New Guy from Cincinnati.

[LRayCincinnati]

I have always wanted to build an old rat rod chevy truck but I don't have the money or the know how. I have built a rat rod old suzuki motorcycle but times were rough so I sold it. I am sad and wanna do something rat. I saw that american pickers show (which I hate) and those guys found an old bike with a tank. I grew up working on bmx bikes as a kid. I had a million parts and was the city bike shop for all the kids wheeling and dealing. I was known for having what you wanted. So basically used to work on bikes almost daily. That got me into a search for the last year for an older tank bike. I go to flea markets and yard sales all of the time but never really paid them much attention since i was a bmx guy. Well now I am 30 and bought a 26" bike to ride with my girlfriend at the park once or twice a week. I always liked old school stuff so have no clue why I always ignored these cool bikes. Anyhow I bought what appears to be a 1960 sears flightliner with the headlight. It's in rough shape but looks all original. I paid 50 bucks for it. I don't care if I overpaid because I just wanted this frame. Later that day at a yardsale I saw a 20" orange county chopper bike for 20 bucks. It has the triple trees and the red rims on it with new tires. I got thinking, what if I trade off some parts and all that. I know the crank will need to be shorter so it doesn't hit the ground but it got me thinking rat rod instead of just restoring the old bike. I googled ratrod bikes and here I am. I love some of the bikes on here and it's nice to know that there are other's out there doing this already. I am gonna look at all the pictures in the gallery and see what's going on out there. I am LRay from Cincinnati and I am 30 years old. Mechanically inclined and artistic. I own an art studio in downtown Cincinnati. I do painting and photography using an old 1920's box camera. I do some sculpture and some leatherwork so I dabble in a lot of areas of art. I can't wait to turn this bike into a rat rod work of art. I am gonna cut the headlight off and do some metal work to keep the tank but finish off the front so I can use the triple tree front end. Should be one tough looking bike. Thanks for existing for guys like me!

 

[old school 64]

Welcome from California..be careful..these bikes are addictive !! You will be finding them all over now, and won't be able to turn any down !! Enjoy !!

 

[Markm]

welcome :mrgreen:

 

[LRayCincinnati]

thanks guys. I know what you mean. I almost bought a girl's schwinn today from the 50-60's but I passed up. I made myself not buy it. I was thinking I already have a cool project to work on and unless it's something really ...... I won't get it. I am itching to work on the bike project but it's been raining and temp is like 90's everyday with heat index well over 100 so it keeps me from doing it. Wish I had a basement!

 

[necessaryevil]

Welcome to the site LRay. Plenty of folks here from the Cincy area, you should check out Cincinnati Rat Riders.

 

[LRayCincinnati]

Hey, good to hear. I actually just found the rat riders myspace and facebook by doing some googling. I see you guys do rides a few times a month. I plan on being done with my new build by the next one so I might just be there to meet everyone.

 

[Galtbacken]

Welcome!