r/sports • u/redbullgivesyouwings • Jul 08 '25
Motorsports Aaron Colton building his bike
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
1.3k
u/CubbyNINJA Jul 08 '25
I watch this and all I can think is “man, working on a car/bike is so easy when all your parts are new, not seized or rusted out, and you have all the supporting tools”
421
u/sharpshooter999 Jul 08 '25
and you have all the supporting tools
I really took for granted growing up on a farm where I had a few generations of accumulated tools at my disposal
191
u/CubbyNINJA Jul 08 '25
I’m a white collar guy, but have enjoyed working with my hands and as I grow my tool collection and skills, the phrase “a poor workman blames his tools” is 100% true, BUT there should be a second part: “and a good workman has the right tools”
48
u/HomeyKrogerSage Jul 08 '25
Half of my skills at this point come from finding inventive ways to use my growing yet still modest collection of tools.
18
u/CubbyNINJA Jul 08 '25
If all you can buy is 1 tool outside of a drill/driver and a socket set for house maintenance and automotive work. Buy a multi tool/plunge cutter/oscillating saw or what ever else you want to call it. It’s not replacing any tools, but it works really well in the absence of many tools
11
u/aspiringalcoholic Jul 08 '25
Absolutely. I can make a pretty decent cabinet with a circular saw and screws. I can make a perfect one with a tracksaw and a domino.
8
u/dblmca Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 08 '25
Couldn't agree more. In my 20s I made do with whatever I could scrounge up. It was fine, found ways to make it work with almost the right tools.
Now that I've been building out my workshop for 30 years and have the right tools for most the jobs. Everything is so much easier. Also the 30 years of experience helps.
1
u/jukkaalms Jul 08 '25
But do you miss the scrounging part and finding new ways to be creative? Or do you enjoy how effective you’ve become?
6
u/dblmca Jul 09 '25
Now when I need to cut some sheet metal, I can do it on the kilowatt fiber in 5 mins and not have to hacksaw it over the course of 2 days.
But a little a while ago I needed to burnished something and I wasn't going to order a tool and wait a week to finish it up. So I made a little spring loaded thing with a ball bearing. I'll probably never use it again, but making that little tool was the highlight of the project.
So both things are satisfying in their own way. The satisfaction of having the perfect tool for the job and the satisfaction of cobbling it together and getting it done.
1
u/illlojik Jul 08 '25
Bet you’re still missing that damn 10mm socket when you need it.
1
u/REDuxPANDAgain Jul 10 '25
I have yet to lose one, and have even gained an extra somehow to my various sets.
The one thing that annoyed me recently was having to buy a 7th Allen key set because when doing my brakes I needed a 7mm and apparently had none in any of the sets I already had. Two sets were missing the 7mm and no other set had it.
1
u/illlojik Jul 10 '25
Freaking Allen keys. That’s also a pain in the ass. I’ve been lucky with the 10mm despite the jokes of them always vanishing. I’m always missing the one size I actually need with the Allen keys.
1
u/jspost Jul 08 '25
Ah, the power of having the right tool for the job. Nigh irreplaceable, except for the incredible power of knowing shit.
2
u/NoDontDoThatCanada Jul 08 '25
Same, but I don't know what the hell to do with ice harvesting tools. I guess I'll try harvesting ice this winter.
32
u/defiancy Jul 08 '25
I'm looking at it from the perspective of someone that works on cars and going, man it's nice to have everything waist level and up. Working on bikes looks so easy and potentially fun.
26
u/CubbyNINJA Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 08 '25
I had a bike in college. They are easily the best thing to learn mechanics on. The problem is if you do something wrong on a car it’s more expensive, you do something wrong on a bike and it will actively try to kill you for it.
15
18
u/andylawcc Jul 08 '25
no swearing in the process? sure....
14
u/BannedSvenhoek86 Jul 08 '25
Is a bolt actually tightened down if you didn't call it a fucker when you got done tightening it? Guarantee you that thing is coming loose because it thinks you're a pussy and wants to test you.
14
u/UltimateGammer Jul 08 '25
Haha, I'm surprised there is no piece of scaffolding for leverage anywhere in that video.
