Since it needs no further introduction, I give you the MPS masterpiece:

Disclaimer: Vital allowing this thread should not be interpeted as a condemnation of MPS' work, or suggesting that you should not do business with MPS. The opinion and truth expressed here is mine, and mine alone.
A brief synopsis of the events leading to this fiasco.
1. Found MPS on E-Bay and wrote down the phone number for future reference. His shop is only a 4 hour drive from my house, and I was through Toledo all the time. Talked about it with a friend of mine from Michigan later, and he mentioned he had a friend with a blown up RM 450, in really nice shape. We discussed doing a Mark Barnett Tribute 500 and how cool it would be, as well as unique. I pounced on the idea.
2. Called George and he was all over it. Claimed he'd done 2 or 3 already, and it would be no problem. Get it down to him, and it would happen. As luck would have it, getting down there during business hours took a couple of months, but I wasn't really in a hurry, it was still fall of 2009.
3. Finally got there in early 2010, I believe, because it was snowing like a bitch when I showed up. Walked in with the frame and George promptly started to backpeddle, didn't want to do the job, I might not like it, and his name would be on it when I tried to sell it. Great, now I've spent $1500 US on a bike I don't need, and needed to sink major coin in it to sell it. I went home with an entire bike stuffed into the cab and bunk of my rig. Awesome.
4. Despite serious misgivings, I took him my 04 CRF 450 frame and had him mod it instead. George was a couple weeks late on delivery, but I had gone to Jamaica for a week, and he was trying to get a couple bikes off to Australia, so I said it really didn't matter. Whenever he got it done was fine with me, and I think I picked it up in late April. Got it home and it sat on the shop floor for 3 weeks, I was so busy with work I couldn't even look at it.
5. Finally started to assemble the bike, or attempt to, on a Friday night. Frist off, the motor wouldn't fit down into the mounts. With the swingarm pivot in, it was out of square to the frame and the mounts. It would fit down between the lower mounts, but hit the upper fronts, if the swingarm pivot was left out on the left side. Out of square roughly half the thickness of the pivot bolt. Nice. I started attacking it with the hand grinder, and after a lot of cussing and swearing I gave up. It need to go to someone who had fab skills, because it was such a mess. I went home and called George on his cel, probably around 9pm on a Friday night. I ripped him a new one about his shit work, and of course the fact it didn't fit had nothing to do with HIM. First response was "Your motor's wrong". Right. Our chat wasn't long, nor did it end well. I won't repeat the language used here. You can guess.
5. Paid a friend to straighten the mess out as best he could, so at least the motor would fit, and had him finish all the fab work, which George was not supposed to do anyway. He was supposed to mod frame only, and provide a headstay and airboot adapter.
6. Called George to ask about rads, and see if he was smart enough to give me a break on price to compensate for the colossal mess on the frame job. He wasn't, and I never called back, since I never ordered them. The call was about price only.
I've taken photos of the hatchet job that is MPS workmanship. You be the judge.

Notice how much aluminum had to be ground away to make everything fit. Warpage from the heat on the rails is the main cause of this. George use engine cases as a jig, and has his welder tack the mounts in place. Then he takes out the cases and starts putting the filler rod and heat to it. On .125 wall aluminum tubing. According to his website though, all work is done to "above Honda and Kawasaki standards". I shit you not.



















The subframe and airbox modded by me, thanks to the crew on bannedCR500.com. A great resource for builds.


The "Airbox adapter" George provided. Apparently, and I quote, "You just put the top pivot bolt in and roll the subframe down over top of this adapter with the stock 450 airboot to the 500 carb. It's all we've ever done." You truly have to actually try what he said to appreciate the sheer stupidity of that concept. Pictures don't do it justice.



Despite being provide with the pipe that I was using and an OEM rubber mount, this is how it turned out. Sweet.







More awesome engineering. Anyone ELSE see the folly in this trying to hold back 55 hp of 2-stroke power and keep it from breaking the frame rails? Some guy from Australia had exactly that happen to him. Ironically, I think it may have been one of the bikes shipped right before mine was done, based on the guys timeline of delivery and breakage. He barely rode the bike and it snapped. Gee, you think?







The spacer he built out of aluminum to fit between the motor and the swingarm. Put the proper torque on it, and I'm sure the OEM spacer would hammer that out pretty quickly. The Honda one costs $10.

So, now the evidence is clear as to why I'm pissed about the job. Flat out garbage. Can't quite figure out how some guys can be so happy with his work, either some jobs he's actually gotten right, or some just have lower standards than me. A LOT lower. As in through the floor and under the basement lower.

The defence now has the floor for rebuttal. If you HAVE one for that kind of work.