Hooch said:
this was on the Schwinn forum and I wanted to see what the verdict was over here
my thoughts
I love the creativity of a nice custom
I admire the beauty of an old original
I respect the effort of a beautiful restoration
and reproductions are umm reproduced
For the most part, I agree with Hooch.
Customs - a well executed custom is poetry in metal & paint
Original - a time capsule to be savoured
Restoration - craftsmanship & attention to detail
My view on reproductions is a bit mixed and based a lot on past experience in the world of musclecars. While a reproduction part may not be the best choice for a resto - assuming the part in question is a quality repro - sometimes it is the only viable alternative. Some parts like grips and tires rarely survive the years intact. For example, the A'me Tri grips on my GT have turned to go. Yech. In some instances, the reproductions are actually better quality than the originals - this is not uncommon with musclecar parts - think Chrysler E-body door panels (personal experience with that one :roll: )
On the other hand, cheap repro parts are just that, cheap parts.
Quality repro parts can be great raw material for customizing. If you're going to cut it up and paint it, who cares if it's not original, NOS or whatever? It's the hand of the customizer thats important, not which factory it came out of.
For the record, all my bikes fall into the "customized category"
-Mp
