"I pulled you over for Speeding. Do you have any idea how fast you were going?"

Regardless of what you ride, even if you don't ride at all, EVERYONE is welcome here.

Mr. Motorcycle


I am

My photo
I live at 1 Frozen place in, Minnesota, United States
My real name is Mark. For many years now my wife has called me Mr. Motorcycle. When I started my Blog I was looking for a catchy blog name, so I went with it. I'm happily married and I'm also a father of 6 children. I have two human offspring, one dog, two cats and one custom Harley. I believe that makes 6 children. When I'm not doing my real full time job, or going for a ride, I like to do art, custom paint jobs, and of course BLOG. If you would like to contact me, my e-mail address is phonetically spelled for avoiding spammers. (I actually do use the number 1 in the beginning.) 1mrmotorcycleATgmailDOTcom

*****This is my Bliss*****

*****This is my Bliss*****
Depending on your settings, Click, or Double Click on the image for full size photo.
The photo above is my ride :
"Kenny" started life as a stock '97, 883 Sportster. It's been a work in progress since the day I bought it many years ago. Its mostly custom with a built, "slightly juiced up" 1200 motor.
The Metal Fabrication, bodywork and custom paint was done by me.

How the Hell did I come up with a name like Kenny for my bike you ask?...... Most people who name their rides, go with chick names. I of course had to be different. I think bikes look tough, cool and masculine; not feminine. Plus, my father "Ken" has helped make me who I am today. Therefore with a little twist on the name, my bike was named "Kenny".

KUSTUM PAINT

KUSTUM PAINT
Come check out my custom paint! Click on the logo above to go to my custom paint blog.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

What is more important...form or function?

These folks clearly have different views.

This guy who built his own C.B. antenna holder, clearly believes more in the principle of function before form.

The builder who made this chopper with the extra long forks, clearly believes in form before function.
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I like the happy mix between the two myself.
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16 comments:

Canajun said...

When it comes to motorcycles, that is the basis of every decision right from the get-go. One could argue that if you ride a Harley you have automatically decided form over function, because there are certainly many, many other motorcycles out there that will get you from point A to point B just as quickly, just as smoothly, much more cheaply, and arguably, more reliably. But we HD owners pay the premium for style, sound, cachet - all form values.

And it's a good thing too that most folks give a lot of consideration to form, otherwise we'd all be riding the cheapest, most basic two-wheelers out there, and we'd all be driving Yugos when it rained (or snowed).

So yeah, form is a large part of it. But the balance point between form and function is different for everyone of us, and that's what makes it interesting.

Willy D said...

Form is ok. But if it interferes with function, junk it. That chopppper thing was a total waste of wrench time.

mq01 said...

now, i have a serious question. so, mr motorcycle, which one is it? i mean, hmmm...is it beavis? or is it THE GREAT CORNHOLIO?!?!

:-D

ok ill just say sorry now...lol...

RazorsEdge2112 said...

Hmmm... I am a believer in function over form. Function being equivalent, nothing wrong with form.

The picture of that fellow with the antenna nearly made me drool. I am a ham radio operator and thought and plans of a mobile antenna farm for my Sporty have been tumbling around in my head for a while.

That chopper with painfully long forks just looks like a pain to ride. Cool, but a pain.

Webster World said...

You can mix then a bit. I say function for me. And the form photo...you ever try to ride one of those basturds? You turn and the front tire will just lay down and slide.You need forty acres. Show bike only.

Lady R (Di) said...

squawk... 10-4 good buddy, I got yer back door for sure!

As far as the long forks... never. I know a guy that has a play pretty with a long front end like that and he jokes around... "sure I can turn on a dime. Just give me a football field and I'll show ya." LOL!

Nice post!

mrs rc said...

I definitely lean toward the function side here. One look at my bike and you will see no decorative chrome doo-dads, no fancy paint job...just pure machine. I even purchased the model that had none of that on purpose. My add-ons include a detachable windshield, engine guard/cruise pegs, & luggage rack/bag. That's not to say that I don't even consider form. I wouldn't put anything on my bike that wasn't stylin'! We all try to look our best, I'm just not trying to win any fashion shows.