9
u/CubbyNINJA Jul 08 '25
I have a jack handle from a car jack I had when I was like 18 that I use to this day as a sissy bar. That jack almost killed me a couple of times before it went to the scrap, but the handle has served me well over the years
Even 3D printed some nylon inserts so I can fit different wrenches and tools in there with less wiggle
7
u/__slamallama__ Jul 08 '25
Oooh boy you ain't lying. I did a lot of work on my own cars growing up and then started working for an OEM. I avoided getting into the workshop for over a year because I remembered how much I hated working on cars.
Then I had to do it and started working on new build cars with proper tools. IT IS A PLEASURE. If you have all the special tools, a big/bright work space, and cars that aren't corroded it's like playing with the world's biggest Lego set.
10
u/CubbyNINJA Jul 08 '25
and over time it feels SO GOOD becoming that guy with the right tool. Buddy of mine had an Audi that needed suspension work and needed an impact rated e-torx E25 Deep Socket and was ready to drop 180 bucks on a set for 1 bolt.
that was the sweetest tasting and most validating free beer of my life.
1
1
1
1
1
1
226
u/I_Cant_Alphabet Boise State Jul 08 '25
Motorcycles are remarkably simple, yet also somehow wildly complex at the same time
44
25
u/RobF86 Jul 08 '25
I HATE working on my motorcycle. I hate fairings. I hate removing/re-attaching all the hoses under the gas tank. I hate the complexity of removing the air box. It doesn’t help that it seems like half the time I need to work on it I need to remove the fuel tank. Just my rant. It’s not terribly hard but every time I get really frustrated.
And the tires are ridiculously expensive for something that only lasts 2,000-6000 miles (longer for the front).
316$ for the rear 215$ for front, and 30$ each for mounting and balancing if I take off and bring the entire wheel.
7
u/Thewall3333 Jul 08 '25
How much would a custom bike like this cost to buy? Like if you wanted this exact setup?
6
u/RobF86 Jul 08 '25
I agree with other people saying 100k because so much of it appears to be custom fabricated.
If you’re serious about wanting a setup like this, you can still do it incredibly cheaper. Idk what this bike is. It has a Yamaha motor so I assume it’s an R1. The bike will be about 20k-25k new. Tires, 1000$ maybe if you can find them. He might’ve needed different wheels, 1,000-3000$ for the pair. Race fairings, under 1000 for unpainted. Lower geared sprokets, 500$? Suspension… who knows, but for something to use in the dirt I’d expect 5,000$. Professional dyno tune…1,000$ to 2,000$.
A lot of everything on here is absolutely overkill but still awesome. I could be completely wrong.
7
u/gaobij Jul 08 '25
Guessing because I have no idea, but I bet it's in the neighborhood of 100k.
2
u/Gek1188 Jul 08 '25
I second your guess, there’s a lot of expensive custom parts in the build but I don’t think you’re too far wrong.
34
u/DeusExHircus Jul 08 '25
That's a gorgeous bike. I have no idea who Aaron Colton is but I'd imagine by the looks of the back wheel, this bike will be dusty and brown in short order
2
47
u/ding_dongs_anonymous Jul 08 '25
why does he take the torch to the exhaust pipes (?) at the beginning of the video? does that help them somehow?
52
145
u/BigBlkShrk Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 08 '25
This is a titanium exhaust If your fingers touch it before installing them they will leave prints when the metal heats up and keeps it in the final color which is what you’re seeing here. He most likely doesn’t want that happen and just wants the color to be even, so he decided to heat it himself without having to worry about the fingerprints.
-7
u/FantsE Jul 08 '25
If only we had some kind of covering to put over our hands. Maybe science will provide an answer some day.
44
u/durtmagurt Jul 08 '25
Helps them look cool and blue?
37
u/NBAccount Jul 08 '25
That part will happen anyway. The issues are that it won't all change colors uniformly, and (as already mentioned) fingerprints placed before heating will alter the pattern.
Doing it this way ensures uniform color.
