Murraycer - now the Airstream Bike

[thatismytruck]

Boy was home sick from school ad I stayed with him. This gave me a opportunity to work on my bike for the first time is awhile. I got it back from the sand blaster and wire wheeled the whole thing. I painted the forks satin black. I put a nice little airstream colored pattern on the seat tube. Looks really good from about 6 feet. up close not so much. I'm calling it good enough. I'll be doing a diamond and spear on the forks when the paint rests for a few more days. I cut up the Airstream stickers I bought. The "Airstream" will go on thee chain guard. The bike pulling the trailer will go on the tank. the sloga is where you see it in the photo below. Of course the "ratrodbikes.com" has a place. There are a few more things I need to do before I clear the whole thing. The tank looks like sh ... crap. I have one other idea for it. If that fails I'll be making a panel instead.

only photo I took that came out ok.

[ExtraBlaze]

Man,They should sponsor this.The diamonds on the seat tube are killer.

[thatismytruck]

Thanks EB. like I said, they look good from a few feet away, but close up, not so much.

I wanted the frame to pop so I hit the forks with some satin black yesterday. Just now I did some decoration.

same applies to this as the diamonds, but I'm happy with it. I might be able to sharpen it up after it dries.

I cleaned up the chain guard and then sprayed it metallic silver.



I worked on a couple of other parts. Bigpantsbob agreed to weld on my shifter mount, and I worked on the upper fork truss mount. (seen in the photo with the paintless chain guard)

[thatismytruck]

I spent about 3 hours this evening working on my tank. For ease of assembly I decided to not round it as much as I wanted to. I like it much better than I thought I would. I drilled all the holes and popped all the rivets tonight. They are Olympic Rivets specifically designed for use on Airstream repairs. The pin gets left long on purpose so the rivet gun does not "skid" off to the side and scratch the aluminum after popping the rivet. Next time I have at it I will snip off the pins and then use a specific tool for these rivets that rounds and almost polishes them to look like solid buck rivets. Pretty cool system. I've used these often on my 35 year old Airstream. Here are the photos. Let me know what you think.

[thatismytruck]

Chain guard is done and ready for the clear coat.

[ExtraBlaze]

Extra cool.The tank is on point.I see what you mean about the diamonds in the fork pic.I had alot of bleed on the rust because of the ...um....rust . I cleaned it up with a razor.It's not hard with some patience (although I take razors to paint all the time detailing).Even if you mess up it is easier to touch up little stuff than start over.I can hit you with some tips if you need em.I'm liking the vision here.

[thatismytruck]

I've been pecking away at some tedious things. cutting, wire wheeling, filing, sanding, cleaning, polishing. I think I finished my tank. I just finished lovingly rubbing it with some Never-Dull. Like my painted decorations, it's a 5 footer, but I am happy with it. I plan a mock up build tomorrow.

[yeshoney]

Very cool! I think I like the tank better with the long rivets sticking out. Gives it that Detroit Brothers Motorcysle look. But I can see you already got rid of them. Oh well, maybe next tank

Joe

[thatismytruck]

^^^ Thanks Joe. If i were going for the Mad Max look it'd be perfect!!

Well instead of doing the dishes or getting a Christmas tree or doing anything else on my to do list today, I put test fit almost everything on my bike. I just need to finish fabricating the upper strut mount. So far all fits together well. I'm quite psyched about it.

[ponytailmike]

your airstream bike looks awsome...
love the way the rivits turned out...
keep up the good work...

ponytailmike
mike

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

that looks fast n fun.

[musclebikes]

Can I have that mug?

[thatismytruck]

noooo. I love that mug!!! I found it a a tag sale somewhere for a dime. Classic 70's kitsch.

I put it right there in the second photo on purpose, hoping someone would notice.

[FaceOFFbikes]

noooo. I love that mug!!! I found it a a tag sale somewhere for a dime. Classic 70's kitsch.

I put it right there in the second photo on purpose, hoping someone would notice.

I noticed because the first photo it' facing away.. Second photo it's like it is staring at you.. lol

[ExtraBlaze]

Nice.That tank is awesome.What is the shifter from?