ol' 327

[bring.doom]

Ok, well this build will be slow since money is scarce and I still dont have any fab tools but I wanted to get something started, and if I didnt start this I never would and the bike would be finished with no background story and thats no fun.

To start with the name. ol' 327. 327 is/was my racing number when I raced/rode mx. Well Im out of it for now but still love it and the number so Its gonna be the name of the bike.

Im looking to do a flat black, 3 speed, saltflat inspired bike. Im making a tank plate that I want stripped and the number 327 on it like they had on the old salt flat cars and bikes.

Here is my bike to start out with when I first got it and de stickered it. I rotated the bars forward so they were off my lap, but that put a weird angle in the grips and hurt my wrist. I was gonna get some mini apes but then I took on a donated bike with some different bars.

Here is the bike as it sits now. I broke a stock plastic pedal and had these platforms in the basement so they went on for now. I also flipped these bars and threw them on. I love how it feels but I think it looks goofy. I wanna get a bmx style stem and some bars with the same bend but flat so that hump isnt there.

Things that will happen next. I have a sturmey archer 3 speed hub off an old bike and I wanna run that and fab up a jocky shift to use on it because I hate cables and levers on my bars fora bike like this. This leaves me with no brakes and like I said I dont like levers nore do I like rim brakes. I have seen universal disc brake adapters that work on flip flop hubs but I want to make something work so I can run a rear disk and have that work off another jock shifter opposite the gears. I also wanna get a springer fork. I plan on running a 3 inch 24 on the back.

Anyone got some tips on making a tank plate?

 

[Uncle Stretch]

They do have s/a rear hubs with a coaster brake. Probably easier to find a 3 speed nexus with a coaster . they are miles ahead of s/a's . Oh thats just my opinion....something about that stupid little chain. :roll:

 

[bring.doom]

They do have s/a rear hubs with a coaster brake. Probably easier to find a 3 speed nexus with a coaster . they are miles ahead of s/a's . Oh thats just my opinion....something about that stupid little chain. :roll:

I might consider that. That is if I can sell the s/a for enough money. I was basing the use of the s/a by the fact I own it, lol. The little chain is kinda fruity, lol.

 

[two spot]

I can't claim to be an expert on tank plates since I have only ever made one, but it did turn out pretty good. my advice is to make a full size template from some rigid material like stiff cardboard or thin plywood.

The bottom one is the template I made. It was cut from a piece of 1/8" thick MDF (particle board) on a band saw. I fine tuned the template with a spindle sander to get the fit just right. Once I got the fit perfect I traced the shape on a piece of 1/8" aluminum plate. I cut the final plate out with my jigsaw.

The plate was secured to the frame with aluminum collar clamps from mcmaster.com I had to cut a slice out of the clamp to accommodate the thickness of the plate. In the picture there was one clamp that fit around the seat post tube that I had not yet installed. Once all three clamps were on the plate was rock solid.

Regards,

Two Spot

 

[bring.doom]

Here is a quick update. different direction, no saltflat bike, now a bobber styled bike. I guess its gonna be a flat out rat rod, Imagine that. So Ill be changing the name, to save OL' 327 for another build, that will more then likely be some sort of racer inspired build.

I added some white mini apes off a 20" girls bike, black front wheel, stem and forks from a 1990 american made huffy.

I had a tank plate made outta plywood for mockup but decided Im taking the frame to work to do the simple chop mod on monday so it will get re done.

Here is some pictures

I love this angle

White walls on black rims = coolness. Almost as cool as red rims.

All in all, I like this direction better, besides its much more comfy now.

 

[sensor]

looks good! as for the making the tank plate........what i do is get some contact paper, stick it on the frame (make sure its tight and has no wrinkles) trace the inside of the frame on the contact paper with a sharpie,then stick the contact paper onto a thin sheet of cardboard and cut it out(the boxes that you get clothes in for christmas work great) then cut it out with scissors,fit it to make sure youve got a good fit,if so then transfer it onto whatever material your using by tracing around the outside,and then cut and mount it
good luck and post some pics when its done :mrgreen:

 

[bring.doom]

looks good! as for the making the tank plate........what i do is get some contact paper, stick it on the frame (make sure its tight and has no wrinkles) trace the inside of the frame on the contact paper with a sharpie,then stick the contact paper onto a thin sheet of cardboard and cut it out(the boxes that you get clothes in for christmas work great) then cut it out with scissors,fit it to make sure youve got a good fit,if so then transfer it onto whatever material your using by tracing around the outside,and then cut and mount it
good luck and post some pics when its done :mrgreen:

I tried using just plain old coragated cardboard but when I cut it, the edges left something to be desired and the end result of plywood looked like crap! I like the idea of contact paper, or even the thin cardboard boxes, they would cut way easier.

 

[sensor]

they do work well that how ive made the tanks on my last 3 bikes :wink: