BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY, BUY.
As you can probably guess I would suggest you buy a bike.
There are many reasons for this.
1. If you buy a bike of reasonable quality it will have been built to a plan. In other words the Dimensions of the bike will be good to excellent and everything will be where it is supposed to be.
2. This has already been mentioned and I will only reinforce the issue of cost. To buy a bike that has been produced in quantity is going to be far less expensive than building one from scratch. You can buy a Hyundai Getz for about $13,000 with a 5 yr warranty. Try to build a car that will drive properly out of bits and pieces for even double that and I am sure, no matter how much you hate hyundais, you will wish that you had bought one. You see what I am saying.
3. Parts. Not always an issue but if you piece something together yourself you may find bits and pieces that should fit, for some reason just dont. If you are buying from the net etc. this can get very disheartening very quickly.
4. If you are building a bike and it is not because meccano or lego dont do it for you any longer. Meaning you want to ride the thing. You will find you will be spending more time building and tweeking than you will riding. I think it goes with the territory that most Pit or Miniriders like to change things here and there and like to tinker with their bikes. However, if you build, this is probably going to be a never ending story as you will always think of a better way to do this or that or wish you had done something different.
5. Its just easier and gives you more time to ride and find out what you really want in a bike.
Suggestions for you:
1. Buy a new bike. Ride it. Enjoy it. Find out where it is lacking, if it is lacking, and change little things here and there until you are happy with it. If you then destroy it, it may be the perfect time to start a build.
2. Buy a new bike. At the same time start building a bike. You will learn about all of the bits and pieces and how everything fits together. You will also learn about weak points and you will also have a purpose built bike to look at for reference any time you need enlightenment.
At the end of the day the decision is entirely yours. Think about what you want from the bike and also if building one will really offer any benefit to you in the short term. I totally get the romantic idea of building your own bike but the romance dies pretty quickly I can assure you. If you have had a girlfriend you will probably understand what I mean. It may just be me though in the romance department
Whatever you decide, I wish you the best and hope you will be back to either share your build with all of us at miniriders or post a pic of your new bike.
Last thing. There is an incredible amount of information on this site and lots of very knowledgeable members. There is everything you could possibly need to build a bike or buy the RIGHT bike and maintain either of them properly.
I hope this helps a bit.
Logic