gulf themed cruiser - Le Mans - DONE(ish)
- Thread starter redstar
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:
Re: gulf themed cruiser
a little more work done. sprayed the wheels black. trying to decide the final color combo on them. i've narrowed it down to 1) black spokes/hubs, orange rims, white wall tires 2) orange spokes/hubs, black rims, blackwall tires. thoughts?
sanded the rough spots on the frame and repainted.
I took the seat apart to start recovering it. some friends stopped by while i was working and one mentioned he had started building a lowrider a few years ago and never finished. short story even shorter, I bought it for the parts fairly cheap. heres a pic.
I'm thinking of using the banana seat and the fenders for sure. going to mock it up tonight with the fork, seat, fenders and see how i feel but I'm thinking that lowrider springer isn't what I was looking for for a fork.
a little more work done. sprayed the wheels black. trying to decide the final color combo on them. i've narrowed it down to 1) black spokes/hubs, orange rims, white wall tires 2) orange spokes/hubs, black rims, blackwall tires. thoughts?
sanded the rough spots on the frame and repainted.
I took the seat apart to start recovering it. some friends stopped by while i was working and one mentioned he had started building a lowrider a few years ago and never finished. short story even shorter, I bought it for the parts fairly cheap. heres a pic.
I'm thinking of using the banana seat and the fenders for sure. going to mock it up tonight with the fork, seat, fenders and see how i feel but I'm thinking that lowrider springer isn't what I was looking for for a fork.
Re: gulf themed cruiser
apologies for the cell phone pics....
mocked up the seat and the springer.
couldnt tell about the height without tires so i borrowed the new rims/tires
i kinda like the low slung look of the fork but i think it will not be a comfortable thing for dad to ride for very far (he called and told me he rode 13 miles today), and it will make it hard for him to transport it places.
I was just going to stick with this:
but i found i assembled the headset a little wrong last time and now the head tube isnt long enough for the locknut to go on too....
looks like i will be back to the stock fork for now unless i find something soon. I am also on the fence about the banana seat. any opinions on it? I was thinking it might help with the racecar inspired look but I'm just not sure.
I tried the springer on my chief for fun with the apes that were on that new bike.
but it would take some work to get this to fit proper with the thick bricks and I'm not in love with it enough for that.
I'm not planning on using this springer if anyone is interested I will probably sell it or trade it for something else.
apologies for the cell phone pics....
mocked up the seat and the springer.
couldnt tell about the height without tires so i borrowed the new rims/tires
i kinda like the low slung look of the fork but i think it will not be a comfortable thing for dad to ride for very far (he called and told me he rode 13 miles today), and it will make it hard for him to transport it places.
I was just going to stick with this:
but i found i assembled the headset a little wrong last time and now the head tube isnt long enough for the locknut to go on too....
looks like i will be back to the stock fork for now unless i find something soon. I am also on the fence about the banana seat. any opinions on it? I was thinking it might help with the racecar inspired look but I'm just not sure.
I tried the springer on my chief for fun with the apes that were on that new bike.
but it would take some work to get this to fit proper with the thick bricks and I'm not in love with it enough for that.
I'm not planning on using this springer if anyone is interested I will probably sell it or trade it for something else.
Re: gulf themed cruiser
We have had a nice warm week here so I've been trying to get as much as possible done. last night I had some friends stop by to help. lots of sanding and masking. One of them has a degree in graphic design and helped with the color placement and then did the frame masking. Taped off the frame for its orange parts. taped the spokes and nipples. primed some parts. painted the front end parts orange. started working on the "tank" Also, we rebuilt my chief with the ape hangers and rode it around the neighborhood for fun. I will take some pics before the next round of work.
We have had a nice warm week here so I've been trying to get as much as possible done. last night I had some friends stop by to help. lots of sanding and masking. One of them has a degree in graphic design and helped with the color placement and then did the frame masking. Taped off the frame for its orange parts. taped the spokes and nipples. primed some parts. painted the front end parts orange. started working on the "tank" Also, we rebuilt my chief with the ape hangers and rode it around the neighborhood for fun. I will take some pics before the next round of work.
