welcome

 

A dealer called The Bike Specialist in Sheffield have, for your delectation, a 2009 limited edition Belstaff Triumph Bonneville with one mile on the clock which is described as 'new', for £18,980.
Don't all rush at once!!
So buy a limited edition Bonneville (or something similarly 'limited'), don't use it for six years or so and double your money! Saves the hard graft of adding your own bits!
Did someone move Sheffield to Cloud Cuckoo Land??
('Tis on ebay and inside the back cover of Classic Bike).

 

In all fairness there's possibly only ever a handful that really get the wow factor and have upped the value.
There's a lot of thought that goes into a 'quality' custom and I'm a firm believer that if someone can modify a bike to which it can actually look like a factory own design and build then they've achieved the goal.

 

If you want to try it then start as a hobby.
Build what you want,ride it round for a bit,let people know it's up for sale and gauge opinion,do people like it or what would they change.
If you can sell it and make a few quid,then that's good.
Buy another one and do it again. If your lucky you might make a few quid over a couple of bikes.
Many successful people have started this way.
The only way to know for sure is to try it.Just don't break the bank doing it.

 

Totally agree road rider

 

As others have said, customising is all a matter of personal taste. One man's meat etc. So customise and enjoy. But if trying to make money at it, practice on your own bikes, use them for marketing on a website, at bike meets etc, then take orders to personalise other folks' bikes, I would reckon.

 

The only way I can see in making money with customised bikes is customising other peoples bikes, to their specs and getting paid to do it.