So. What started as an innocent project to restore the frames I rode and kept and pick-up one that was long lost, has grown a few arms and legs! My first frame only purchase back in the day was my 98 2Hip Pork, followed by my 2Hip Soul and then my Metal Kizz, Metal Burma, FBM Autopilot, Sunday Vinnie Sammon and finally my Sunday Second Wave.
I think it was the hunt for my Pork (My own was long gone) that gave me the itch. Joining various mid-school themed Facebook pages and the Museum gave me a nostalgic buzz and seeking bikes and parts really got into me but then I got this crazy notion to try and collect the frames that my friends from back in the day rode. I picked up my friend's Standard Cashius but then came to the realisation that finding a Gack Gargoyle was going to be nigh on impossible. Out of the window went that plan! But I noticed that with the exception of the Autopilot, I had two of everything. When I hang my current daily Standard up, I'll have two Standards.
As resto's were completed, I became well and truly hooked on the searching for frames, decals, RAL codes, the sending of damaged frames for repair, the powder coating and finally, applying the decals. The next stage of addiction was all about, "what frames would I have bought if I hadn't been able to get what I wanted back in the day?
I'd seen the odd Solid Killing Machine on the various sites and I think had Seventies not replaced my Kizz for the Burma under guarantee, a Killing Machine would have been my next choice. Six or so months of looking and I found one. I have the decals for it and I'll be sending it for powder coating at the end of this month. But hang on! Only one Solid in the collection? Fortunately for me, a good friend of mine who was moving back to Paris had an AA v2 that he didn't want to take home, so he GAVE it to me! How rad is that!
My Kink Empire. It would have been a contender in 98 had I not been so smitten with my Pork. The search was on! I started looking for Revision Bs, knowing how scarce OG Empires were. I started picking up decals for one before I'd even talked to Rev B owners! I contacted Kink firstly about decals and out of pure luck, the dude at Kink I was talking to knew of an OG Empire. Price was negotiated and bish-bash-bosh, I had an OG Empire! What other Kink could I get to continue the collection theme of pairs? There was only one option. The Phantom Lord!
Maybe two months of concerted searching later and a deal was struck with a dude in the States again. "Done" I thought! But only had one FBM?
I'd thought about a Night Train but nothing was coming up on the casual search. By chance, a dude on Instagram approached me with a very tidy looking gen 2 Angel Of Death. "fook it" I thought. I'm done now! Yeah.....RIGHT!
A casual utterance on Facebook about a gen 1 DK S.O.B has finished up with me splashing the cash and I now own it and it's in my possession. Fortunately for me and not so fortunate for the theme continuation of my collection, it's the only DK that I would consider owning. The General Lee just didn't do anything for me and that's the only one I would give the mildest consideration to. Go figure!
What's your collecting story