Re: gulf themed cruiser
Great work so far!
Gulf racing livery is one of if not the best paint scheme ever!
Keep up the great work!
Great work so far!
Gulf racing livery is one of if not the best paint scheme ever!
Keep up the great work!
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2010
- Messages
- 12,545
- Reaction score
- 2,885
Re: gulf themed cruiser
I guess great minds think alike... My petty build started out the same way. It's like twins!
I guess great minds think alike... My petty build started out the same way. It's like twins!
Re: gulf themed cruiser
outskirtcustoms, that is pretty sweet!
lots of work tonight in anticipation of the "perfect frankenstorm" wanted to get as much painting as possible done prior to the temp drop that is coming.
I painted the fork and bars on wednesday night. I had painted the fork before not intending to use it but just for color scheme planning and mock up. I had to sand a lot of spots down. I gave these a coat of clear this afternoon and there was some wrinkling of the paint (and there was some cursing). guess they hadn't cured enough even after the 48 hours the can recommends..... will be sanding the bad spots again and painting again. here they are on my paint rack aka the tree in the backyard.
here is he masking that my friend jon and I did on wednesday:
and 2 coats of orange paint later:
while i waited for this to dry to remove the masking I worked on the seat pan with a wire wheel and some sandpaper and then painted it and the chainring / cranks / odds and ends black. ran out of orange paint so the wheels didnt get done today.
removed the tape and voila!
I am really happy with this. i will let this cure a few days (or a week) and then it will get black pinstriping to separate the colors. just going to use the pinstripe tape from the auto parts store. I plan to clear over the stripes as well. I bought gloss clear but I am really considering going with a matte finish instead, any thoughts? In the mean time I need to make my "tank", buy more paint, recover the seat, paint lots of little parts, bob the fenders and paint them, paint the rims and touch up the wheels, rebuild the coaster brake....man this list seems longer all the time.
heading to a bike parts "swap meet" at a LBS tomorrow morning. most everyone in these parts is hardcore road or mountain bikers but maybe I can find some cool parts on the cheap. tires and grips are the order of the day. maybe a headlight if I'm lucky.
outskirtcustoms, that is pretty sweet!
lots of work tonight in anticipation of the "perfect frankenstorm" wanted to get as much painting as possible done prior to the temp drop that is coming.
I painted the fork and bars on wednesday night. I had painted the fork before not intending to use it but just for color scheme planning and mock up. I had to sand a lot of spots down. I gave these a coat of clear this afternoon and there was some wrinkling of the paint (and there was some cursing). guess they hadn't cured enough even after the 48 hours the can recommends..... will be sanding the bad spots again and painting again. here they are on my paint rack aka the tree in the backyard.
here is he masking that my friend jon and I did on wednesday:
and 2 coats of orange paint later:
while i waited for this to dry to remove the masking I worked on the seat pan with a wire wheel and some sandpaper and then painted it and the chainring / cranks / odds and ends black. ran out of orange paint so the wheels didnt get done today.
removed the tape and voila!
I am really happy with this. i will let this cure a few days (or a week) and then it will get black pinstriping to separate the colors. just going to use the pinstripe tape from the auto parts store. I plan to clear over the stripes as well. I bought gloss clear but I am really considering going with a matte finish instead, any thoughts? In the mean time I need to make my "tank", buy more paint, recover the seat, paint lots of little parts, bob the fenders and paint them, paint the rims and touch up the wheels, rebuild the coaster brake....man this list seems longer all the time.
heading to a bike parts "swap meet" at a LBS tomorrow morning. most everyone in these parts is hardcore road or mountain bikers but maybe I can find some cool parts on the cheap. tires and grips are the order of the day. maybe a headlight if I'm lucky.