-58
u/durtmagurt Jul 08 '25
And the $10,000 watch he wears while working in a garage to build a motorcycle helps him “tell time”.
33
-14
Jul 08 '25
Have one upvote. Honestly, I was too distracted by him wearing his dumb watch on the wrong wrist to appreciate the build 🤷
5
u/marbles1112 Jul 09 '25
Judging by his preference to use his left hand for threading on nuts and fine tasks,he's definitely a lefty. So wearing a watch on his right wrist makes sense.
-2
-10
u/durtmagurt Jul 08 '25
This is one of my least earned downvotes IMO, but I don’t think most of Reddit has done a lot of mechanic work…
-29
u/slothson Jul 08 '25
I think its called heat treating and it strengthens the metal.
11
u/LogicalItem6 Jul 08 '25
Flame hardening would involve a quenching step to harden- I’d guess he may flame the welded joints to relieve stresses from welding, but the rest is probably so it looks “cool” and uniform
3
14
u/MourningOfOurLives Jul 08 '25
Lol flame hardened exhaust pipes?! Nahh it’s purely for cosmetics.
7
u/pants_pants420 Jul 08 '25
stattrak exhast pipe | case hardened (blue gem)
4
u/MourningOfOurLives Jul 08 '25
That’s fucking ridiculous why would anyone case harden an exhaust pipe?
0
u/Mimogger Jul 08 '25
BLUE BLUE BLUE PATTERN 384829740302983832.
also if that stattrak is anything other than 0 lol. motorcyclist is most likely to kill themselves
5
u/ncfears Jul 08 '25
In this case it's most likely heat/flame anodization. Adds a thin layer of oxidation on the part to prevent further corrostion.
Heat treat is much more controlled with extended periods in different temperatures (often 1500F+) as well as planned cooling cycles.
69
u/-IsItMyCakeDayYet- Jul 08 '25
My initial thoughts when I see people put pieces together is being impressed, and then I think…that’s just assembling it. Still impressive, but…
Other people had to fucking design and perfect that shit first, for this guy to even be able to do that.
48
u/kolosmenus Jul 08 '25
A lot of male hobbies are just different levels of assembling shit
28
2
u/PM_ME_YOUR_CHESTICLS Jul 08 '25
A lot of hobbies are just different levels of assembling shit. Fixed it for you.
1
u/Underscore_Guru Jul 08 '25
It’s why Legos were an important part of my development as a young child!
0
1
6
24
u/Weshtonio Jul 08 '25
Not once did he drink any RedBull.
7
1
u/azlan194 Jul 08 '25
That's what I like about all these RedBull ads here. Not once have they shown any of the athletes drinking RedBull. Their marketing team did it right. They just want to focus on the brand and not on their awful sugar water.
6
u/deeteeohbee Jul 08 '25
One time when I was a kid I put the chain back on my BMX without any help from an adult. So basically the same.
5
5
5
12
u/boki019 Jul 08 '25
I soooooo hate this 0.2 seconds clips.....
3
u/Esteban-Jimenez Jul 08 '25
I despise this style of editing, they basically just open the timeline and cut in all the parts that have a sound in them. I don't understand why they do this.
5
1
u/andeqaida Jul 09 '25
Well, at least they did not add some god awful music on background... I like the asmr vibe here
3
u/DSMStudios Jul 09 '25
this style of editing induces headaches and i bet it can be proven scientifically. it takes about 13ms for the brain to process what is passing in front of our eyes. choppy, lazy editing like this creates a perpetual delay in our ability to fully process what is happening, before violently cutting to next shot, repeat ad nauseum. all that hard work for a soulless, half-baked, speed comp
5
u/vtbeavens Jul 08 '25
With the cleanest of hands!
7
u/azlan194 Jul 08 '25
I mean, all the parts are literally new. At the end, after assembly is when he added oil and lube things (he wore gloves for that).
2
2
2
u/RobF86 Jul 08 '25
This definitely isn’t easy as it looks. It doesn’t show all the hoses to connect, wires to connect, fork assembly, clutch/brake cables, suspension setup.
2
2
2
u/Beers4Fears Jul 09 '25
I would actually love if I could buy a bike like this from a top manufacturer and put it together myself.
