Peace Love and Choppers (Finished)

[OddJob]

I almost hate to say this, but I like the pic in your post #117 without the horn, and without the panniers. I mentioned before, this bike reminds me of a scalpel ....slicing through the wind! And with that red tank on there, has a bit of a Swiss army knife feel to it. It is sleek and fast and lithe the way it sits in that pic! Just my .02, and the gold will really accent the crank and tie it in more!

 

[johnp.smith]

I almost hate to say this, but I like the pic in your post #117 without the horn, and without the panniers. I mentioned before, this bike reminds me of a scalpel ....slicing through the wind! And with that red tank on there, has a bit of a Swiss army knife feel to it. It is sleek and fast and lithe the way it sits in that pic! Just my .02, and the gold will really accent the crank and tie it in more!

As much as I like the panniers and the horn, after getting them on there, I realized I didnt like them on the bike, kinda why they are not there in that latest picture. A friend gave me a better way to approach my original rear fender idea. Im wating it to be flat across. It will start at the bottom of the frame and then flatten out straight back in line with the lower bar under the tank. Trying to look like a model T fender. I have limited tools at home and cant use anything at work for personal things so we will see if it works out. Im playing with different ideas for the horn.

The tank will not stay red. The tank, frame, headlight body, and rear fender if I can get it right will all be the same color. I discovered hammered paint yesterday and may go with one of those instead of basic black, dont know yet

 

[johnp.smith]

My girlfriend just sent me this picture from my test ride this morning. The bike rides really nice. Doesnt turn on a dime but who cares

 

[OddJob]

I have used the Rust-Oleum hammered paint for some art pieces in our home. It is very heavy, and wants to drip and run easily. Stand way back, and use a large 'drifting' type of movement to decrease the runs. You do waste paint this way, and it's fairly expensive, but those runs are nearly impossible to repair once they start.....Good Luck! Be anxious to see it!

 

[johnp.smith]

I have used the Rust-Oleum hammered paint for some art pieces in our home. It is very heavy, and wants to drip and run easily. Stand way back, and use a large 'drifting' type of movement to decrease the runs. You do waste paint this way, and it's fairly expensive, but those runs are nearly impossible to repair once they start.....Good Luck! Be anxious to see it!

Thanks for the tip, I have painted a few little brackets so far in just basic black and it makes me nervous to do. If the hammered paint is that hard to deal with then I may just stick with the basic paint

 

[Fv2]

Hammered paint isn't bad, just have to learn some tricks. I used it on the wheels for my Indian moped restomod, it looks good once you get use to the flow.

 

[horsefarmer]

Hammered paint isn't bad, just have to learn some tricks. I used it on the wheels for my Indian moped restomod, it looks good once you get use to the flow.

Wheels, that sounds cool!

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Like others have commented....REALLY digging that horn!
(the rest of the bike is cool too....[emoji12])


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[johnp.smith]

Like others have commented....REALLY digging that horn!
(the rest of the bike is cool too....[emoji12])



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I really like the horn too. I am debating on having i on the bars or somewhere else. It will be on it somewhere for sure

 

[johnp.smith]

I worked on my fender idea all afternoon, and I dont like it. And the more I look at the latest picture of the chopper, I might not use the horn after all. I am liking how clean and simple it is if it were painted as is. I have a lot of funky parts left over and might try to really steampunk something else.

 

[OddJob]

I think that ^ is a great idea! Pick a heavier frame and wheel combo that can carry a load, and then go wild with your steampunk ideas! As I have said a couple of times before, you have a very good look going with the bike.....now a new name is probably needed.... something with both 'chop' and 'slice' might be appropriate...

 

[johnp.smith]

Its not so much a heavier load, im starting to like the simplicity of how it suts basically. I plan to ride it quite a bit

I have acquired an awesome collection of extra cool parts and have my next build in mind already. Actually the frame is more traditional and the goofy steampunk stuff would actually go better on it in my opinion. I have learned a lot from my experimenting and others builds on here to see what goes together well and what does not. I get one idea from one person and another from someone else

But in the end its all in fun

 

[Chad T]

Its not so much a heavier load, im starting to like the simplicity of how it suts basically. I plan to ride it quite a bit

Looks super comfy to ride.

I have learned a lot from my experimenting and others builds on here to see what goes together well and what does not. I get one idea from one person and another from someone else

But in the end its all in fun

That's the great thing about doing these build offs. Sharing the knowledge and getting inspired by other people's creativity. I only pretend to be competing because it helps me justify my appetite for cool high tech bike parts.

 

[johnp.smith]

I havent been able to work on my chopper at all this weekend, I have been playing San Francisco tour giide for two days and this morning I was able to see some friends off as they begin their 7 day 545 mile journey to LA as part of the Aids Lifecycle ride. I was registered and would be riding but a new job came in to play and I was unable to get the time off. My girlfriend and I hope to ride next year.

Anyways, yesterday in the Mission, I spotted this home made Rat tandem and a really cool doble springed cruiser locked up to a pole. Two rides worth mentioning here.

 

[OddJob]

Nice finds. Yes, the sharing of ideas makes this one of the best (if not THE best) sites I've ever been on. And as one astute builder put it, "And after it's created, you get to ride it!"

 

[Fv2]

Very cool.
Will be in the bay area in about 2 weeks, looks like there might be some photo ops.


San Francisco street posts, the new fountains?

 

[johnp.smith]

Very cool.
Will be in the bay area in about 2 weeks, looks like there might be some photo ops.


San Francisco street posts, the new fountains?

There are many awesome places to ride and so much to do here. Bicycles are allowed on the bart trains and the ferry boats if you ride across the golden gate bridge. The busses in SF are crowded and do not have racks for bikes. Bring a good lock and dont leave any really nice parts like brooks seats unattended. They will grow wings

 

[johnp.smith]

Meanwhile, I think I just solved my kickstand problem, I have a double leg kickstand that when it is fully extended that it is still not long enough to support my bike. I found an old pair of crutches in the garage from when I broke my leg in high school. Im thinking of drilling out the rivets that hold the armpit holder to the frames. If my kickstand legs fit nicely inside then I can cut them to what ever length I need. I will have to wait another week to try this since I do not have any tools here

 

[johnp.smith]

Sorry to go off the subject of my chopper but its 90 miles away and I wont get to play with it until the weekend. In the meantime, I was playing with some spare parts today. I had this old Giant frameset that was set up for a 3 or 7 speed. The 24 by 3 on the back is from the Kona chopper, and the 20 by 3 up front is off the Jesse James Chopper. Does anyone know if a springer fork would raise the front more than a stock cruiser fork or would a monarch springer do that at all? If I had a crankset, a long brake cable and some apehangers, I have enough parts to make a muscle bike. Im a little curious if the pedals would hit the ground or not as is or do I need to raise the front. I went way over budget on the chopper build and cant get too carried away with this

 

[OneHorsePower]

i think any shock fork would give you at least 1'' more clearance over the wheel , good thing with most springers , is there are ways to modify or ajust the hight

i like this bike , nice stance and shape