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2010
- Messages
- 12,545
- Reaction score
- 2,885
Re: gulf themed cruiser
Looks great, a thin white pinstripe to separate the blue and orange might really set it off nice. Just an idea :wink:
Looks great, a thin white pinstripe to separate the blue and orange might really set it off nice. Just an idea :wink:
Re: gulf themed cruiser
a little work done today. removed masking from the wheels (what a pain). the paint isn't perfect but I'm pleased enough not to mess with the rims anymore. Will have to mask off the rims for some touchup on the spokes/hubs but that will wait a few days for the orange to cure and hopefully the temps to come back up. Also added the black pinstripe with automotive pinstriping tape. I'm pleased with the look but i may redo one side to help with symmetry from the top view.
onto the pics:
a little work done today. removed masking from the wheels (what a pain). the paint isn't perfect but I'm pleased enough not to mess with the rims anymore. Will have to mask off the rims for some touchup on the spokes/hubs but that will wait a few days for the orange to cure and hopefully the temps to come back up. Also added the black pinstripe with automotive pinstriping tape. I'm pleased with the look but i may redo one side to help with symmetry from the top view.
onto the pics:
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2010
- Messages
- 12,545
- Reaction score
- 2,885
Re: gulf themed cruiser
Looks great.
Looks great.
Re: gulf themed cruiser
Thanks,I thought so too.
more work tonight: waiting on paint to dry so i worked on the saddle for a bit. again,since this is a build for dad i had to get the look i wanted but the comfort so that he will actually ride it. I had broken the seat that came on my chief last year (hence the brooks) but i thought i had kept it somewhere and maybe i could fix it or use its cover or springs. I spent half an hour in the garage looking in every spot big enough for a seat but no luck....oh well.the stock seat is a persons and it is comfy enough, but the black vinyl had to go. I had previously separated the pan from the base and painted the base. I recovered a vintage (knockoff) eames lounger a few years back and saved the leather. I decided this would be a good place to use it. you can see from the pics that i used the old cover as a template. then i stretched and pulled and stretched for half an hour before my wife had a brilliant binder clip idea. I set the base in the pan for now to give the leather a chance to form to the pan. next week sometime i will stretch it again and try to attach the base to the pan.
Thanks,I thought so too.
more work tonight: waiting on paint to dry so i worked on the saddle for a bit. again,since this is a build for dad i had to get the look i wanted but the comfort so that he will actually ride it. I had broken the seat that came on my chief last year (hence the brooks) but i thought i had kept it somewhere and maybe i could fix it or use its cover or springs. I spent half an hour in the garage looking in every spot big enough for a seat but no luck....oh well.the stock seat is a persons and it is comfy enough, but the black vinyl had to go. I had previously separated the pan from the base and painted the base. I recovered a vintage (knockoff) eames lounger a few years back and saved the leather. I decided this would be a good place to use it. you can see from the pics that i used the old cover as a template. then i stretched and pulled and stretched for half an hour before my wife had a brilliant binder clip idea. I set the base in the pan for now to give the leather a chance to form to the pan. next week sometime i will stretch it again and try to attach the base to the pan.
Re: gulf themed cruiser
no heat in the garage and it has been cold here. finally warm enough to paint today and I was pretty busy... too busy to snap pics before it got too dark. re-did the black pinstripe to even the sides up a bit. Also, used a heat gun on low to set the adhesive a bit better as some of it had pulled itself off. sanded a little and and touched up the paint on everything, then clear coat on the frame fork and stem/bars. I ended up going with matte clear as I can never seem to get a good even shiny finish with the gloss. Also sanded down all the hardware and painted it all black. sanded/prime/base coated a rear fender. will let that cure for a week or two and then lay down a center orange stripe. I had been soaking all the bearings in degreaser for a week to get the old grease out of them. cleaned them up and began cleaning out the rear hub/coaster brake. going to regrease everything prior to install. now for the most part I'm just waiting for everything to cure and the reassembling it.
no heat in the garage and it has been cold here. finally warm enough to paint today and I was pretty busy... too busy to snap pics before it got too dark. re-did the black pinstripe to even the sides up a bit. Also, used a heat gun on low to set the adhesive a bit better as some of it had pulled itself off. sanded a little and and touched up the paint on everything, then clear coat on the frame fork and stem/bars. I ended up going with matte clear as I can never seem to get a good even shiny finish with the gloss. Also sanded down all the hardware and painted it all black. sanded/prime/base coated a rear fender. will let that cure for a week or two and then lay down a center orange stripe. I had been soaking all the bearings in degreaser for a week to get the old grease out of them. cleaned them up and began cleaning out the rear hub/coaster brake. going to regrease everything prior to install. now for the most part I'm just waiting for everything to cure and the reassembling it.
