The Renaissance Man
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The tires and the curved fender braces where my 'September surprise' for this year! 
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The Renaissance Man
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This is my voting photo.
Man, you did a great job putting this bike together at the last minute. I know it was a struggle, but I think the end result was worth it. It looks awesome! Great job!
The Renaissance Man
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Thanks! Your Shoestring turned out great also!
Thanks!
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The curved braces are an awesome detail, love this bikeThe tires and the curved fender braces where my 'September surprise' for this year!
The Renaissance Man
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Thank you!
I usually try to keep back something to reveal at the end. I knew that I wanted the signature Shelby curved braces all of the way back to the day I decided to build the brat style. I actually used the braces about a month ago on August 9 to determine how far I would need to drop the carrier so that everything would ultimately line up.
New direction.
I tried a set of Felt wheels but the rear tire was too fat to fit under the fender. So I tried it sans fenders and really liked it. It now has a brat style vibe!
It's subtle, but I repositioned the rack closer to the tire and more in line with the rear end of the tank to take up the space of the lost fender. I also found a fork that is shorter than the Shelby so that the tire is pushed up where the front fender would've been. I love how it sits under the tank!
The black wheels and frame work perfectly with the black gel coated glass parts which will save me some critical time not having to paint them. Plus the black motif further reinforces the Brat style! Win Win
TRM-Speedline-RAT is now the TRM-Speedline-BRAT!
View attachment 203841
Ironically in this same post I made a comment about NOT painting it and how it would save me some time. I guess even the best of plans are never guaranteed!
If you wanna make god laugh, make a plan!Ironically in this same post I made a comment about NOT painting it and how it would save me some time. I guess even the best of plans are never guaranteed!
The Renaissance Man
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^Truth!
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Well done mate. The mad rush paid off. Looks killer. Love it.
The Renaissance Man
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Here is an interesting subplot to the story behind the build that happened yesterday.
I started early to finish up as soon as possible. The only fabrication work left to do was to fit the fender braces and drill the carrier. Even though I had to slow down a little to make sure that I had each side matching, it went smoothly and as planned. While lining the braces up I went ahead and finished the drive train to make sure that the axels were where they needed to be as it would effect the position of the braces also. I was lucky that the only hiccup was that I had to flip the chainring over so that the offset pushed the chain farther away from the fat tire. Still no problems except for a minor rub at the dropout that wasn't enough to worry about. I can probably fix it later with a single washer. The rest of the assembly would be simple from here forward.
Now here's the part that involved @kingfish254 even without his knowledge of it until now.
Thinking that I was out of turn four and heading toward the finish line another problem popped up. The handle bars and stem that I borrowed from my first build-off bike 'Southern Flyer' should have been just a simple alignment and quick tighten of the stem bolt. However it turned out that the stem was slightly too big for the steer tube. I had to stop the presses and scramble to find a last minute stand in for the stem. I wasn't having any luck finding a suitable substitute and was wondering if this was how it was going to end. A spin out straight into the wall on the final stretch!
It was then that I noticed what looked like a possible match on a bike that I had recently acquired just two days before I entered the build-off.
This is the bike:
As fate would have it, the stem from the Evans bike was a perfect fit and I was able to finish up the small stuff soon after and proclaim it finished!
You're probably wondering at this point where Kingfish comes in. Here's the rest of the story: Brian is always scouting out bicycles and parts anywhere that he might find them. If you've ever looked at his 'fresh finds' page you would know that this is an understatement! He is also mindful to share his finds with others if he sees fit. So the Evans pictured above was spotted by him first, then passed on to a mutual friend who in turn passed it to me due to some other twists and turns.
In the end, the stem used at the last minute on the Brat was provided indirectly by Kingfish. So I have the Nature Boy to thank for helping get this build across the finish line!
I started early to finish up as soon as possible. The only fabrication work left to do was to fit the fender braces and drill the carrier. Even though I had to slow down a little to make sure that I had each side matching, it went smoothly and as planned. While lining the braces up I went ahead and finished the drive train to make sure that the axels were where they needed to be as it would effect the position of the braces also. I was lucky that the only hiccup was that I had to flip the chainring over so that the offset pushed the chain farther away from the fat tire. Still no problems except for a minor rub at the dropout that wasn't enough to worry about. I can probably fix it later with a single washer. The rest of the assembly would be simple from here forward.
Now here's the part that involved @kingfish254 even without his knowledge of it until now.
Thinking that I was out of turn four and heading toward the finish line another problem popped up. The handle bars and stem that I borrowed from my first build-off bike 'Southern Flyer' should have been just a simple alignment and quick tighten of the stem bolt. However it turned out that the stem was slightly too big for the steer tube. I had to stop the presses and scramble to find a last minute stand in for the stem. I wasn't having any luck finding a suitable substitute and was wondering if this was how it was going to end. A spin out straight into the wall on the final stretch!
It was then that I noticed what looked like a possible match on a bike that I had recently acquired just two days before I entered the build-off.
This is the bike:
As fate would have it, the stem from the Evans bike was a perfect fit and I was able to finish up the small stuff soon after and proclaim it finished!
You're probably wondering at this point where Kingfish comes in. Here's the rest of the story: Brian is always scouting out bicycles and parts anywhere that he might find them. If you've ever looked at his 'fresh finds' page you would know that this is an understatement! He is also mindful to share his finds with others if he sees fit. So the Evans pictured above was spotted by him first, then passed on to a mutual friend who in turn passed it to me due to some other twists and turns.
