BAD NEWS: My Twisted Take on a Western Flyer Newsboy Special

[Bike from the Dead]

Those holes are either drains or vents.

When welding sealed, capped, or abutted tube you need to leave venting for the hot gas and smoke or you run the risk of blow back out the end of your weld. Usually more prevalent on smaller diameter tube

I thought they served a purpose! Thanks!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I've been lightly tinkering with Bad News over the past few days, testing out a few suggested ideas here and there. I mocked up these baskets I had in storage, but they just busied up the look of the bike.

I just got some washers and nuts this evening to try and adjust the springer fork so the straight bars point right at the front axle, and keep the fork from compressing too much while riding. I found a spare master link for my chain, so I slapped that back on so I could test ride the bike.

What followed next was an absolute disaster. I just tried to pedal in a straight line down the driveway, but I could not for the life of me get this bike under control! I don't blame it on the bike, so much as I blame it on me. I have almost no experience riding lowrider bikes, which this bike is kind of built like. I'm used to steering with the handlebars, not... however I'm supposed to operate this contraption. And before anyone says anything, no, I don't really know how to ride a motorcycle either, so any knowledge on riding one of those won't help me figure out how to ride this.

Can anyone help me figure out how to ride this bike? I'd hate to go back to a stock-ish fork setup after coming up with this wild design, but I'd like to be able to ride this bike, even if it's just for short distances.

 

[GeePig]

You might need some kind of damping in the steering to slow down the steering movements. I don't know what other, more experienced people think, but as a test you could tighten down the head set a little, just for a test down your drive, or drop the front tire pressure a little.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

You might need some kind of damping in the steering to slow down the steering movements. I don't know what other, more experienced people think, but as a test you could tighten down the head set a little, just for a test down your drive, or drop the front tire pressure a little.

I'll try tightening the head set sometime today. I don't know how much it'll help, but it's worth a shot! Thanks!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

You might need some kind of damping in the steering to slow down the steering movements. I don't know what other, more experienced people think, but as a test you could tighten down the head set a little, just for a test down your drive, or drop the front tire pressure a little.

GeePig, you were right on the money! Tightening the head set did the trick!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Great news! I'm finally getting the hang of riding this bike! @GeePig totally called it! Tightening down the head set dampened the steering, so I was able to keep this bike relatively under control! I managed to ride this bike around the cul-de-sac and the next more than once here in the past 30 minutes. It's far from perfect, it takes preparation and a decent amount of space to turn this bike around, but against all odds, this bike is still rideable. There's still a lot of room for improvement, but I think I can push forward with this wild design.

I did manage to scrape the pedals while I was learning how to steer, but I'm not too worried about that.

 

[Oldbiscuit]

Great news! I'm finally getting the hang of riding this bike! @GeePig totally called it! Tightening down the head set dampened the steering, so I was able to keep this bike relatively under control! I managed to ride this bike around the cul-de-sac and the next more than once here in the past 30 minutes. It's far from perfect, it takes preparation and a decent amount of space to turn this bike around, but against all odds, this bike is still rideable. There's still a lot of room for improvement, but I think I can push forward with this wild design.
View attachment 175639

I did manage to scrape the pedals while I was learning how to steer, but I'm not too worried about that.
View attachment 175640View attachment 175641

I understand your design and I love it ! However, have you tried putting the handle bar neck back on top and putting the ape hangers top side ? It would still have that extreme rake/dragster look but with the steering from a more upright position.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I understand your design and I love it ! However, have you tried putting the handle bar neck back on top and putting the ape hangers top side ? It would still have that extreme rake/dragster look but with the steering from a more upright position.

Unfortunately, it's impossible with the way the steerer tube is built. That top bolt goes all the way through the steerer tube. I can't put the handlebars in their normal position without undoing the raked fork setup. If it wasn't for that, I would definitely try what you suggested. That said, I have some ideas for a more attractive custom fork that'll provide the same rake as the current fork, but flow with the rest of the bike better. Depending on how that goes, I might be able to setup the handlebars like you suggested, or at least make the handlebars flow with the design better than they currently do.

 

[69SHOVLHED]

i like it for the sheer weirdness of it. looks like something Dr Seuss would have ridden. the original was more peewee Herman.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

i like it for the sheer weirdness of it. looks like something Dr Seuss would have ridden. the original was more peewee Herman.

Thanks! It does have a kind of Dr. Seuss vibe, especially with the handlebars coming up from under the frame. Yeah, the original was nice and all, but I like it so much better this way!