Heavyweight build "FATBOB" CHANGES!

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Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

You are indeed sticking to plan well. I think to keep the visual weight down I would thinking about some low sweeping bars, apes make a big statement and draw your attention up.

One more suggestion, only because I know you can pull it off. What if you sectioned the air tank to make it narrow, so the end would look more like a football than a circle, keeping it more narrow and out of the way of your knees.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

yoothgeye said:
You are indeed sticking to plan well. I think to keep the visual weight down I would thinking about some low sweeping bars, apes make a big statement and draw your attention up.

One more suggestion, only because I know you can pull it off. What if you sectioned the air tank to make it narrow, so the end would look more like a football than a circle, keeping it more narrow and out of the way of your knees.
Click to expand...
:D Thanks for everyone's kind words!

I may appear to be sticking to the plan well, but I have not shared the many drawings and sketches that have come and gone over the last 6 weeks! Turns out my original concept is still working the best.

As to sectioning the air tank, I have actually thought about it, and was going to do it, but after trying it on the bike and sitting with the seat fitted it is amazing how much knee clearance I have, at least 2 inch's each side, I guess the extra wide bottom bracket is looking after me there! :mrgreen:

Buying the steel today for the handlebars, getting enough for 2 sets... (Oh, and enough for the muscle bike build off bike too! :wink: )

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Lowlife Lucas said:
I want to see a riding video after you get it rideable, its such a massive bike! And, it's certainly awesome! 8)
Click to expand...
Oh, yeah! A riding video is a must! Surprisingly the bike seems huge but it is really really low! I will have to get a photo with me standing with it, it has ended up surprisingly compact for something that seems so large... Still going to have trouble storing it in the house though... :roll:

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Definitely want to see a pic of you sitting in this monster! Not many peopke could pull of something this large! :)

Rich
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Will do, I will just get the bars on first so my hands will be in the right spot rather than floating in mid air... :wink:

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Picked up all the steel to finish this build and all the steel I think I need for the Muscle bike build off bike too...

Enough tube for two sets of long/tall bars for the Cadillac (16 feet), square tube for the seat spring stay where they curve under, for the bar clamp mounts and the headlight mount.(6 feet).
Also got all the tube I need for the build off bike, about 20 feet, and some round bar (10 feet) for an as yet undisclosed reason :wink: That is a lot of steel, but I have some design ideas which may not work out that I wanted enough to try on...
Got all that for $45, this really is a cheap hobby... I think all the steel for the Cadillac bike probably came to under $80 without any worries... The muscle bike is only using about $25-30 in steel, you couldn't buy a decent frame and forks for that money! :mrgreen: 8)

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

That's why cycling must become hot in the future. Cheap,clean and sort of healthy (as long as you don't get poked in the eye by a bus).
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Certainly a lot healthier and cheaper than building a real RatRod! I'm up for $1500 in engineering inspections when I get the truck done... Or should that be IF I get the truck done, might just stick to bikes... 6 weeks building on the Cadillac, which is as time consuming as any build I am likely to do, and the end is in sight for it. 6 weeks on the truck? Hard to tell if I have made even a dent in the list of things to do...

Ah well...

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Thanks Rich! Cant watch it at the moment, as we have hit our download limit for the month and are limited to dial-up speed, resets on Saturday though, so I will watch it then! :wink:

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Hey Luke

Well, why wait that long, you and this guy have something in common, you both have made skills :D
http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showthrea ... ycle/page8
I have been following his work and posts for the past year. For some reason, he prefers to work with lowpowered bicycles. Go figure, I figured you would apperciate the work he puts into a build.

Thanks for the inspiration.

rich
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Yep Brad has some pretty cool and wild ideas, actually borrowed his "Evil Genius" book from the library a few years ago, got a few ideas that probably eventually sprouted into the Cadillac bike, not much of his ideas left in the build but the inspiration was probably from there...

