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Hot Rod Hawthorne
- Thread starter handyandy1100
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Magnificent!
Nice work on that chainguard-fender fitting!
I decided to take a tip from Kingfish and go on vacation during the build-off!
Italy is above my pay grade though, so we're going to visit my wife's kinfolk deep in the heart of beautiful western Arkansas.
As Willy would say, "On the road again..."
Italy is above my pay grade though, so we're going to visit my wife's kinfolk deep in the heart of beautiful western Arkansas.
As Willy would say, "On the road again..."
Enjoy ypur vacation!
It seems to be listing to port...need to shift some ballast.
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Bentonville is kinda bicycle-friendly.
We pass through Bentonville on I-30 to get to Arkadelphia.
Not seen many old bikes. A couple of European(?) cottered crank bikes at the local flea market, but no balloon tire bombers. Did find this old metal Daisy 880 pellet rifle there. Had to get it. New seals and it should be a fun plinker. A real Arkansas built Daisy makes a great souvenir. LOL
Maybe I should make a scabbard for the Hawthorne to carry a pellet rifle. Ought to attract a lot of attention riding through subdivisions back home!
Maybe I should make a scabbard for the Hawthorne to carry a pellet rifle. Ought to attract a lot of attention riding through subdivisions back home!
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On the way home. Stopped at a little joint west of Memphis for some barbecued chicken and fried taters.
I hear Mac and Don use only meat from the back legs of the chicken, too. They say that's the best.
Back home again in North Carolina! It's always nice to visit family, but it's always nice to go home too!
Been working on a shift lever a bit since getting home.
I like to do the inletting first since it's the hardest part.
It's also time to get busy on making a drop stand. That will include a run to Home Depot today. Need some water softener salt too.
Gratuitous Grandbaby Picture Alert!
Our first grand daughter. Been resisting the temptation to post her picture, but as the Borg is known to say, "Resistance is futile."
Been working on a shift lever a bit since getting home.
I like to do the inletting first since it's the hardest part.
It's also time to get busy on making a drop stand. That will include a run to Home Depot today. Need some water softener salt too.
Gratuitous Grandbaby Picture Alert!
Our first grand daughter. Been resisting the temptation to post her picture, but as the Borg is known to say, "Resistance is futile."
More work on the shifter.
Some "magic fingers" to hold the lever in place and a cover smooth it all up
Test ride went well, except for the occasional metallic clatter of parts falling off onto the road.
Had backtrack and find all my not glued in yet "cooling fins!!"
Now it's time to purty up that 2" slab of aluminum into something akin to a vintage motorcycle shift lever.
Some "magic fingers" to hold the lever in place and a cover smooth it all up
Test ride went well, except for the occasional metallic clatter of parts falling off onto the road.
Had backtrack and find all my not glued in yet "cooling fins!!"
Now it's time to purty up that 2" slab of aluminum into something akin to a vintage motorcycle shift lever.
Shifter is getting there. Lot of work with the hacksaw in that thing. A lot of filing too. Figured one piece would be more structurally sound and better looking than scabbing two pieces together.
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Got the shift cable shortened and rerouted. Need to get a few old fashioned hose clamps to properly hold the cable in place.
Oh my, almost dropped to page 2!
Figured out my chain tension dilemma. Original screws looked like maybe #12 fine thread, so since #12-24 is all I can find, I bought a #12-24 tap and rethreaded the frame slots. Seems to work fine.
Couldn't use the BMX chain tensioners. They would have interfered with the big project of the day, the drop stand!
I know the original drop stand would have been a big hunk of heavy steel C-channel. This is a hot rod. Hot rods need to keep weight low, right? So I went to Home Depot (local rat bike parts store) and bought some poor man's billet aluminum to build the drop stand.
Figured out my chain tension dilemma. Original screws looked like maybe #12 fine thread, so since #12-24 is all I can find, I bought a #12-24 tap and rethreaded the frame slots. Seems to work fine.
Couldn't use the BMX chain tensioners. They would have interfered with the big project of the day, the drop stand!
I know the original drop stand would have been a big hunk of heavy steel C-channel. This is a hot rod. Hot rods need to keep weight low, right? So I went to Home Depot (local rat bike parts store) and bought some poor man's billet aluminum to build the drop stand.
There are great examples from the wizard Sheldon Brown of using 2x4s through the frame to allign the different sides back into the proper planes. I think I had to do that with my Western Sizzler frame a few BOs ago.
Killer tank, oil tank, shifter, fender, work on the bike.
The drop stand looks great in it's functional position, but it kinda detracts from the hotrod vibe flow of the bike when hiked up to the bobbed fender.
The drop stand looks great in it's functional position, but it kinda detracts from the hotrod vibe flow of the bike when hiked up to the bobbed fender.
Yeah, I was sort of bummed about the look of the stand in the up position. Need to do some refining on that.
