My Cyclophobie: Oh my God its a Rat Rod!

[El-Toro]

Since the first time , a few months ago, when i saw the rat rods on this side, i wanted to have a rat rod . But there was a problem: in germany there are no rat rods which are cheap and cool enough ( 8) ) for a 16 years old boy... ..... so i needed a solution.....
RIGHT!: I´ll build one myselfe!

since a month now i have the necessary material and the tools for building a bike, but i had so much to do for school that i hadnt time for building the rat rod. but now i have got holidays and I have already used this time :mrgreen:

here the pictures:

the basic bike:


first operation: a difficult amputation :lol:



then i cuttet a second tube
after that i welded the two tubes.....notice that it was the first time that i welded something :roll: so the resulting beauty of the weld is accordingly :roll: :lol:





the ugliest and fatest weld ever: :lol:



today i spend the whole day welding and grinding.

i used filling compound to overlap the welds.


tomorrow when the fillin compound will be cured i´ll grind it. after that i hope that i will be able to make a little test ride


i´m still not sure in which color to paint the Rat Rod .
I range between indian-red (the famous red color of this vintage motorcycles) and britsh racing-green. :?
your opinion?


more pics will follow oh and........excuse my bad english :roll: :? :|

 

[CCR]

sweet !! youve gotta custom straight bar now !!that old toptube works great

i vote red

PS your english is better than mine :mrgreen:

 

[Hooch]

awesome job!
it is so cool this website can influence a 16 year old in Germany to tackle his first full on custom welded bicycle!
I cant wait to see you finish!

 

[xddorox]

Wow! Looking very good so far. That's a real rat rod. :mrgreen:

 

[KOTA]

Nice job RECYCLING the top tube, can't wait to see it finished! 8)

 

[ej599]

Great vision. looks good! What kind of welder did you use. A little advice? next time grind a little more paint off the metal before you weld. I usually grind about 2" or 4 cm from any metal i weld. the paint will melt and contaminate the weld. It looks like thats what might have happened to you. Bare, clean metal, inside and out ALWAYS welds the best. I commend you for not giving up :wink:

 

[mastershake916]

You're kinda putting us (those with easy access to cruiser frames) to shame.
This is a really nice looking bike.

 

[Firewalker]

nice going! making it even in the snow! Note worthy of a true RatRodder

 

[El-Toro]

Great vision. looks good! What kind of welder did you use. A little advice? next time grind a little more paint off the metal before you weld. I usually grind about 2" or 4 cm from any metal i weld. the paint will melt and contaminate the weld. It looks like thats what might have happened to you. Bare, clean metal, inside and out ALWAYS welds the best. I commend you for not giving up :wink:

i´m using a "normal" electric welding apparatus.

yep....i noticed very quickly that the paint wasn´t good for the weld. :roll: for the front welds it was too late but at the rear welds i grinded the paint off.

 

[ej599]

Yeah, paint, chrome, galvanization (this WILL make you sick too), oil, grease or coating etc has to go. I even clean the weld area inside a tube on a critical weld. I use a round wire brush for this. Also wipe your materials close to the weld site clean with a solvent that doesnt leave a residue. Rubbing alcohol, carb cleaner, laquer thinner etc. will work. Just make sure the area is dry and when finished cleaning, keep the solvents in their containers away from the sparks, safety first. I was wondering if you used a wire feed (mig) or stick welder? Welding in a drafty area will displace the inert gas, even when using flux core wire. This will also cause contamination. Use big pieces of card board or plywood as a wind block. When indoors to use a fan to remove the smoke and fumes from welding use the backside of a fan to pull the smoke rather than push, but not too close. Just close enough to pull the smoke. I'm thinking of posting a short welding 'how to' post to help some of the beginners. maybe I will. Has anyone ever welded over a braze? I've never tried it and was wondering if that should be ground off also. Please post more pics of your progress. Thanks.

 

[El-Toro]

today i grinded the filling compound, unfortunately it was too uneven so i had to level it out. Now i have to wait again for tomorrow for the final grinding :lol: .




oh by the way: does someone know the RAL number of the Indian-red ?



greedings from south-germany

 

[oldgreenbean]

Hey El Toro,Keep on it! That bike is looking real cool from here. It is just doing it,Do not be scared or care if you are not a pro welder.Everyone was new at one time.I am still learning myself.The most important thing is that you are gettin it done.REAL COOL BIKE from junk.Keep the pics coming!

 

[Easy Skywalker]

Wow! This is so cool! Very creative!
Way to go! Affentittengeil!
Any colour will look great on this frame!

 

[Hugo]

That's a cool mod to make on a ladies frame! It's already on my projects list. :wink:

Hugo

 

[Anonymous]

Good Deal.Another Board Tracker!

Hey El,It looks good from here...and my first two Board Track bikes started out as ladies frames too.

I dont know the code for 'Indian Red' paint,but maybe there may be some info on an Indian Motorcycle website,or just pick a shade of red that you like.

My current project is also an Indian Board Tracker...

 

[Chainsaw]

Great job! I was wondering when someone would "Bull-up" a lady's bike! Regular straightbars are slicker than goose poop, but a homemade version just makes it that much mo' slick. I'm definitely keeping an eye on you! :shock: Now get back to work on this beast. :mrgreen:
Chainsaw

 

[mastershake916]

Good Deal.Another Board Tracker!

Hey El,It looks good from here...and my first two Board Track bikes started out as ladies frames too.

I dont know the code for 'Indian Red' paint,but maybe there may be some info on an Indian Motorcycle website,or just pick a shade of red that you like.

My current project is also an Indian Board Tracker...

It could be and would make a nice cruiser also.

 

[karfer67]

wow i feel like such a sissy when i see bikes built like this outside in the snow etc.... very nice work and yet ANOTHER bike that makes me want to get a welder. nice work and what filler are you using does not look like good ol bondo.

 

[El-Toro]

today i finished with the frame works and i orderd the paint ..i finally decided to take a british racing green ....i hope i´ll get the paint on friday.

 

[El-Toro]

i´m back with my project

today i finally had enough time to start painting the frame. It´s still just the Primer but i hope i´ll be able to finish the paint in the next days....

here the first pictures: (bad quality because here it´s very dark)

The frame in my Painting-Tent

"luke i am yur father....." :lol: :