Working Smart And Looking Cool Doing It!

Here at Demeanour Customs, we know that style and efficient engineering are very important to our customers, so we ingrain this concept into everything we do. We want to work smart, and look good while we do it! That’s why over the last couple of weeks we’ve spent our spare time revamping our workshop, to get it into the condition needed so we can take on your projects and custom motorcycle parts even faster and better than before.

We’ve been exceptionally busy during lock-down, so we decided it was time to source a CNC Lathe, that could help us tackle your projects faster than before. While we still plan on using our manual Lathe for those projects that need a bit of hand-crafted engineering know-how, our new CNC Lathe will allow us to produce some of custom motorcycle products faster than before. We’ll be using our new CNC Lathe to turn the aluminium for our custom-designed Leather Handlebar Grips- meaning you can expect a quicker turnaround in the future!

As we had to move some of the old machines around to make room for our new one, we decided that now would be the perfect time to make some improvements to the workshop floor! The workshop has often expanded rapidly as we’ve grown over the past 10 years, so the floor has sometimes been a bit neglected. As we aim to build style and efficiency into everything we do, we decided this needed to apply to our working space as well.

We’ve completely repainted our concrete floor with a heavy-duty floor paint, and added in designated walkways to all of our most used machinery. This not only adds the wow-factor we always aim for at Demeanour Customs, but has also improved our efficiency! The new workshop floor is now easier to keep clean and clear of dust and debris- less time cleaning means we have more time to tackle your projects and custom motorcycle parts!

Now that we’ve got our new CNC Lathe in place, and the floor as been given a bit of TLC, we’re ready to take on more of your custom motorcycle parts and projects, with increased capacity, efficiency, and of course, style!

Check out the video to see the final result.

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If you’ve got a project in mind and would like to find out how we can help you achieve it, get in touch!

See How We Make Our Custom Handlebar Grips

Have you had a look at the leather handlebar grips in our shop yet? Although they might look simple, our custom grips go through a lot of different stages before they are ready to be fitted onto your motorcycle! If you’ve ever wondered exactly how we do this, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ll be revealing our secrets and showing you just how much work goes into engineering each set!

Read about the process of making our custom handlebar grips

Turning the metal base

The first stage of making our leather handlebar grips is expertly turning the high-quality aluminium on our manual lathe. We’ve been engineering our handlebar grips like this for years, so it’s safe to say we know exactly what needs to be done to create a strong product with no flaws. By turning the aluminium on a manual lathe, we can easily make handlebar grips for both 1” and 7/8” handlebars!

Cutting the leather

We only purchase high-quality British leather to ensure that our grips are hardy enough to withstand years of riding. As we use natural untreated leather, no sheet is exactly the same, and therefore every set of grips we create is completely unique. We use a fly press to hand cut the sheets of leather into perfect rings. As we hand stamp each ring, the process can take hours of labour, but once the rings have been cut, we’re ready to begin constructing our handlebar grips. 

Hand-constructing the grips

Each set of grips is made up of around 120 individual rings, which are glued by hand to the metal shafts. We use a water-activated glue to firmly hold the rings to the shaft and each other. When all the rings have been attached, they are pressed down and secured in place with a metal end piece. As each leather ring is slightly different, each grip will have a different pattern, and we often have great fun seeing what kind of patterns we can create using different coloured leathers. 

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Trimming, Dying & Dubbing

The final stage of the process involving a bit of machining and a bit of handcrafting know-how! Using a manual mill, we gradually take off the top layer of the leather, to reveal an even smooth texture underneath. Once we have removed the outer layer, we apply a dye and dubbing to each set to protect the leather and allow the leather to age naturally without distortion. 

Ready to purchase

After hours and hours of engineering and hand construction, our leather handlebar grips are ready for purchase! We sell our handlebar grips with two variations of finishes, either polished satin aluminium or black cerakoted so you’re able to pick a style that suits your motorcycles aesthetic! We would never sell a product that our head engineer, Paul, would not be happy to have on any of this motorcycles, so you can be certain you’re going to end up with a unique, high quality, hand-crafted product!

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Demeanour Customs Speciality

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, here at Demeanour Customs, with various different engineering and domestic jobs coming our way! And whilst we excel at all types of engineering, we find that our main service in demand is custom motorcycle parts. Over the past couple of weeks, we have received and completed several custom motorcycle jobs for various different customers. From Harley-Davidsons to Triumphs, we can design and manufacture custom parts for them all.

Custom Motorcycle parts for individuals

This week, one of our customers motorcycles was collected from Demeanour Customs, after it was bought in for the design and manufacture of some custom motorcycle parts. The customer returned to us, after we had previously completed work on one of his previous motorcycle. This time, the customer required mid-mounts and a front mudguard for his Harley-Davidson. As many of you may know, mid-mounts can usually be bought without any need for modification. However, due to our customer’s hip damage, the motorcycle needed special modification to compensate for the different riding position. Where the typical mid-mounts would sit, there was already a special tuned exhaust and a three inch open belt primary drive- making it impossible to fit standard parts.

