Would a customizing project be less intimidating if you could order a kit with all the components and even paint already applied?
Britt Motorsports didn't become a well known entity in the world of custom metric cruisers by cruising on its laurels. Scott Britt has a talent for listening to his customers, and when enough of them ask him the same questions, he understands where his next market for concept cruisers will be coming from.
Britt and his in-house creative team had put together several different custom V-Stars over the course of a year, to showcase the customizing potential of the Stars at his showrooms. It worked -- almost too well. The phone calls started with a trickle, but increased as each successive bike proved to be a hit with the crowds, nearly swamping Britt with a stream of queries about each design. There was untapped potential here, and customers were practically begging for a quick custom fix.
Paint on the bodywork is ...
Paint on the bodywork is included...
A survey of the show bikes revealed that while a few details were unique to each machine, most of the V-Stars shared quite a few bolt-on parts. Packaging these parts in a kit, as an off-the-rack accessory item any customer could afford, would be a win-win situation for Britt. A few phone calls to his oft-used aftermarket accessory suppliers got the ball rolling.
The basic "transformation kit," as Britt calls it, was pulled together to allow any customer desiring a new look to modify his ride in one process, thus transforming his stocker into a personal statement in a few days. For the bargain price of $4995, you get the V-Star Britt Custom Cruiser off-the-rack package, which includes paint and hardware. The V-Star was targeted first because it garnered the most demand. The base 2000 V-Star 1100 kit includes pipes, a triple-tree kit, turn signals, jet kit, air kit cover, forward controls and a seat and fender kit, to name the big-ticket items. A variety of other cosmetic details are included as well. Planet Cruiser supplies much of the bolt-on hardware, and Britt Motorsports does the paint job, providing that you don't request the frame be painted too; that will run you extra.
...although frame painting...
...although frame painting is not a standard part of the package.
Britt Motorsports has started toying with Road Star and Royal Star conversion kits as well. Basically, the company will be able to help you customize your bike if you're in possession of any Yamaha cruiser, especially the Star series. While the V-Star kit is available as we go to press, Britt tells us he plans on having kits for all the Stars available by this winter, possibly by mail-order.
If you have the time and the cash, there's nothing quite like a hand-built custom bike. But if you want quick results that'll get your scooter admiring looks without breaking the bank, it seems like Scott Britt's V-Star kit will get you the custom Yamaha you can afford to dream about.
RESOURCE
Britt Motorsports, Inc.
(888) 428-4428
www.brittmotorsports.com
For more articles on custom bikes and articles about how to customize and modify your motorcycle, see the Custom section of MotorcycleCruiser.com.