does rust = rat?

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icyuod2

icyuod2

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i thought i was down with the entire rat rod mentality, but lately i feel alittle lost.

i can understand not having enough $$$$ to finish off a project the way ya want it, and having to do with what ya got.
i can understand wanting to ride your new toy long before its finished.
i can understand wanting to leave an oldy original.
i can understand spending hours of dedication on something ya love and the work never really being finished.

what i am having a hard time with is rust being fashionable.
i cant imagen myself throwing new parts on a rusty frame and calling it a finished project. its rust, and its slowly destroying your priced possesion. how can that be fashionable?

did i miss the boat? or did we take a wrong turn somewhere? i'm sure this will ruffle a few feathers, and that certainly not my intention. i'm not looking to poop on your parade, but i am concerned. what are these jems gonna look like in another 10to 15 years?

is buying a rusty bike the quickest way to become a rat rodder?

does rust=rat? and whats your reasoning behind your reply.
 
The rust usually came about from bad storage, once these bikes are "taken care of" and stored correctly, they are not going to deteriorate more
 
Rust is just something you have to have an eye for. To me, it tells a story about the bikes past. My English 3spd recubent has plenty of rusty parts on a frame I had to paint.
At first, I wanted to rechrome and replace spokes, ect. But it just wasn't worth it, that rusty wheel speaks volumes about how that bike spent a few decades leaning against a barn, it's original owner not having the heart to throw it away.
Maybe it reminded them of a time gone past, or of someone special in their lives, do you see where I'm going with this? Rust is a matter of perspective, it's your choice to strip or not to strip(PAINT!).
Some rust looks better than others, just depends how the bike aged. I saw a bike at the Summer Rat Ride in Cincy that had rusted perfectly, yet it's owner spoke of a full rebuild of his machine. There were many varying opinions of what he should do with it. I said you should keep it as is, but it's his bike, he should do with it what makes him happy.

And that about sums it up, what do you like best? If it's shiny, pristine bikes that's OK, a cool bike is a cool bike. I can roll either way on this one.
 
Rust is just another color and type of paint on a rat. It works great on same and not so great on others. The Brass Monkey in the build off is a superb example of rust being well used. I also think that the fact rust will eat the machine away, it makes it even more important to ride the bike often since it won't last as long. It's an artsy way of seeing it... I guess. :mrgreen:
 
xddorox said:
The Brass Monkey in the build off is a superb example of rust being well used.
Click to expand...

As is the Rust Rat.
I don't know what it will look like in the future but at this moment in time it looks great.
I think some of the rust bikes have developed character that you don't want to take away by restoring.
I'm trying to think of an analogy... Maybe the leaning tower of Pisa? They could straighten it.
 
i was looking at the brass monkey.

i get friggin dirty working on old rusty bikes. does the same hold true when your riding them?
 
I grew up down on the coast, and anything metal there would be rusty in a few years, and anything rusty wold be gone in a few years.

But we lived in Colorado for several years. You can drive around up there and see old mining works that have set there abandoned for 100 years. They're rusty, but still there. The air is dry and the rate of corrosion is so much slower.

If you live on the coast, and take any of these bikes, painted or not, and throw them out in the back yard, in a few years, you won't have much of a bike. Keep them where it's dry, and it won't much matter what the surface is like.
 
i guess rusty was a poor choice of words. i realize most bicycles will have some rust on them. i didnt have bikes like the ones pictured above in mind when i started this post.

i guess its the rotten bikes i'm refering to. the ones with so much rust you can see into the rims, holes in the frames etc.
maybe i'm alitte parinoid, but alot of the bikes on this forum seem destined for catastorphic failure.
 
This is something I've kept quiet about, but since someone brought it up I might as well vent now =P

I love what has come to be known as the "Rat Rod" long before I started betting into bicycles. Bare-bones vintage steel in primer with a little bit of rust is cool, probably nobody here will question that. But its only cool when you're rescuing an old heap that's suffered years of abuse and/or neglect. Its only cool when its done as an anti-polished anti-refined (in the car world anti-Boyd) "F-You" statement. To me, "Rat Rod" is the punk rock rebellion in steel form. That's why I like the Rat Rod aestetic - its the stuff I would make because it is the stuff I can afford. But now after a few years a little rebellion movement has almost become the mainstream. There are three different "Rat Rod Culture" car magazines on sale at my local grocery store. The big-name big-dollar trailer queen magazines are writing articles on how to make a fake patina-ed finish. Now to me, someone who has a garage full of brand new, all billet, highly polished machines; when they decide "oh I need a rusty clunker to ride/drive once in a while so I look tough to my old cronies" - that is just fake and insulting. Its no different than going to the mall to buy $300 pre-ripped jeans or a $75 pre-faded AC/DC shirt. Sometimes I get the feeling that a lot of the people here who post comments like "That's rat-tacular!" and "So ratariffic!" are quietly listening to John Tesh and Maroon 5 in the background. Their "rat" cost just as much to build as any mega-chrome, shiny-paint show custom. While we're at it, putting apehangers on a brand new $600 cruiser doesn't make you a rebel either.

