*Silent Assassin* - Rear Fender Added

[outskirtscustoms]

Come on man get this thing in the finished section TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

 

[laidbackcool]

Dude, you're making me sweat bullets here. I sure hope you finish in time. GTB!!!

EDIT: Sorry, I missed your post on the previous page about probably not being able to complete by Sunday. Work and life certainly caome first. Good luck in both my friend!

Thanks a lot Kingfish! BTW, Firewing looks incredible. Your attention to detail is off the charts!

Don't quit just yet.

Come on man get this thing in the finished section TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

Words will never express how much I appreciate the support I've received from you guys, which makes it even more difficult to accept the reality that I must officially bow out of this competition. The demands of my new job position along with other obligations simply have not afforded me the time needed to finish up this build. There are many more details that I want to add to Silent Assassin. And as much as I want this bike to be complete, I'm not willing to put my stamp on a product that doesn't meet or exceed my expectations for the sake of crossing the finish line. Silent Assassin eventually will get done. Unfortunately, it won't be finished by August 4th, and I would like to have this thread moved to the "Builds" section if possible. I wish my fellow ratters nothing but the best of luck and will be cheering you guys on from the sidelines. Hopefully, I'll be able to rejoin the madness for BO9 next year 8) !

 

[erichitscar]

Sad to hear this... I'm bummed because I just came across this build for the first time, and have been blown away! I understand your obligations, but I hope that you somehow find a little time to complete this beauty! You've done a great job so far! Cheers!

 

[laidbackcool]

Sad to hear this... I'm bummed because I just came across this build for the first time, and have been blown away! I understand your obligations, but I hope that you somehow find a little time to complete this beauty! You've done a great job so far! Cheers!

I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that I was unable to meet the deadline, because the competitor in me wanted to see how I stack up against some extremely talented builders! However, I have promised myself that I'll find the time to get this bike finished no matter how long it takes. I am really honored by your compliment, and it's those kinds of encouraging words that give me the motivation needed to see this project through to the end. Thank you very much !

 

[JaxxKG]

I really like this build, very steampunkish; would love to see it with a proper paint job---excited to see the final result of Silent Assassin ;P

 

[laidbackcool]

I really like this build, very steampunkish; would love to see it with a proper paint job---excited to see the final result of Silent Assassin ;P

I'm still leaning towards the bare metal look, but I'll likely use Duplicolor Black Shadow for paint if the bare metal look runs it's course. I'll be glad when this bike is finally completed too! Thanks for the compliment!

 

[laidbackcool]

Speaking of working on the bike, I actually had some down time yesterday to adjust both fenders, add an ornament to the front fender, add the trimmed-down hubcaps to the rear wheel, and remove paint from the rear double springer fork. Hopefully, I'll find the time today to update the thread with photos.

 

[kingfish254]

Glad to hear the build continues! Looking forward to updates!

 

[laidbackcool]

I'm still ironing out the kinks regarding the placement of the hubcaps on the rear wheel in relationship to the chainstays. I'm definitely several steps closer toward the finish line, and I'm very encouraged by the progress made. Luckily, I'm off work tomorrow and will have a great deal of time to put the finishing touches on the rear wheel so I can transition my focus onto the front wheel. Photos of the new updates will be posted accordingly.

 

[laidbackcool]

I'm still ironing out the kinks regarding the placement of the hubcaps on the rear wheel in relationship to the chainstays. I'm definitely several steps closer toward the finish line, and I'm very encouraged by the progress made. Luckily, I'm off work tomorrow and will have a great deal of time to put the finishing touches on the rear wheel so I can transition my focus onto the front wheel. Photos of the new updates will be posted accordingly.

Well it looks like I was finally able to place the hubcaps at their desired location on the rear wheel with a good relationship to the chainstays. Further adjustments are necessary to the rear fender, but I have a few ideas on how to pull it off with little or no problems at all. Hopefully, I'll have mock-up photos posted tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned!

 

[kingfish254]

You have my attention!
Good luck my friend!

 

[laidbackcool]

You have my attention!
Good luck my friend!

Thanks Kingfish!

Well it looks like I was finally able to place the hubcaps at their desired location on the rear wheel with a good relationship to the chainstays. Further adjustments are necessary to the rear fender, but I have a few ideas on how to pull it off with little or no problems at all...

I made adjustments to the placement of the rear fender, and I'm very pleased with the end result. Unfortunately, I began working on the bike a couple of hours after getting off the clock at my job, and it was pretty much sunset by the time I finished. Hopefully, things will work out to where I can post photos tomorrow afternoon.

