And what works right…
Engine location in terms of weight fore / aft vs sprocket location for good chain run, and height vs good COG means many engines are too short or wide to be ‘right’ in a featherbed.
Its kinda like the difference between a ‘bitsa’ and a ‘special’.
Bitsa’s were built from the bits that were at hand, when money was tight and transport was needed.
Specials are built when the builder makes a deliberate decision to use parts from different manufacturers in order to build a bike that is (to the builder) better than any of the donor machines.
I am a huge fan of the featherbed, but it’s not magic, it can’t outweigh things like bikes built with poor engine location and shoddy suspension etc, etc. A well set up stock bike will always out ride a poorly set up ‘special’ !
Alan, tell us what you have in mind, what you want to achieve, what tickles your fancy, etc. You’ll get more opinions that way. If you’re lucky, some might even be helpful…!