In the end, the stem used at the last minute on the Brat was provided indirectly by Kingfish. So I have the Nature Boy to thank for helping get this build across the finish line!
Here is an interesting subplot to the story behind the build that happened yesterday.
I started early to finish up as soon as possible. The only fabrication work left to do was to fit the fender braces and drill the carrier. Even though I had to slow down a little to make sure that I had each side matching, it went smoothly and as planned. While lining the braces up I went ahead and finished the drive train to make sure that the axels were where they needed to be as it would effect the position of the braces also. I was lucky that the only hiccup was that I had to flip the chainring over so that the offset pushed the chain farther away from the fat tire. Still no problems except for a minor rub at the dropout that wasn't enough to worry about. I can probably fix it later with a single washer. The rest of the assembly would be simple from here forward.
Now here's the part that involved @kingfish254 even without his knowledge of it until now.
Thinking that I was out of turn four and heading toward the finish line another problem popped up. The handle bars and stem that I borrowed from my first build-off bike 'Southern Flyer' should have been just a simple alignment and quick tighten of the stem bolt. However it turned out that the stem was slightly too big for the steer tube. I had to stop the presses and scramble to find a last minute stand in for the stem. I wasn't having any luck finding a suitable substitute and was wondering if this was how it was going to end. A spin out straight into the wall on the final stretch!
It was then that I noticed what looked like a possible match on a bike that I had recently acquired just two days before I entered the build-off.
This is the bike:
View attachment 209030
As fate would have it, the stem from the Evans bike was a perfect fit and I was able to finish up the small stuff soon after and proclaim it finished!
You're probably wondering at this point where Kingfish comes in. Here's the rest of the story: Brian is always scouting out bicycles and parts anywhere that he might find them. If you've ever looked at his 'fresh finds' page you would know that this is an understatement! He is also mindful to share his finds with others if he sees fit. So the Evans pictured above was spotted by him first, then passed on to a mutual friend who in turn passed it to me due to some other twists and turns.
In the end, the stem used at the last minute on the Brat was provided indirectly by Kingfish. So I have the Nature Boy to thank for helping get this build across the finish line!
View attachment 209031
That's awesome man!!!
So many parts and pieces in these buildoffs have a deeper RRB genealogy than we know.
This really turned out to be a beautiful bike. Fun story about the parts too. I need to start saving some penny's for one of your tanks!
The Renaissance Man
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Thanks everyone for tagging along!
It's been fun (and a little stressful during the last few days) but mostly fun as usual! -Jim
For more pics, here's the finished bikes thread.
It's been fun (and a little stressful during the last few days) but mostly fun as usual! -Jim
For more pics, here's the finished bikes thread.
The Renaissance Man
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Got the Brat out today and took my obligatory corrugated wall shot.
All of my bikes go there eventually. It's like a TRM mug shot
All of my bikes go there eventually. It's like a TRM mug shot
The Renaissance Man
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Here's another shop door pic.
Thatβs kind of gorgeousβ¦
The Renaissance Man
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I disassembled the bottom end yesterday to address some of the short cuts that I took in the final days/hours of the build-off.
I started by hand drawing the individual letters on the computer creating a vector file to cut the adhesive vinyl stencils.
My first attempt had some ugly places in the letters that looked bad up close.
So I removed the paint and started with a new mask today.
I've found that it is best to do the stenciling after the tires are mounted and inflated.
The center of the 'e's and 'o's were lined up using the letters that were cut away.
Then those letters were discarded.
The outside of the stencil was masked off and then spray painted with flat white.
The first coat was a light coat and was allowed to dry to the touch.
Then a heavy second coat was applied and the stencil was promptly removed while the paint was still wet. I made the mistake of letting the finish coat dry before removing the stencil and it caused problems with trying to lift the paint and leaving rough edges. Today was sunny and over 90 deg outside so it was important to work fast!
The centers were removed and the paint was left to dry in the sun!
All of the edges are much sharper now! It's a small thing but was worth taking a few hours today to clean it up.
More small updates will be coming as I get to them.
I always like to take process pictures and explain what I'm doing but I just couldn't take any extra time during that last push to the end. I wasn't happy with the lettering, so here is a step by step on stenciling the tires that I did today.
I started by hand drawing the individual letters on the computer creating a vector file to cut the adhesive vinyl stencils.
My first attempt had some ugly places in the letters that looked bad up close.
So I removed the paint and started with a new mask today.
I've found that it is best to do the stenciling after the tires are mounted and inflated.
The center of the 'e's and 'o's were lined up using the letters that were cut away.
Then those letters were discarded.
The outside of the stencil was masked off and then spray painted with flat white.
The first coat was a light coat and was allowed to dry to the touch.
Then a heavy second coat was applied and the stencil was promptly removed while the paint was still wet. I made the mistake of letting the finish coat dry before removing the stencil and it caused problems with trying to lift the paint and leaving rough edges. Today was sunny and over 90 deg outside so it was important to work fast!
The centers were removed and the paint was left to dry in the sun!
All of the edges are much sharper now! It's a small thing but was worth taking a few hours today to clean it up.
More small updates will be coming as I get to them.
Sweet technique!
