Hey y’all me and my buddy are thinking of starting a business of buying cheap used Harley’s and flipping them turning them into custom Choppers (paint job, fork extension, chopping the frame, all that shit).
What y’all think? Could this be a good idea for a business? He’s more mechanical and I’m more artistic, we would have different responsibilities like I would paint the body and he’d do the welding etc. Thoughts?
I would just keep yer job but build bikes on the side & if possible flip em. A bit smarter
I think there are quite a few shops both past and present that have been doing this so it may be a bit difficult to make a name for yourself unless you’re really creating some crazy unique stuff. Perhaps you can specialize in making chops out of a different platform, there’s casa customs in California that specializes in Honda shadows for example and it seems like they are the only shop filling that niche for shadows.
I could see a lot of younger, newer enthusiasts being interested in some lower cost of entry bikes/builds vs 10k+ custom Harley chops
Planning to do the same in socalbut more of a supplement rather than a full time job
Have either of you successfully built a chopper?
That’s gonna be a no.
Define successful
Do it with 1 bike and find out how long you’re sitting on it.
Most people don’t want a modded bike.
Most people who like choppers are smart enough to do it themselves.
Personally, I don’t see the market.
Where are the cheap used Harley’s you speak of. Even if ya get them dirt cheap there ain’t much money in it even if you really know what you’re doing
As someone who does this, it’s not a good single source of income. The market is so up and down that everyday is a guess if you’ll make money or not. And then there will be months where you have more money than you can count and then the next 6 months are dry. I still have a full time regular job on top of all my motorcycle shit and it’s still not enough.
I think you’re better off with a fabrication/machine shop that also just happens to build chops if you’re looking to live off of it
20 years too late brother
Id take a dive into the guys at born free. I assumed most were full time builders however, noticed quite a few are building as a hobby.
bit goofy of an idea. choppers are about doing it yourself…not buying a generic sportster chop. i stand against chopper gentrification.
I’d say opening up a normal motorcycle shop who also works on choppers would be a better idea, cuz it’s hard to make money on choppers
Don’t quite your day job …
Design parts for builders. Build a brand. Sell some parts and merch. Do your own builds to showcase your products.
I’ll give you some financial advice, put your money into something profitable, real estate for example, or some other passive income. Use that money to fund your chopper dreams. It will be much more enjoyable that way