Proud Mary - A throwback Huffman ratrod bike

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I ordered a pair of 1" motorcycle seat springs, and added one to the top of the springer. Not only does it fill the space nicely, but I consider it extra insurance that the tire won't stuff itself into the bottom of the fork crown.

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I ordered a pair of 1" motorcycle seat springs, and added one to the top of the springer. Not only does it fill the space nicely, but I consider it extra insurance that the tire won't stuff itself into the bottom of the fork crown.

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Please note that display of my headbadge in its entirety would likely get the photo, if not this entire thread, removed. I'm doing my best to keep things clean.
 
Lol the struggle is real.
Y’all are right, the struggle is real. The high road is most always the hardest.
Some of us, “of whom I am chief”, sho do ‘ppreciate it.
Now back to bicycles, that is a really nice creation you got going on.
Those tires, those fenders, that light, those bars, that fork!
 
I don’t know why, but when I look at this bicycle I’m seeing that Groucho Marx movie in my head where he’s riding around a department store on a bicycle. He crashes & winds up on a unicycle with handlebars
 
"By George, I think he's got it!" ~ George Bernard Shaw (via Henry Higgins)

Your paint / color blending work on the fenders , frame, and headlight casing is top notch! Tell me about the pedals and grips Dave, that 'whiskey in a glass' look really works with your scheme.

I have that Woodie knocker / bell in my stash and it's a strong maybe for SKU as well.

Everything looks right and tight on this build 👌

RaT oN~!
 
It looks like a bit of negative trail but other than that I don’t have a negative thing to say about it. Very cohesive look.

I’m dying to see an action photo.
 
Why has no one ever flipped a Columbia springer before! …
That was what I missed. That’s what I was thinking about: the unicycle with handlebars bit. It’s not that it looked so much like that bike, but just that it looked so odd it was like the front end would come apart.

Anyhow the movie was called The Big Store. It was one of Groucho’s last movies. If you’ve never seen it it’s not his greatest movie but it’s worth watching for two things, which is Harpo Marx rollerskating on top of all the store cabinets, and Groucho riding the bicycle.
 
It looks like a bit of negative trail but other than that I don’t have a negative thing to say about it. Very cohesive look.

I’m dying to see an action photo.
I'll get you one once there's a set of cranks that don't rub mounted. Trail is about 1-1/2" positive when I laid a straight edge along the centerline of the headtube to the ground.
 
"By George, I think he's got it!" ~ George Bernard Shaw (via Henry Higgins)

Your paint / color blending work on the fenders , frame, and headlight casing is top notch! Tell me about the pedals and grips Dave, that 'whiskey in a glass' look really works with your scheme.

I have that Woodie knocker / bell in my stash and it's a strong maybe for SKU as well.

Everything looks right and tight on this build 👌

RaT oN~!
Grips are transparent "dirty oil" color for motorcycles. Had to buy two sets to get a pair of 7/8 ID. (If anyone needs a pair of grips for 1" OD bars, let me know.) Pedals are cheapie transparent orange/brown resin bodied sealed pedals that are no longer going to work with this build once I swap for OPC. The pedals I will replace them with will be cooler, though.
 
Oh yeah, no new pics of the bike this weekend because I spent most of it getting Edgelord ready/riding it on Sunday. The only thing I really did for Proud Mary was to add a kickstand. 11-1/2", and it still is just barely enough to make her happy. She likes 'em loooong, I guess. I think it'll keep her from falling over on hard, even ground, so I'm not going to go looking for another.
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WOW!! Just now catching up on this build! It is looking super slick! You always have a killer stash of cool stuff, so it's always fun watching you try it all out. What a beauty so far! If you are worried about the wheel hitting the stationary fender and fork leg, you could always sleeve the spring center bolt with a piece of pipe to make it a stationary faux springer.
 
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