Where am I going with this. 
Well hopefully something in the long term like the bike above.... (Stolen from Jalopy Journal)
I have helped build hotrods, lots of very strange custom/kit car stuff over the years, and spend a good chunk of my working life with custom robotics. Motorcycles have been lurking in the back but I have been afraid due to financial/time/risk constraints. When the kikkers started arriving at a few of the local show I was smitten. The price was right, the power seemed reasonable for around town stuff and it would get me some experience designing parts for bikes......
So here is the start of my kikker 5150 200cc project. I picked it up from a very nice guy in Cardiff after I started looking about 2 months ago. It really is the perfect start, its all there, it is legal and well cared for. It has cosmetic issues which need to be corrected but that will be corrected in due time. Its bone stock with the required add ons for legality. 
So what it is missing, in reality not much mechanically. Design wise the flow is weird to me at least. It looks like a mash-up of every big idea in the bobber culture thrown together. If the original designer had picked a single theme and went forward I think it would be a better product, though appealing to a significantly more limited audience. It is a good start and I realize the limitations of trying to produce a compliant product at a respectable price.
Its definitely not as bad as the all flat black CBxxx fake hardtail bikes running around and should be a good learning experience.
I imagine the next posts will be some designs that I like along with the timeline for breakdown paint choices and such. The big things will be converting to a clutch lever on the suicide shift along with bring that closer to the frame. Stretching the seat back a good bit as I am 6 foot. Plus some interesting rust removal and anodization options., powder-coating and getting my airbrush skills back and lace painting the tins.
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