Dean "D-Day" said...

I think that it's gotta be a common sense mixture of the two.

Ms. MQ - I need some TP for my bunghole!

Lady R - Back door?! I didn't realize that you were into that!

Lady R (Di) said...

Dean... LOL! oops! my secret's out, heh?

FLHX_Dave said...

Function... most definately. That CB set up is neither function nor form. That's just f'in stupid all the way around in my book. Just an opinion...I got an asshole too.

Well...I gave up on form because I was spending too much time worrying about that when I was on a ride. Since I just don't give too much of a crap now my riding has been much more satisfying!

"I am the great cornholio...I need tp for my bunghole!" I figured out where that came from. In the old days people used to wipe their butts with corn cobbs...oooooohhhhhh...I'm gonna have to try that one out just for old times sake to see how the older generation got along.

Tony said...

Function first!, but it has to look good too. Form without funtion is just dumb I think..it's just art I guess. Something that works killer and looks like it works killer is..killer!:)

the rider said...

You Americans are just too cool! Ok that CB radio bracket looks very crap on that bike and those long forks are unbelievable, but I really DO HAVE TO come and ride with you guys some time!

CRASH said...

Motorcycles tend to speak a lot about a person's personality. Thats why there are lots of sterotypes about riders/bikers. One of the big hallmarks of a biker/rider is the rebelous or individualist qualities they seem to have. Riding a motorcycle or being a biker makes you different from a large section of society. Its who the rider/biker is. It at least partially defines them. Making your bike different from every other rider/biker is just an extension of that need to be different. I don't know that form over function always comes into play.
Bikers and Riders seem to be an eclectic group to begin with, maybe thats why you see that odd looking ride from time to time. Things that don't make sense. Like a chopper so stretched out you can't turn it around or a bike with a ham radio on it.
You know what though its one of the things I like about being a biker, I don't have to make sense, just have to be me. When you have to need to be different, you are no longer held captive by others expectations.

Baron's Life said...

different strokes for different folks...great post...excellent comments...lol feom a couple of the ladies

"Joker" said...

The combination of the two is influenced heavily by a biker's wallet as much if not more than by personal taste.

Like Canajun said, we H-D owners pay the premium for form values. Sure, I know I can get a metric cruiser for far less money, but I wouldn't want one of them again if I got it free. Been there; done that. But...that's easy for me to say NOW...because I had the money to get what I really wanted as opposed to what I really needed.

Take your bike for example - no way I could have that as my only ride. But, I'd love to have it in my garage for when I was in the mood for a cruise on a nice customized bar hopper. My Springer, like the Deluxe, in my opinion looks MUCH cooler with a solo seat, and WITHOUT saddlebags. But, I can't deal with not having saddlebags. I ride too much and many times can't plan or guarantee I won't get caught in rain or colder weather, etc. For me, riding around on a bike with no place for my leather and rain gear would be plain stupid - as I choose not to be miserable whenever possible.

Oh, and yeah, it would have been cool to meet up while I was in your neck of the woods. You were right though...I pretty much tore through Minnesota, except for a fuel stop in St. Charles. That was like a Twilight Zone episode. I've never been in a town in my life that was so dead quiet - and it's not like there was nobody around. There were people and traffic here and there. But...there was just this overall (and eerie to be honest w/you) silence outside...like almost even quieter than being inside with a few windows open. After we gassed up and pulled out of that gas station, I half expected every door of every house and storefront to open and have our way blocked by flocks of alien-possessed townsfolk. Obviously that didn't happen and I apologize to the good people of St. Charles for my wild imagination. But it was just TOO QUIET. The hair on the back of my neck still goes up just thinking about it!

Doug Klassen said...

I skimmed the title and read "What is more important...porn or fornication?" I thought for a sec that I had landed on the wrong blog.

Anyway, I'd go with function. Function done well is a thing of beauty.

And I'm too old and too married for that other stuff.

Doug