Ratty jet bike. DONE 1/20

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Re: Ratty jet bike....mockup pic

Thanks guys...the creme tires and wheelset are off my military bike. I have a skiptooth set of 24s that I am in the process of rebuilding the Model D hub and painting the rims. Once I get those laced up, I am going to put them on the Military bike with the creme tires. I don't think I am going to use this wheelset for now. I may put it aside for RRBBO8. It is the same heavy duty wheelset that I used on my Grumpy bike. I want a black 3spd on this jet bike.
 
Re: Ratty jet bike....blast off

I found this cast iron rocketship bottle opener. Not exactly where and how its going to be mounted, but its going on the bike....I also got a set of vintage 24" wheels from Oz. I haven't been too excited about using a new modern wheelset on this rat bike....just doesn't fit. I think I am going to strip the set down that I got from Oz, clean up the hubs, paint the rims black and go that direction.

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Re: Ratty jet bike....blast off

I would throw some pedals and call it done, love how it stands right now...
 
Re: Ratty jet bike....blast off

Onewheelsqueel said:
Cool rocket. Is it vintage, or repro? Ive never seen one.

Thanks...it is repro. I saw it on ebay and thought it was vintage, but then did some searching around and found that you can get it at Amazon or wherever. It is cast and heavy for the size.

Gdcast said:
I would throw some pedals and call it done, love how it stands right now...

Thank you.....I like it too, but I borrowed the tires from my military themed bike and I want to use vintage wheels rather than the nice chrome new ones. Also, I have never built a fat tire bike with whitewalls, so I want to try that since I need to get tires anyway.
 
Re: Ratty jet bike....blast off

Yeah, I need to get to building....Once I get the wheels done, I could probably finish it in a day or so...I plan on entering it in the rat category at the Hoosier show in a month....
 
Re: Ratty jet bike....blast off

Yeah, I know....pictures or it didn't happen, but I did get a good amount of work done this past weekend. Got the frame stripped and painted to match the forks. I was careful not to get too "clean" with the finish as I wanted it to match. I also opted to go with a set of vintage 24" wheels rather than newer 3spd. I have the wheels torn down, rims painted black, new departure Model D hub rebuilt and ready to be laced back up. Once the wheels are done, it's just a matter of assembly.

Good thing because I still have the 41 Huffman tanker to restore and thanks to a friend over on the CABE, I might have another SUPER cool 85yr old project on the way. I'll post it in Fresh Finds as soon as I get it!
 
Re: Ratty jet bike....blast off

Finally after the holidays I got back to working on this bike. I am planning to finish it tomorrow. The wheelset took a little longer than I anticipated to strip the wheels, sand the rims, paint the rims, , clean the spokes/nipples, rebuilt and clean the hubs and then re-lace the wheels. I keep thinking that it would have been so much less trouble to just spend $75 and buy a wheelset, but that kind of defeats the purpose right? I mean if I was going to do that, wouldn't it have been much easier just to buy a new Felt cruiser? I don't mean that in a negative way. Just saying that for me, the idea is to build up a custom vintage bike. Besides, I love the looks of the New Departure Model D hub with the oiler! Then again, I did buy a set of new tires!

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Re: Ratty jet bike....blast off

Peatbog said:
That is a cool tire. The whitewalls will look really sweet with the matching white on the tank and chainguard.

You know, I think this is going to be my best build yet....I cleaned up the tins and they have a nice shiny rat look to them. I painted the frame a gloss black to match the fork. I think this one is going to have the perfect amount of patina and bling.
 
Re: Ratty jet bike....blast off

Terry66 said:
Besides, I love the looks of the New Departure Model D hub with the oiler!

+1....and you certainly wouldn't get that with a $75 set of store-bought wheels!

That's gonna be one sweet bike. 8)
 
Re: Ratty jet bike...almost done....

Couldn't sleep this morning, so I went out to the garage around 5:30a and "got to building". I got the front rim sanded and painted. Still have a coat or two to put on before I lace it up. I also started the final assembly. I think I am going to add a bobbed chrome rear fender. I really like the simple truss rod setup. I have a roadmaster springer on the way, but I am thinking I'll save it for something else. I still need to add the glitter springer, the apes and I found some cool old Sears red grips. I also need to figure out some sort of headlight.

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Re: Ratty jet bike...almost done....

x3. Looking forward to seeing more of it.
 
Re: Ratty jet bike...almost done....

WOW!! :shock:
 
Re: Ratty jet bike...We have a roller!

Yes, my friends, we have a roller... :lol:

Still need to adjust the seat, add the headbadge, Western Flyer speedo, pedals and a kickstand....and maybe a bobbed fender. I always think Apes will look cool and then I start not liking them. Not sure they are staying, but we'll see if they grow on me.

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