I noticed your rim when you started doing it and knew where your inspiration came from! Not much else in your bike that comes from there though, glad you didn't use the electrical conduit he seems so fond off...

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

LukeTheJoker said:
I noticed your rim when you started doing it and knew where your inspiration came from! Not much else in your bike that comes from there though, glad you didn't use the electrical conduit he seems so fond off...
Luke.
Click to expand...

Yup, I am not shy of borrowing good ideas :D Basically I wanted to do his version of the Overkill chopper to what I thought would be better, though he preaches "hand tools only", so it limits what you can do without hernating a disk :) 1 1/2" cromo don't bend easy.

The link was to a thread by a guy named Graucho, he builds bicycles but not the way Brad does...

Anyway, catch ya around, it's .... cold outside but I gotta get some things done today :D

Keep smiling!

Rich
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

I will have a good look at them both come Saturday, tried repeatedly on both and because I have not been on the atomic site for a while the computer on it's slow speed does not want anything to do with it! :x :( Never mind watching a video! :roll:

Thanks for sharing them, always on the lookout for how others do things and new ideas...

Bending cro-mo by hand? :shock: Yep that will do some damage! :lol: Wouldn't mind a roller bender like yours though, I could have some fun with that! I have a cheap hydraulic press style bender that I will be using for the bars and the muscle bike but it is severely limited and sometimes kinks for no reason... Price was right though! I have nowhere to store a big roller anyway, would not want to leave it out in the rain...

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Any Harbor Freights around by you? They are reasonable enough you could save for a couple of months than get it into the budget. Making one would give you a far better roller, but it would cost more... unless you have all the steel plate and pillow blocks laying around. [edit] and than you would still have to buy the rollers. An outfit in the US does it, but the run 164 per set (3 rollers, all 4130 cromo, they are nice :_ I bought an 1 1/4" set but pricey.

Funny thing is, I tried for a couple of months to just use the JD2 bender, I was determine to not have to spend any more more on tools... I would lock the piece into the bender and tug on it till I was exhausted. Man I would go and twist, bounce, pull... swear... you name it, at that thing, basically I got about 1/2 the bend that is in the top tube of the bike. I finally gave up and bought myself the roller for my birthday and Christmas present :D Some guys are filling those hydraulic benders tubing with sand, they sound iffy anyway you do it though. Some claim to have good success. others not. I usually have bad luck with stuff like that... even the model I got has some serious flaws... but if you are careful they will last (keep in mind I am a bit of a gorilla with my treatment of tools :) )
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

I'm afraid Harbour freight does not exist over here... The only tubing rollers available over here are meant for roll cage builders and race car teams, Big $$$$'s
Happy enough with the hydraulic one, I just bear it in mind when in the design phase so I don't plan anything I cant achieve...

Seems I have overdone myself these last couple of days, so I have decided to take a couple of days off thinking about or doing anything on the bikes, try and get myself back together for the Saturday start on the muscle bike build off... Probably a good thing we ended up with a six week deadline instead of the 3 to 4 weeks I wanted... :mrgreen:

Looking forward to dragging out the bender and making the cantilever tubes and a few pairs of 'bars!

How are your springer plans coming along? What do you think of the springer design the Cadillac ended up with? It's a bit different from the normal styles you see around...

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

LukeTheJoker said:
I'm afraid Harbour freight does not exist over here... The only tubing rollers available over here are meant for roll cage builders and race car teams, Big $$$$'s
Happy enough with the hydraulic one, I just bear it in mind when in the design phase so I don't plan anything I cant achieve...

Seems I have overdone myself these last couple of days, so I have decided to take a couple of days off thinking about or doing anything on the bikes, try and get myself back together for the Saturday start on the muscle bike build off... Probably a good thing we ended up with a six week deadline instead of the 3 to 4 weeks I wanted... :mrgreen:

Looking forward to dragging out the bender and making the cantilever tubes and a few pairs of 'bars!

How are your springer plans coming along? What do you think of the springer design the Cadillac ended up with? It's a bit different from the normal styles you see around...

Luke.
Click to expand...

A shame about you not having one (Harbor Freight), while they stock a lot of junk, they do have there purpose. If you ever want to try building your own, I can take nice clean photos with dimensions for you, the dies are what will cost the money though.

6weeks is best, around here our worst month of the year is Feb, yesterday was in the 20-15 degrees F range, and today will be low teens to single digits. I have a 3 bay garage and it is a bit cramped inside now with the bike and jig in there. I do my mockups out side on a piece of plywood, I don't hate the cold, I'm used to working outside, but it ain't fun either :). The wood stove in the garage is piled with crap, years of neglect, I have been slowly getting the place back in shape, but that is going to take some time :)

As for your springers :D as everything on your bike, they are larger than life :) the bulk and size of your bike allows them to work pretty well. How do they feel when you bounce up and down on the front end?

I have not really put any thought into my muscle bike forks, other than making a larger version of the ones I have here. I am trying to be simple with the design and the actual parts :) mine is going to look very different next to the wild looks you guys have going :) I think I am going to be the odd ball, the one everyone looks past hehehe. I might, if the weather breaks some go out and get the mockup table ready though. There is no telling what the weather is going to be like around here, my living room in the house is too small for the mockup table, bike parts and the welder right now :) I already have the rim and hub from the chopper hanging in the kitchen :)

TTYL

rich
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

RichL said:
6weeks is best, around here our worst month of the year is Feb, yesterday was in the 20-15 degrees F range, and today will be low teens to single digits# I have a 3 bay garage and it is a bit cramped inside now with the bike and jig in there# I do my mockups out side on a piece of plywood, I don't hate the cold, I'm used to working outside, but it ain't fun either :)# The wood stove in the garage is piled with crap, years of neglect, I have been slowly getting the place back in shape, but that is going to take some time :)
Click to expand...
:shock: That's cold! I would be getting that stove working asap!
RichL said:
As for your springers :D as everything on your bike, they are larger than life :) the bulk and size of your bike allows them to work pretty well# How do they feel when you bounce up and down on the front end?
Click to expand...
Actually pretty good! I was surprised by the spring I got, it actually does seem to have some decent damping action as well... It is fairly soft, but I want it that way, will have to wait and see if it is too soft, I have a second spring/shock I can add on if it is!
RichL said:
I have not really put any thought into my muscle bike forks, other than making a larger version of the ones I have here. I am trying to be simple with the design and the actual parts :) mine is going to look very different next to the wild looks you guys have going :) I think I am going to be the odd ball, the one everyone looks past hehehe. I might, if the weather breaks some go out and get the mockup table ready though. There is no telling what the weather is going to be like around here, my living room in the house is too small for the mockup table, bike parts and the welder right now :) I already have the rim and hub from the chopper hanging in the kitchen :)
Click to expand...
Larger version? :shock: I though this was a small side project! Looking forward to seeing these bad boys! I think you will get plenty of looks with a massive springer on the front, plus your nice swoopy frame! I think all our bikes are going to be so different it will be hard for them to pick a winner! :wink:

Good fun! Actually did my mock up board already, found a couple of issues that wont work without more thought, plus I have shortened the whole frame 4 inches, mainly for looks... I will post up a photo when the internet starts working properly on Saturday. (that's Saturday our time here, so a little over 2 days away...) Been going through my bike stash and finding bits and pieces for the build, found a nice headstem that will suit and other small items. Should only have to buy 2 18tooth freewheels to complete the build, everything else I already have, I bought a super long banana seat for another build and decided it was too big for it, so it will go on this bike.

Luke.
 
Re: Single sided stay/forks '59 Cadillac bike. SCOOTER PICS UP!

Would it be possible to build your own rollerbender? I can't remember where I've read it,but I'm sure there was a post on a forum about this subject. Someone built his own bender and it worked just fine.
Could be here on RRB or FBN,I can't recall. :?
 

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