BarrelBanana Lowrider - still in (ab)use

[SwissGuy]

So tonight I made some serious progress (closing in on the finish line)
Drive train finished:

It shifts like a charm, chain tension is close to perfect.

Lights are done and operational. Although I have to work over some of the details (headlight is to weak, battery is rattling inside the housing, other screws on the taillight):

 

[SwissGuy]

Last night, when I came back up from the basement, my wife called me a freak because of my bike building. I think that qualifies me as a member of this community...

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Last night, when I came back up from the basement, my wife called me a freak because of my bike building. I think that qualifies me as a member of this community...

Welcome to the club!

Luke.

 

[Jake Sensi]

Go RAT Go!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

 

[Chad T]

Last night, when I came back up from the basement, my wife called me a freak because of my bike building. I think that qualifies me as a member of this community...

Welcome to the club!

Luke.

Yep.....looking good SwissGuy.

 

[SwissGuy]

Took a ride to a friend to show of and to discover some of the small tids and bits that usually come up after the first few kilometers.

I think this qualifies almost as a fountain pic

And a few more

All in all I can say, I'm almost ready to head over to the finished thread...

 

[OddJob]

Last night, when I came back up from the basement, my wife called me a freak because of my bike building. I think that qualifies me as a member of this community...

Or as I like to call it.... f-Rat-ernity! 40 psi!
Psi Valva Kappa baby!

 

[SwissGuy]

The taillight started as a large electrical plug housing, a reflector and four LED flashlights

First I had to cut and grind the reflector to the right size:




One of the flashlight buttons I used as well. It was a perfect fit into the cable opening of the plug:


Then I fabricated a base for the four reflectors of the flashlights. I first tried to make it of a piece of sheet metal, but failed. Finally I made it from thin plexiglas:


With both red reflector and flashlight reflectors done, I glued them together and drille some holes in the corners to fit it into the plug housing.
After testing the right wiring everything was soldered properly:


Then I fabricated mounting brackets underneath the seat from some IKEA hardware:


And tadaaa, it works:


After the testride I changed the mounting of the taillight a bit, but forgot to take pictures of it. I will attach them to this post later.

 

[SwissGuy]

Some more pictures from yesterdays test ride:

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Really nice work on building the taillight, thanks for the walk-through, I am sure it will help next time I need to build one!

Luke.

 

[SwissGuy]

Really nice work on building the taillight, thanks for the walk-through, I am sure it will help next time I need to build one!

Luke.

Thanks! Maybe I'll make a instructable out of it for future reference. We'll see.

 

[SwissGuy]

I was out for a early evening ride and made some nice pics. While riding I thought, that everything added now would be too mutch, it's a rat after all, thrown together from the scraps and bits I had at hand.
So I'll call this build done and head over to the "finished thread".

It was fun to build and share, now it's time to ride!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

That rake front to rear just screams HOTROD!

Luke.

 

[kingfish254]

Love the light.
Those nightime shots turned out great
Way to rock the cool fountain/stream/waterwheel pic too.
What a fun and cool build!

 

[SwissGuy]

That rake front to rear just screams HOTROD!

Luke.

The longer I look at it, the more I think alike...

Love the light.
Those nightime shots turned out great
Way to rock the cool fountain/stream/waterwheel pic too.
What a fun and cool build!

It was just the perfect conditions to take pictures. It was completly unplanned, but then I drove by that greenish wall and gave it a shot. Next time I have to bring a tripod with me. The parking lot was a kind of let's see if it works out longshot...
Btw: Just added the waterwheel pic to the official finished posting.

And to both of you: Thank you for keeping us all on tack, for your encouragement and especially for the inspiration through your builds! Guys like you make this site the good place it is to share a common passion/freakness/addiction/hobby/call-it-what-ever-you-want. It's fun to "be" here and contribute!

 

[SwissGuy]

Just added a short ride video to my finished posting:

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Cool video!

Luke.

 

[SwissGuy]

A finished Ratrod is never completly finished....
Just added a set of grips (and a bell for safety...)

But for the "finished thread" I will stick with the pictures I already got...

 

[OddJob]

Like the vid! Great to see the bikes in action. Looks like it fits you well.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Like the vid! Great to see the bikes in action. Looks like it fits you well.

It does look good, love videos for that reason, so hard to get a real feel of a bike in just photo's...

Luke.