*The 76er* (I. Think. I'm. Done. update: 7/29)

[rrednek]

Changed my mind after Kingfish's comment. On the rear of this bike I think.........................................................


Less is More!








Either way I still have 3 Votes!

Most importantly, Build it like you see it!

Jeff

[jaysmo]

i like it with the rack.... but then again looks good with out but better with it to me...

[yoothgeye]

I really like the bones of the rack, I think I will explore a way to keep the rack without the wood top, but something more minimalist for the top. I am trying to balance the bike stylistically since the front is so "heavy."

[bighit]

Lose the wood and make a full louvered fender that comes up through the rack.

[pick]

I personally agree with kingfish. The rack as it is covers up the cool flame design on the rear fender. Maybe try for something that won't hide the fender so much??? Lookin good so far!

[yoothgeye]

The welder is out a wire, but even if I buy some today the rack is already cleaned and cleared, so I will go back to my old bolt-on tricks from before I was welding. I have some ideas... just running out of time.

[SCHWINNRAY69]

The rack is cool but it covers up the even cooler fender

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Are you sure the flames on the fender won't burn through the rack?

Cheers bro,
Dr. T

[kingfish254]

Hope I didn't throw you off kilter. I just love that flame and louvered fender!!!! It is the coolest I have seen. Just seems a shame to hide it.
Maybe use some mesh with big holes for the rack top. Or just have 3 or 4 skinny cross braces.

[yoothgeye]

Or just have 3 or 4 skinny cross braces.

You read my mind with this one.

[yoothgeye]

Day 86... wait calendar say Day 89, I was WAY off.

Well, I think I just... FINISHED!!!!!

I was walking out of the shop and kept looking at the bike wondering if I was really done. It pedals and stops. The tires hold air. The lights work. There's a place to sit. I really think I am done.

Now what?

Since it's just after 2:00am and not quite the right lighting for a final photo shoot I'll give some details on what I did tonight. I had to be sneaky with my photos so as not to show it complete, but like some people have been doing, you can put it together in your mind if you really want to.

First I scrapped the wood on top of the rack and looked at some ideas of making cross bars, but nothing really added to the rack, it only took away from it, so I'm leaving it as is, just bars. So I mounted the tank. 1 screw through the rear of the tank into the frame and 1 copper bracket up front:


While looking for screws I accidentally found this cool curvy old reflector bracket and used it to mount my taillight:


Then I had to make the taillight work, so I ran the wire through some thin copper pipe (front an icemaker line) and contructed a battery tube which houses a 9v battery and switch.


After this I slapped on my license place and I think I'm done. I'm not going to mount the pedal tachometer because it would not be functional and I can't bring myself to mount non functional items just for looks, cool for you, but not for me, we can all get along.

I feel like I'm forgetting something, but for the life of me I can't think of anything.

Here's one that's interesting, at the end of July in 1976 there was a load of steel delivered to a factory in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. In less than a months time that steel would be made into a Murray Skybolt dated 08/76. After a leisurely life of forgotteness as it was about to turn 35 years old, another body born in 1976 had just breathed new life into it as the finshed Rat Rod Bike Build Off bike: The 76er.

[texasbigjon]

im liking that battery storage/copper tubing trick!

[yoothgeye]

im liking that battery storage/copper tubing trick!

Thanks, it's a cheap replica of an actual battery tube, mine is made out of a doorbell chime resonator I found in the trash.

[KOTA]

Unlike MOST people, who showed pics of the whole bike, while building, to do a little tweaking. You opted for the "BAM", surprise approach....I hope we like it.

[yoothgeye]

Unlike MOST people, who showed pics of the whole bike, while building, to do a little tweaking. You opted for the "BAM", surprise approach....I hope we like it.

haha, look back a page or 2 and you can basically see the entire bike sans rack and taillight. I really just wanted the first "finished" photos to be in a pretty setting than the busy messy upstairs of my shop.