 

[laidbackcool]

It's amazing how I couldn't find any time to work on Silent Assassin during the home stretch of BO8, but suddenly I've managed to squeeze in moments here and there after BO8 to make some progress on this build. Finally, I got some updated photos to post. So, here it goes!



The most noticeable item on the first photo is the fender ornament. Here's a much closer view:




The old, rusted rivets broke from the fender, so I replaced them with small screws and acorn nuts. I also did the same thing to the rear fender and even cut the brace in half to widen the clearance in order to prevent rubbing on the sidewalls of the tire. I'll likely use the location of the acorn nuts as a platform for a double tail light setup!



Here are two different angles of the fender braces mounted near the rear dropouts:

 

[laidbackcool]

Remember the color of the double springer fork...?

Gone!



Now onto the biggest development so far in this build...the addition of hubcaps to the rear wheel. It was quite a challenge but I think I may have pulled it off. I will explain how with more photos. Let's start with the drive side hubcap:



Kinda hard to tell, but the hubcap is mounted to the rear sprocket (22 tooth). Holes were drilled not only into the rear sprocket....




...but also into a second and smaller rear sprocket (18 tooth), which was turned inside out to be used as a spacer between the bigger sprocket and hubcap. Washers also were added to each screw to provide additional clearance for the chain and sprocket to roll freely.

 

[kingfish254]

Bit by bit, little by little! Keep plugging away at it my friend!
I really enjoy your build style!!!!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Lookin' good!
I'm still waiting to see if your going to have to move the BB, that thing is l_o_w! 8)

 

[laidbackcool]

Bit by bit, little by little! Keep plugging away at it my friend!
I really enjoy your build style!!!!

I appreciate the love and actually have a few more photos to post!

Now onto the non-drive side hubcap:



As you can see, this hubcap is mounted to a Bondo putty spreader. A hole was also drilled in the middle of the spreader in order to be mounted to the axle.




Last but not least, here's the little doo-dad I put together in order to securely mount the coaster brake arm to the frame.

 

[laidbackcool]

Lookin' good!
I'm still waiting to see if your going to have to move the BB, that thing is l_o_w! 8)

Thanks a lot, and BTW Southern Flyer is one, very cool looking bike! I was not surprised at all by how well it did in the build off :wink: ! But you're right about the BB, and I'm very concerned about having the ground clearance needed to ride this bad boy around the neighborhood. It's funny that you brought that up because that will be my next task of interest once I've installed hubcaps onto the front wheel.




Well good friends, that's it for now. In all likelihood, I'll devote my time tomorrow to trimming the front wheel hubcaps down to size and hopefully have them mounted onto the front wheel as well. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I can have mock-up pics posted by tomorrow, too! If not, they'll definitely be up sometime this weekend. Then, I'll shift my focus to arguably the most important phase of this build: chain, crank and sprocket :roll:. Till next time!!!!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I've been thinking more about your low BB and it occurred to me that you might could use a crank set from a little 12" or 16" kids bike. :idea:
It wouldn't be the fastest bike in town, but it might be short enough to keep the pedals off of the ground. Plus you can find those bikes for cheap at thrift stores or yard sales.

I'm also wondering if the chain will clear the chain stay. If it don't, you might could use a rear derailleur to get it down lower than the frame. :idea: :?:

 

[laidbackcool]

I've been thinking more about your low BB and it occurred to me that you might could use a crank set from a little 12" or 16" kids bike. :idea:
It wouldn't be the fastest bike in town, but it might be short enough to keep the pedals off of the ground. Plus you can find those bikes for cheap at thrift stores or yard sales.

I'm also wondering if the chain will clear the chain stay. If it don't, you might could use a rear derailleur to get it down lower than the frame. :idea: :?:

I just took a measurement from the ground to about the middle of the bottom bracket shell. The number was approximately 7.5 inches but slightly over 7 inches from the base of the BB shell to the ground. So, I'm looking at using a crank set in which the arms are between 4.5 to 5.5 inches in length. Here are a few options I'm looking into:

The legs are about 5.5 inches long, but since it's a prewar crank I would have to search far and wide to find a combination of pieces that will work with the bottom bracket.

I definitely would have no problems finding lowrider bicycle cranksets that fit the profile, but I would love to utilize a conversion kit in order to use a three-piece crankset like this one:

The good thing about this one is that the arms are 140mm or 5.5 inches long with a 40-tooth sprocket. If it all works out, then my only concern would be chain clearance under the chainstay, and it would be worth a shot to try out a derailleur in the event that I run into clearance issues.