In addition to the mid-mounts, the front mudguards also required extra-special treatment, as they were designed to perfectly suit the profile of the front tyre. The front mudguard was created using traditional sheet metal fabrication. Starting off as a flat sheet of aluminum, it was then rolled on an old english wheel by our fabrication specialist, Paul Sadler. Sometimes traditional engineering is best!

Custom Motorcycle Parts for companies.

While we work a lot on individuals motorcycles, Demeanour Customs also creates custom motorcycle parts for larger motorcycle companies and their clients, such as Krazy Horse and Black Bear. We have designed and manufactured a large number of custom motorcycle parts, for various external motorcycle companies. Furthermore, our expertise and fast turn-arounds allows larger motorcycle companies to get their customers to the very best custom motorcycle parts, without the usual extended waiting time. Over the past couple of weeks we have been working hard, creating mid-mounts, seat pans, switch cases, front mudguards, shortened forks and side number plates, and have received positive feedback from over-the-moon companies and customers.

Custom Motorcycle Mudguards

Here at Demeanour Customs, we like believe that sometimes traditional old-school methods are best. We take this approach to several of our jobs, especially our sheet metal fabrication. This week, we have been hand-crafting motorcycle mudguards using old-school sheet metal fabrication methods.

Our made-to-order mudguards start life as as a 2mm flat piece of aluminum, cut and shaped to fit a 5.00 x 16 tyre. From here, they are annealed to strengthen the metal, and reduce internal stress. After the metal has been annealed, it is then shaped by hand, or rather by hammer! Panel beating allows us the get the basic shape curved shape of the mudguard. This progress, although it looks easy and fun, it one of the most difficult and technically challenging stages of sheet metal fabrication. Hitting the metal in specific places to create folds and dents is important to achieving the perfectly curved edges. Next, we use the English Wheel to remove lumps left from the panel beating process, as well as refining the specific shape of the mudguard. After we have perfected the shape of the mudguard, we use a piece of home-made sheet metal fabrication equipment. This unique mudguard roller was built by Demeanour Customs, specifically for finishing off our made-to-order mudguards. This final stage of the process completely smooths out the metal, removing any of the finer bumps and finalising the shape of the mudguard.

Demeanour Customs Begins

TURNING FROM PART-TIME CUSTOM BIKES TO FULL TIME ENGINEERING COMPANY

Many people dream of quitting work and running their own business, but for most it is only ever a dream. For the past four years, Demeanour Customs has been a part-time company, successfully operating from our workshop in Suffolk at the weekends. Over the last year, Demeanour Customs has worked constantly to completely renovate and extend the workshop, with added engineering and CNC machinery. The new machinery allows for more precise metal fabrication, and faster turn arounds on bulk and individual orders. The added machinery has resulted in an extension of the workforce, as Samm has now joined the Demeanour Customs team, working part-time throughout the week to increase engineering output.

There is also now a large section of the workshop dedicated to custom motorbikes, which means Paul can work on multiple motorcycles at once, pleasing lots of happy customers. The new custom motorcycle section occupies the extension end of the workshop and fully equipped to alter and customise your motorcycle in almost any way you can think of. Demeanour Customs has never been more equipped and prepared to tackle your engineering and motorcycle needs.

Part-time Suffolk custom motorcycles turns full-time engineering company.

The improvements being made to Demeanour Customs workshop had all been working towards Paul’s aim of turning his part-time business into a full-time engineering company. In June 2017, Demeanour Customs achieved this aim. On the 25th May 2017, Paul quit his full-time job and is now fully committed to engineering and custom motorcycle parts and builds at Demeanour Customs. This big step means you can now get in touch with Demeanour Customs every day of the week, to fulfil all your engineering, CNC machining, metal fabrication and custom motorcycle needs.

The Engineering Behind New Wall Of Death Motorcycle Record

British Motorcycle racer and engineer, Guy Martin, is used to breaking world record for speed. Back in March 2016, Guy Martin smashed another the Guinness World Record title, this time for the Highest speed on a Wall of Death, with an impressive speed of 70.33 mph. Guy Martins custom motorcycle was specifically designed and built to tackle the Wall of Death, and engineering and custom motorcycle companies from Suffolk and Norfolk played a significant role in the creation of Guy Martins record breaking custom bike.

Demeanour Customs engineering for Guys Martins motorcycle

Here at Demeanour Customs, Paul Sadler was assigned the task of fabricating a piece of metal which would improve Guy Martins riding position. With thirty-seven years of engineering experience, Paul knew exactly how to tackle the problem. First taking the detailed measurements of Guys custom motorcycle, a CAD/CAM programme was then used to design the custom motorcycle part. Using a CNC milling machine, Demeanour Customs engineered unique handle bar spacers which moved the handle bars up and forward, improving Guys overall riding position and increasing his ability to achieve his Wall of Death motorcycle record.

Although Demeanour Customs was not credited directly in the live televised event, Guy Martin’s appreciation for Pauls engineering and metal fabrication work was shown. After the record for the Highest speed on a Wall of Death had been broken, Guy returned the handle bar spacers, with a personal note of appreciation: ‘Cheers Paul, Top Job’. A very proud moment for the small engineering and custom motorcycle company Demeanour Customs.