Re: gulf themed cruiser
took the frame and parts off the paint tree and moved them into the shop this morning. quick pics:
I think I've given up on the idea of a tank made of wood. I don't want to obscure the top tube with a clamp and I'm not sure about how to attach it....best case would have been to weld on tabs before i painted but i dont have a welder and now its way too late. still may get a number plate onto the bike somewhere. any ideas on the tank or a number plate, I would love to hear them.
Tires arrived a few weeks ago. going to do something a little special to them before they go on though. gotta run by the bike shop this week and get the orange chain I ordered.
took the frame and parts off the paint tree and moved them into the shop this morning. quick pics:
I think I've given up on the idea of a tank made of wood. I don't want to obscure the top tube with a clamp and I'm not sure about how to attach it....best case would have been to weld on tabs before i painted but i dont have a welder and now its way too late. still may get a number plate onto the bike somewhere. any ideas on the tank or a number plate, I would love to hear them.
Tires arrived a few weeks ago. going to do something a little special to them before they go on though. gotta run by the bike shop this week and get the orange chain I ordered.
Re: gulf themed cruiser
Looking great man!!
Looking great man!!
Re: gulf themed cruiser
work progresses.
lots of touch up painting. reassembled the rear hub. installed the tires on the rims. installed the fork/headset and the crank....lots of greasing parts today. I polished up the seatpost and then masked it off to paint the top of it black. painted most of the hardware black today. somehow i lost one of the front axle bolts so i will see if i can pick one up at he bike shop on tuesday when i pick up the chain. also painted the stripe on my spit of a fender and finished it. pedals will be here this week. a friend gave me a set of yeti lock on grips and bar end caps. I cut out pieces of leather to cover them today and my lovely assistant is going to stitch them together. i was originally going to buy leather covered grips but worried they wouldnt match the seat so just decided to make them.
the tires are cheap cheng shin city tires but they give the look i wanted, almost flat across and squared off. I had some cool BBS valve stem cap/covers from a set of wheel i had once (tire shop lost 2 so i just had these laying around) and they give a nice motorsport look. there are some pics.
even though it wont be seen, i decided to finish the underside in a cool way too.
here is a mock up with the wheels on
hard to see in the pics but the valve caps are like this:
really happy with how its looking. i have wednesday off so i hope its not too cold so i can "almost" finish it. there are a few aesthetic details to add still but it will be great to get it to ridable status.
work progresses.
lots of touch up painting. reassembled the rear hub. installed the tires on the rims. installed the fork/headset and the crank....lots of greasing parts today. I polished up the seatpost and then masked it off to paint the top of it black. painted most of the hardware black today. somehow i lost one of the front axle bolts so i will see if i can pick one up at he bike shop on tuesday when i pick up the chain. also painted the stripe on my spit of a fender and finished it. pedals will be here this week. a friend gave me a set of yeti lock on grips and bar end caps. I cut out pieces of leather to cover them today and my lovely assistant is going to stitch them together. i was originally going to buy leather covered grips but worried they wouldnt match the seat so just decided to make them.
the tires are cheap cheng shin city tires but they give the look i wanted, almost flat across and squared off. I had some cool BBS valve stem cap/covers from a set of wheel i had once (tire shop lost 2 so i just had these laying around) and they give a nice motorsport look. there are some pics.
even though it wont be seen, i decided to finish the underside in a cool way too.
here is a mock up with the wheels on
hard to see in the pics but the valve caps are like this:
really happy with how its looking. i have wednesday off so i hope its not too cold so i can "almost" finish it. there are a few aesthetic details to add still but it will be great to get it to ridable status.
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2010
- Messages
- 12,545
- Reaction score
- 2,885
Re: gulf themed cruiser
That is killer! I like the fender. Nice touch doing the under side too.
That is killer! I like the fender. Nice touch doing the under side too.
