well let me first start off with this is the first bike I've ever built. A friend of mine built a rat rod and made me want to build something. i was fortunate enough to be working at a auto body shop, and was able to paint the bike myself with a pearl white color I created myself. this took me about 4 months with a good amount of my free time and money going into parts and work on it. so here goes
the beginning that was one of my dads projects he let me take on. very good starting point
We couldn't locate the bolts for the swinger suspension so i made my own
went to a local Bike junkyard and found a sprocket i liked and front and read wheel hubs
next i knew i wanted a nice vintage looking headlight. there was only one i wanted after seeing it in the headlight/taillight board. i searched for about a month for one that resembled it but could not find one at all. so i ended up emailing the member and he parted with it for a very good price.
here was my inspiration for the light
heres the on-off push button. got it pretty flush
the light was a little low and was touching the front fender when the suspension was loaded so i extended the headlight bracket
eBay buys
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i found a nice seat that was already redone by the owner. spray painted blue underneath and re-chromed frame.
she's coming together
Next was i didn't want to damage the hard to find tanks. I had to do something so it wouldn't get dinged by the springer front end if the handlebars were to swing all the way around. this is what i came up with, cut and files down some steel rod and a couple tack welds later
plenty of clearance on both sides
i found a reproduction rack lens on eBay.
ended up putting a short LED flashlight under there.
for the wheels and tires i wanted something that would stand out. thanks to Critter1 again i got some inspiration from his Lackluster Build
viewtopic.php?f=68&t=59878&p=574534#p574534
i went with the same tires he had on that bike on some NOS 26 rims
to get a little more out of the wheels i wanted BIG spokes. i rounded up some 11 gauge spokes. i soon realized they would not fit. so i measured the diameter of them and was off to the hardware store to buy the two drill bits i needed. one for the hubs and one for the nipples to go through the rims
Now the body work and paint begins
plugged that hole
front hub (Red reflection is from the heat lamp)
My Bendix Kickback Hub Yellow Band. took it all the way apart and figured out how to clean and lube it up to proper working conditions.
now the frame and my custom pear paint job i did.
heres the tank guards
polished badge
and a good amount of elbow grease to get that brass headlight to shine again
EVERYTHING SHOWED UP FROM THE COPPER PLATTER!!!
im so excited, tank, SPOKES, springer front end, Seat pan, and some odds and ends
the assembly begins
i purchased this copper chain
i took the wheels to a local shop that was known to have a good spoke lacer. I dropped them off only to find out the spokes were to big and were not lacing up properly. I was so disappointed after wanting them to be one of the big standing out points on the bike, so i picked them all back up. The next day i decided to see what he was talking about, I watched a couple videos on youtube on lacing wheels. found out that while loose the spoke heads were laying on top of the themselves but when starting to tighten everything fell into place.
COMPLETE (sorry for the blurry pics)
this is the only non blurry pic i have. ill get more soon
HOPE YOU ENJOYED LOOKING AT MY FIRST BIKE BUILD
the beginning that was one of my dads projects he let me take on. very good starting point
We couldn't locate the bolts for the swinger suspension so i made my own
went to a local Bike junkyard and found a sprocket i liked and front and read wheel hubs
next i knew i wanted a nice vintage looking headlight. there was only one i wanted after seeing it in the headlight/taillight board. i searched for about a month for one that resembled it but could not find one at all. so i ended up emailing the member and he parted with it for a very good price.
here was my inspiration for the light
so i started where he had left off on it. i purchased a giant flashlight from the local hardware store for the reflector but ended up gutting the flashlight and using it for parts.Critter1 said:Here's an old boat marine light. I bead blasted the brass and painted the bezel black. I still need to fill it with LEDs. I'm gonna try to use the 90 LED flash light from Harbor Freight.
heres the on-off push button. got it pretty flush
the light was a little low and was touching the front fender when the suspension was loaded so i extended the headlight bracket
eBay buys
i found a nice seat that was already redone by the owner. spray painted blue underneath and re-chromed frame.
she's coming together
Next was i didn't want to damage the hard to find tanks. I had to do something so it wouldn't get dinged by the springer front end if the handlebars were to swing all the way around. this is what i came up with, cut and files down some steel rod and a couple tack welds later
plenty of clearance on both sides
i found a reproduction rack lens on eBay.
ended up putting a short LED flashlight under there.
for the wheels and tires i wanted something that would stand out. thanks to Critter1 again i got some inspiration from his Lackluster Build
viewtopic.php?f=68&t=59878&p=574534#p574534
i went with the same tires he had on that bike on some NOS 26 rims
to get a little more out of the wheels i wanted BIG spokes. i rounded up some 11 gauge spokes. i soon realized they would not fit. so i measured the diameter of them and was off to the hardware store to buy the two drill bits i needed. one for the hubs and one for the nipples to go through the rims
Now the body work and paint begins
plugged that hole
front hub (Red reflection is from the heat lamp)
My Bendix Kickback Hub Yellow Band. took it all the way apart and figured out how to clean and lube it up to proper working conditions.
now the frame and my custom pear paint job i did.
heres the tank guards
polished badge
and a good amount of elbow grease to get that brass headlight to shine again
EVERYTHING SHOWED UP FROM THE COPPER PLATTER!!!
im so excited, tank, SPOKES, springer front end, Seat pan, and some odds and ends
the assembly begins
i purchased this copper chain
i took the wheels to a local shop that was known to have a good spoke lacer. I dropped them off only to find out the spokes were to big and were not lacing up properly. I was so disappointed after wanting them to be one of the big standing out points on the bike, so i picked them all back up. The next day i decided to see what he was talking about, I watched a couple videos on youtube on lacing wheels. found out that while loose the spoke heads were laying on top of the themselves but when starting to tighten everything fell into place.
COMPLETE (sorry for the blurry pics)
this is the only non blurry pic i have. ill get more soon
HOPE YOU ENJOYED LOOKING AT MY FIRST BIKE BUILD
