Oberleutnant - the fall of the Third Reich [FINISHED]

[kowalski385]

Ok...definitely "last minute" entry on the forum, but better late than never, right?

I started this project somewhere in June and I rushed it to be finished for the annual expo in near tow on July 9th; unfortunately, I completely forgot about the build off and the forum, so I hope this complies with the rules.

For starter, this is the original state it came in, two years ago:

since then, it was waiting in the corner to get under the spotlight.

 

[kowalski385]

The genuine light-bulb moment was when I was on my regular flea market hunt and I got original, pretty beat-up front light from a old german motorcycle:

Then it hit me; I'll make a old BMW motorcycle tribute, some kind of a board tracker (euro version). The idea soaked in my head for a while, and then somewhere in May a friend came over to invite me to present my bikes on a street art exhibition he and his crew were organizing on July 9th. I already had enough bikes to bring to the show, but I wanted to roll out on the pavement with something new; so I made myself a deadline-July 8th.

Well, now is the moment to come clean: I actually forgot about the build off and I merely remembered it while talking to my girlfriend; but when I look at it now, I did start after May 1st and I did finish on July 8th...ish; and you will see the progress pictures.

 

[kowalski385]

First thing first; let's chop the seat down and back, to get the stance I was going for.

And then, put on something more vintage to sit on; old Brooks is perfect for the job.

Then, let's figure out how to fabricate a springer fork, because this is rat rod, and it's the way to do it.

First idea was on this trail:

 

[kingfish254]

Welcome back brother! I remember you cool MASH bike last year.
For some reason your photos are NOT showing up
EDIT

 

[brett4christ]

I think KF meant to say the pics are NOT showing up...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kowalski385]

Oops...sorry guys, wrong links, now I uploaded pics on the forum so I hope they are showing.

Yes, it's me, the creator of the M*A*S*H 4077 bike from BOTEN; you can see it lurking from the bike stand while I make him another brother.

 

[OddJob]

I see some pics now so must be working. Keep them coming!

 

[kowalski385]

Big spring on the fork was looking too bouncy to me, so I decided to go with something less nervous; rear shock from a junk bike.

Ok, now what? I know-let's make a wooden rocker plate and cram a motorcycle hub in there!

 

[kowalski385]

I wanted to have front and rear drum brake hubs that look impressive, oversized and massive; as I couldn't find a big enough bicycle front drum brake hub, I decided to go with the moped hub-that required to have custom spokes but fortunately, I found a guy that makes Greyborg bikes and has the tool for making different length spokes.

For the rear, I snooped around a friends garage and found a perfect rear wheel with drum brake and freewheel thread which I immediately turned into 6 speed.

Oh, did I mention that steel chromed rims (matching ones) were an absolute must-have? I have a few aluminium wheels with IGH and drum brakes, but as I was going for the oldschool look, it had to be steel.

 

[kingfish254]

I like where this is headed, or should I say where it has already been.
Thanks for remembering the BO and bringing us up to speed.

 

[kowalski385]

Now when I write this, I'm kinda sorry for not sharing the frustration and excitement that goes with every build (doing one right now as we speak) on the forum, but I'll try to share crucial moments of the build and I believe you'll get the feeling.

And of course, if I was on the forum while building, I would probably do something different (presumably better).

 

[horsefarmer]

Really like that front fork idea!

 

[kowalski385]

Speaking of fork...I had to do a quick mock-up to see can I keep the front fender on the bike or it would be a hard thing to do.
Fortunately, it fits.

At this point of build I still haven't got the moped hub front wheel, so I'm using a regular one as a model, which later turned out as a problem, because I had to redo the rockers twice; hub is more wider and hub axle is bigger.

 

[Chad T]

Great job of keeping track of the process. Looks cool. Love the chopper off to the right of that last pic.

 

[kowalski385]

Chopper on the last pic has an euro version of stingray frame, and I did it this spring; combination of banana seat, long chrome forks and unrestored, molested frame.

You can check it on my fb page Retrolution cycles, where you can see my other bikes.

 

[Fv2]

You've been pretty busy with this one, glad to see it.

 

[kowalski385]

You can't have a proper bike without a tank; so I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

First, make the template out of 0.8 sheet metal.

As I wasn't quite satisfied with the metal "tank" and I didn't have the time/skill to make real metal tank, I went to the next best thing-wood.
Used sheet metal as a stencil, and cut it out out of 50mm wood plate; pretty thick, not to big, it sits as close to the frame as I want to. Little bit of sanding down, but I'm happy with the outcome.

edit: oh yeah, I almost forgot about the heavy-duty central kickstand.

edit#2: as you can see on the pics, I chopped the seat to lowest possible point because I want to get as close as possible to that low sitting position vintage motorcycles had, while not ruining the rideability of the bike.

 

[kowalski385]

And finally, my monstruosity of a springer fork is complete....it's aliveee!

Custom wheel with moped hub came in, brackets for the shock are made and bolted on and everything is ready for futher mock-ups.

Completed the wheelset, tried the whitewalls but not sure if they're gonna stay...they just don't fit in look I'm going for.

 

[kowalski385]

After bars selecting session was over, it was time to try the bike position; took the tank down because it needs more sanding down and made a few laps around my yard just to se how it goes. The frame itself is maybe a little small for me (I'm little over 6 feet with 180 pounds), and the seat is low for stance purposes, so I'll have to find a most usable way to ride this thing.

First, more upright position:

Then more lean&mean boardtracker style:

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I like lean and mean!