BO15 Ratcumbent

[kingfish254]

Very cool!

 

[johnp.smith]

First time on the ground since its been green

 

[Johnny Wolf]

Sweet! My Rat Fink gumball machine that I refurbished and customized would look good next to it.

 

[johnp.smith]

Tonight I repurposed the original valve caps I bought for it

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Tonight I repurposed the original valve caps I bought for itView attachment 131859View attachment 131860View attachment 131861View attachment 131862View attachment 131863

It's those little details that make a great build into a fantastic build! This is easily the coolest recumbent bike I've ever seen, and it's not even done yet!

 

[johnp.smith]

I got the headlight on today. Hopefully it is out far enough not to interfere with the brake and derailer cables. Otherwise I will run it without a headlight. Seat Upholstery should be done any day now. Im off tomorrow and hope to get the backrest shroud painted and ready for installation. Dying to get this thing done already, its been a long two months

 

[johnp.smith]

Today, I was able to get the rear brake and both derailers rigged up. Im really glad I found the longer headlight bracket. The one that came with it was short and the headlight would have been right in the way of the cables. The wife went nuts when she saw me with the spray paint so I will have to take the seat shroud to work and paint it there. Also the chain rubs the fender in the two lowest gears. Going to either reshape it or do some cutting

 

[wheelbender6]

Reminds me of this Sportster 72

 

[johnp.smith]

Reminds me of this Sportster 72

I wanted to trade in my VTX for one of those, I like the style but they wouldnt give me anything for it. A friend bought one and I rode it for about 50 miles and was glad I didnt get it. The VTX is a much smoother ride. He also said he liked riding my bike better. I only have 8,000 miles on my 2009 VTX so buying the 72 would be a lot of money just sitting there. Its still really cool though

 

[OddJob]

Diggin the eye ball crank bolt covers!

 

[johnp.smith]

Diggin the eye ball crank bolt covers!

I forgot to get a pic of how they are held in with velcro

 

[johnp.smith]

Recumbents are like electric cars, People said they could never be cool. Think again, This is the Electraliner presently at Bonneville to attempt an electric car speed record.

still waiting on the seat to be finished

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Looks great! Very clean build. The little eyeball is a nice touch.

Can't wait to see the upholstery job on it!

 

[johnp.smith]

Looks great! Very clean build. The little eyeball is a nice touch.

Can't wait to see the upholstery job on it!

There are actually 9 eyeballs on it

 

[johnp.smith]

Well, its my 2016 build all over again. In 2016, I took my frame and a bunch of parts to a powder coater to be done in black and transparent gold. All the black parts came back black but all the gold parts came back safety yellow. A few of the parts were bead blaster and sparay painted a crappy gold to get it done but it was never what i planned for it. Today another big hiccup. My seat came back. It was clearly ordered to be a white tuck and roll with white plain sides and a green stripe around in between the plain and tuck and roll. Well that was not clearly explained to the person doing the work and it came back like this. After going this far into the build, I am not settling. So I took it back and its just going to be all white. It will be another two weeks and hopefully make it by the deadline

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Well, its my 2016 build all over again. In 2016, I took my frame and a bunch of parts to a powder coater to be done in black and transparent gold. All the black parts came back black but all the gold parts came back safety yellow. A few of the parts were bead blaster and sparay painted a crappy gold to get it done but it was never what i planned for it. Today another big hiccup. My seat came back. It was clearly ordered to be a white tuck and roll with white plain sides and a green stripe around in between the plain and tuck and roll. Well that was not clearly explained to the person doing the work and it came back like this. After going this far into the build, I am not settling. So I took it back and its just going to be all white. It will be another two weeks and hopefully make it by the deadlineView attachment 133184

Sorry to hear about the seat, and the powder coating from your last Build Off. Having run into similar issues earlier in the Build Off, I feel your pain. This is the kind of situation that makes people want to loom over the guys they send their stuff to in order to make sure it gets done the RIGHT way. I'm sure it'll look fine in all white, but you can always take the seat back to another upholsterer and get it done the way you really want after the Build Off's over.

 

[johnp.smith]

So while Im waiting for the seat and its crazy hot here, I had a little fun with the headlight. Deigned a graphic with a guy at AMR Racing. Hope you like it

 

[kingfish254]

Love the sliced eye on a half shell for the cranks.
That is a great idea of painting a mesh grille for the light. How does it look when turned on?

 

[johnp.smith]

Love the sliced eye on a half shell for the cranks.
That is a great idea of painting a mesh grille for the light. How does it look when turned on?

Just a normal light, you cant see the eye at all when it is on. That part of the garage is buried for the week, we are getting our back yard done this week and the contractors need space. I will get a pic of it when I can get to it again

 

[OddJob]

That light cover is cool!