Anybody know what this is?

[Otis]

Saw this tonight. Not all is at it seems!!

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

DVLA shows it as a Kawasaki.

[Bryanj]

A fugly shed?

[Johnny4428]

Two words spring to mind - what? & why?

[K2-K6]

I'm waaaay to unkool (see what I've done there, with that "K" ) to ride something like that 

Looks to be a Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 in "Badass" clothes, another amusing word there too.

I can see the point though, particularly around here in my neighbourhood. Doubt anyone would touch it or steal it (prevalent around here) and at mostly 20mph blanket control, would probably just loaf along in 1st gear without a problem, just a quiet blub-blub-blubbedy-blubbing.

Something for everybody though, and for those born Kool enough to appear on chop, bobber, Harley genre bikes, makes for a relaxed ownership.

I have a mate, Señor Meek, that would fit right in to that  usually found riding around on various cruisers.

[Otis]

I also asked why and likened it to a British Bulldog: It's so ugly it's beautiful!

The owner Scotty from Edinburgh did it just because he could (a bit like Soichiro Honda when he decided to make the 350 Four). It clearly turns heads and is clearly Marmite.

He told me a couple of funny stories. He was being overtaken by a Range Rover and wondered why it just wasn't coming passed him. When he looked over the passenger was filming him and giving the thumbs up!

He got pulled over by a motorcycle cop who said "I see this has an MOT sir, it looks like it's just been dragged out from under the Pier in Brighton" They had a laugh and Scotty explained that all the parts were plastic and just made to look like that.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

A few years back there was a car on the estate at the back of us that looked like that Kwaka.

It was a wrap on a Renault iirc, it had doors that were rotten at the bottom, a rusty tailgate and bonnet etc.
All on a background of brown blistered paint. Upper body human skeletons on the rear blacked out windows.

I never had a camera to hand when it drove past.

[Johnny4428]

Fair play if that’s deliberately made to look like trash! Certainly succeeded there. 😂 Would like to have seen a before and after. Well, a skill none the less. Liable to get more attention than a concours resto.

[Otis]

I will ask him if he has any before photos.

In my car club there is a Model T Ford pickup that looks like this bike with straw coming out of the seats. I asked the owner if he was planning a restoration and he said it was worth 5 times as is than if restored so no!

[Spitfire]

We have an original VW beetle that is also all grunged up, we usually see it in New Brighton, why is the first question that comes to mind but then again one mans meat is another mans poison etc

Cheers

Dennis

[Skoti]

Seeing more and more stuff like that over here at oldtimer meetings, I believe professional restorers call it distressed paintwork finish.

Spent a fortune in the past making things shiny, now this is becoming the new trend for old stuff being newly renovated.


Although I think it perhaps looks a bit silly on newish stuff that wants to pretend to look older.


Here's an example of two old Indians, first one has newly done distressed paint work.

[ST1100]

Although I think it perhaps looks a bit silly on newish stuff that wants to pretend to look older.

I too fail to see the point of that rat-rod look... 

It can't be for the sake of reliability, as the RH fork seal is leaking significantly... 

[Yetanotherbike]

Take a look at my profile picture. It was taken in the Isle Of Man TT week in 1979 or 1980. It was the first rat bike I ever saw. It was basically a BSA A10 I think, with possibly a Suzuki GT500 tank which was painted in underseal. Note the carpet knee pads. The seat was covered with a potato sack. It had lashings of red Hermatite gasket sealant everywhere and wiring that seemed mostly two core and earth. He'd put a lot of effort into that bike. 

[K2-K6]

Although I think it perhaps looks a bit silly on newish stuff that wants to pretend to look older.

I too fail to see the point of that rat-rod look... 

It can't be for the sake of reliability, as the RH fork seal is leaking significantly... 

Naaaw, from a new range of paint "looks like oil" available at patina emporium  shares a shelf with "true tartan" paint, along with "rust in-a can"  for that just failed MOT look chic.

[ST1100]

Naaaw, from a new range of paint "looks like oil" available at patina emporium  shares a shelf with "true tartan" paint, along with "rust in-a can"  for that just failed MOT look chic.

Ah, so that's like the $ 400,- pair of jeans with fake mud on them... I see...