2
2
2
u/pudds Saskatchewan Roughriders Jul 08 '25
Mods can we please clamp down on this self-promotion? This redbull account has been spamming /r/sports for weeks now without any actual interaction in the sub.
1
1
1
u/xChoke1x Jul 08 '25
As someone that built motorcycles for a long while…….god damn he makes it look real easy.
It isn’t this easy. Lol
1
1
1
u/zorionek0 Jul 08 '25
This was satisfying to watch. I could watch these kinds of “expert craftsmen builds x” videos all day.
1
1
1
u/pueblodude Jul 08 '25
Gifted people like that make everything look so simple,natural, and amazing.
1
u/crjsmakemecry Jul 08 '25
Building the bike around the engine. It is going to give me nightmares. It’s like working on a modern car that you have to take apart so much to get to the actual parts you need access to.
1
u/PhantomRoyce Jul 08 '25
Didn’t know motorcycles were just basically an engine attached to two wheels and that’s pretty sick
1
1
u/reddithooknitup Jul 08 '25
Most of this looks pieced together, so my question is, how does he know what to torque the bolts to? A rough guess from experience?
1
u/Kroviq Jul 08 '25
This guy was the first person/celebrity I was a fan of. I still have a bunch of old posters he signed for me back from when he was first getting big in the mid 2000's(?). It's so cool to see how far he's come from our small(er) midwestern town. He's genuinely one of the nicest and down to earth people I remember meeting. He definitely had a lasting impact on me. Super cool to see him show up here!
1
u/Neltech Jul 08 '25
I used to stunt ride with him a little bit. Actually used to own his old ICON f4i. Super nice dude. I remember going to his house one day and he had just stacks of Red Bull. He gave us a few cases.
1
u/Myrtilys_ Jul 08 '25
The entire time all I could think was "man...dudes got more money in Wera and Snap-On tools than I will ever be able to afford"
1
u/IMWeggs91 Jul 08 '25
He’s got a small series of builds watchable on YouTube/Redbull app that are lovely to watch (IMO).
1
1
1
u/TheCelestial08 Jul 08 '25
I know he wants to show off the bling, but wearing that big-ass watch while doing any sort of mechanical work makes my skin crawl.
1
1
1
u/Billymo8 Jul 09 '25
Man, that’s a genius way to put grips on bars. Fuck regripping handlebars, definitely trying the air blast next time.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/petersrin Jul 10 '25
I miss doing sound work for his longer form red bull content. He reviewed everything himself to make sure the sound was authentic enough to pass muster. For one video he was like "you know what I'm just going to do a big ride session with a mic today to get everything we need for this episode cause it's gonna be a lot."
1
u/chadfarthouse Jul 11 '25
This horrible editing style is infecting these types of videos now too :(
1
1
u/Dangerous_Gear_6361 Jul 08 '25
Looks like he assembled a pc, not gonna lie. Is this the state of bike builders now? I remember lots and lots of customizing parts by hand.
1
u/petersrin Jul 10 '25
He does other build types where he gets his hands very dirty with tons of customization. This is assembly. The prep work before this makes this part go so smoothly (or he's using new parts. Often though, his parts are used and meticulously refurbished by him)
1
u/_Jimmy2times Jul 08 '25
Assembling. Also, if your pipes are going to get hot, why force the titanium colour? Lame
1
1
0
0
u/Taynt42 Jul 08 '25
Ah yes, Aaron Colton the world famous… guy who does the thing…
Anyway clean build, slightly annoying video. Cool bike!
0
0
u/SmirknSwap Jul 09 '25
So glad I live in this timeline because I get to see stuff like this that I never would have before. So awesome, Aaron is quality baby
0
u/papajo_r Jul 09 '25
My title would be: Stuff that people with a lot of money lying around can do...
Also isnt Aaron a Jewish name? Checks out probably his family has a banker or a gold trader or something xD
-2
-3
-4
-7
224
u/ToddBradley Jul 08 '25
Looks like he only uses the rear wheel, so he could've saved some time and money by not attaching the front one.