Drops for the rear getting roughed out. Made it the style that will hopefully fit a drop stand, which I also plan on making from scratch.
BO15 32" Motorbike
- Thread starter deven_science
- Start date
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I had some bigger rears cut once that fit over a standard 16t freewheel, just weld them to the teeth on the back. From memory they were 42t.
I have not yet made a rear one, but i see no reason why it won't work
Great build! If you need a custom laser-cut sprocket for this one - let me know
I'll have to remember that!
Now back to your normally scheduled build........
Got it all tacked up as a roller, but wasn't super happy with how the back seemed to be sitting up high, so even though it took some work, I cut a half inch out of the seat stays, and re-tacked it. It probably could go even lower, but I think I'll call that good. Now a mid-bar, and to weld it all up. Then on to the sheet metal and other parts. Here's the before, and after lowering it a bit.
Lowering the rear end really did change the vibe. Isn't it amazing what our 'eye' can do to guide us to the right look?
I don't remember what your tire selection was, but I like the look of those on there. Reminds me of an old slot car we used to have back in the day. Looked a bit like this:
Except ours was a dull silver...almost raw.
I don't remember what your tire selection was, but I like the look of those on there. Reminds me of an old slot car we used to have back in the day. Looked a bit like this:
Except ours was a dull silver...almost raw.
A closer look at the welding as I'm putting in the mid-bar. The silicon-bronze filler rod is giving me a bit of the "brazed" look, though maybe not as "brassy" as I'd hoped for. Now I'll ponder whether to add some brazing filler over it, or not. That would be a lot of extra work. We'll see.
The Renaissance Man
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Looks good!
So I'm assuming that you're planning to leave it bare metal and filing/sanding the welds smooth.
So I'm assuming that you're planning to leave it bare metal and filing/sanding the welds smooth.
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
The tubes have the almost iridescent "torched" look, but the welds themselves have an almost copper color, as opposed to the brass. Still cool, I wouldn't hide it with paint or filler, unless you NEED the "old school cool" of the brass.
Also, a reminder that I'm not a welder, just a fan of nice welds, so take my input with a grain of salt
Also, a reminder that I'm not a welder, just a fan of nice welds, so take my input with a grain of salt
Shaping up well.
I wasn't thinking of smoothing the welds, but It'll be left bare metal for sure.
Mid-bar welded in, and some vintage parts thrown on it to get a feel for it.
Build looks tight. When do you go into mass production? There's a cruiser bike shortage right now in the USA.
There's a frightening amount of work just to get a seat tube, post, and clamp all done, but hey, it's complete, and works well.
I'm planning on leaving it bare metal when complete, though it might have some pin striping and a clear coat. To go well with the bare metal, I plan on adding brass pieces here and there, where possible, but without a bunch of extra doodads. Here's my custom coaster brake strap.
I looked at those latest pics and forgot it was 32", it looks like a 26". Large cruiser frames will definitely see more interest in the near future. Everyone will want to know where they can get one.
Without anything to give it perspective scale, it looks like you stripped down an old frame to bare metal. Great work!
I like the AC brake strap too.
It's really gonna be fun with you show this to us next to a normal scale bike or a human.
I like the AC brake strap too.
It's really gonna be fun with you show this to us next to a normal scale bike or a human.
Those pics will come soon.
With that in mind, here's a couple of shots with more parts on it. It is now a working bike. The saddle I bought at a flea market in Germany a few year ago, and the bars are really wide, like for a cycletruck or something, so I extended the bar ends 3 1/2" to bring them even more to scale. It's actually a pretty comfortable ride, though we'll see if that's effected by all the weight coming soon when I add the sheet metal parts.
Very cool progress!