Don't ostracize me yet, I'm not done.

Now most of the time on this board I can see the people who just "get it". They aren't making these old rusty claptraps because its trendy - they do it because they truly love the style. They respect the heritage. Most of the people here see the use of vintage steel as an artistic medium and I have nothing but the highest respect for that. I have nothing against bikes like Brass Monkey because a build-off is all about the aesthetics - blending technical skill with creativity. I also have nothing against the high quality shiny customs, because if I had the ability I would build those all day long.

In the end: build what you love, what is fun, and whatever your inner vision may be. But don't latch onto something just because you want to impress your lame friends and family.
 
i dont listen to john tesh or maroon 5, but i did just buy 'the best of billy ocean'
am i a poser? just kiddin man! im feelin ya, but thats the natural progression of anything cool, it happens w/ art, music, business, trends just happen. at least rat rodders can call themselves trend setters! i think ill tattoo some wrinkles on me and dy my hair grey so that i look 'patina'd' and 'vintage' waddya think? i wish i was old enough to have gotten into a scene before it was something i heard about, oh well.
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :D :D
fast eddie outty
 
aquired taste - agreed. Rust looks good on most bikes. Without rust, I don't see how it's rat. So yes, rat = rust imo.
 
i dont know, i dont think rats have to be rusty. at the same time, the moment ya finish working on a rat and call it finished, i feel its no longer a rat.

looking at defintions online, most refer to "unfinished looking hot rods of the 40,50,60'S"
not much mention of rust. :)

gonna be a sad day when peeps start buying new frames, striping the paint and hosing em down in the back yard to get that rusty rat rod looking bike. :( i've always thought of them as an unfinished project ya cant wait to finish to ride/drive.

i think we place alittle too much emphisis on rust. rust as a color of paint? lol. primer would look just as unfinished. :)
 
Rust definitely adds a certain amount of street credit to the rat rod label that I don't think you can get otherwise. If a bike or car gets too "finished" in appearance via a nice paint job(versus a tasteful primer or flat black or patchwork of primer/flat black/rust) and shiny chrome accessories then it gets more into the Kustom or hot rod category. But I think the traditional idea of the rat is the unfinished or unrefined look which is pretty well epitomized by rust, but it's not absolutely necessary.
 
I don't feel that rust=rat just like crappy paintjobs don't equal rat. To me, a ratrod, be it car, bike, or motorcycle has more to do with doing it yourself and making do with what you've got. Now here we get into a sticky situation... What if you have the shiniest flashiest Boyd-style hotrod around that you did yourself. Is that a ratrod? no. It's a hotrod that you can take more pride in than the guy who had his built. I think one of the essential things about a ratrod is it is never really done. So you built a car with a bad mammerjammer of an engine. And you cruise it for a while. Then you decide you'd really be happier with a 5 speed than with the automatic. So you have to change the tranny. And you might as well upgrade your brakes and suspension while you're underneath it. And while doing your research you find out a differently geared rear end would get you closer to what you want. So you do it up like that for a while. But then you get a smokin' deal on a blown bigblock that you just KNOW will fit in your little rat rod. And you can't bare to paint it or finish it becasue you're having too much fun driving it and you keep making all these changes... See what I mean?
Anyways, it's all an opinion. Are the motorcycles being built by guys like jesse james and orange county choppers? Not in my opinion. They are custom bikes, but to me a chopper is a bike that the fram has been chopped and stretched. Not something full custom built from scratch. Not that these aren't nice bikes, but they are a custom built bike in my mind not a chopper... and pulling a bike out of a barn and riding it doesn't make it a ratrod bike. You've got to customize it and make it yours.
A friend of mine in the scene once told me "You can't build or make a rat rod. If your craftsmanship is good, what you are building becomes one. Otherwise you just built a crappy car with a crappy primered paint job." I think this is true in bikes as well.
Wow. This turned out longer than intended... but there's my $.02.
 
Sometimes I get the feeling that a lot of the people here who post comments like "That's rat-tacular!" and "So ratariffic!" are quietly listening to John Tesh and Maroon 5 in the background.
Click to expand...
Okay, I DID say 'rat-tacular' once, but if I'm listening to anything, it's likely to be Ramones, AC/DC, Hives, or Bad Brains or something!! My personal p.o.v., I can see rust being ok if it's long term rust that's not gonna clean up! I like Brass Monkey, but the fenders make me reach for the steel wool! I think it's a matter of good taste, as Rat Rodding can be easily overdone! Such as some of the cars in Old Skool Rodz, for example. Many cool rides, but I often see something that looks like a pile of random parts jack-legged together. I guess as long as it's safe, and they enjoy it, fine. But I wouldn't call it cool. :) ~Adam
 
BrigmasterA said:
It's a hotrod that you can take more pride in than the guy who had his built.
Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly.

Rust doesn't make it a rat... but it does add character... and to me, that's what rat rods are all about. Contradictory as it may sound, rat rods are glamourous... not because of their aesthetic quality, but for the personality and hard work they represent.
 

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