RaTsberry Buffet ....What's cookin' ?....pg 9

[OddJob]

Wow this looks cool!! Love the white seat on there. Is that a modern seat? Looks really good.

I'll bet the headset is nice and smooth but I wouldn't expect it to withstand a whole lot of miles. Guess we'll find out right?

I think that spring loaded tube is similar to a Schwinn "overload tube". Just and added thing so some little moron can't damage anything by yanking on the shift lever while the bike is stationary.

Do I spy a Vee Speedster tire on the front? Those are some fast tires. Should be a good roller with the rear Powerblock.

Thanks Chad! I was wondering if the seat should be black, maybe look a little tougher? But the white does pop on the paint and chrome. It came in packaging, so it's new old stock. Looks like stuff we used to get in the '80s and '90s from a local wholesaler at the bike shop and we could replace vintage parts with it.

I probably have 50 miles or more on my Faded Glory build with the Monark fork in it. That was my first run of the 'washer bearing' design. Seems as solid as day one!

Your deduction on the overload tube seems correct. Makes sense now that you mention it.

Yup. Vee Speedster. And it's a narrow one. That's actually a 24" Schwinn rim I think, that I got a 1 3/8 tire to fit over. I'll check again in the morning. I do remember it was a 'snug fit'. Came off my Four-gone Conclusion build a few MBBO's ago.

 

[OddJob]

Yup. Shimano Overload tube. It was hit or miss whether they were on a bike or not. And, the whole thing is fairly useless. But... it's an original part.

And now it's a 'modified' original part. And much more useful than it originally was perhaps!

 

[OddJob]

Great work on the shifter console beer can mod!
Cool paint color too.
Looking sweet!!!!!

Thanks man! I like the effect of the paint. Can't really see it in photos, but in person with the sun hitting it just right....

 

[horsefarmer]

We used blocks of Delrin plastic (kinda like nylon) in hydraulic construction cranes between telescoping sections of the crane boom. Pretty tough stuff. Should be great in that application.

 

[OddJob]

Well, we woke up to glorious sun this morning, and that inspired me to push toward a couple of the 'hot rod mod' ideas I had in mind for RaTsberry Buffet.

First of all, the seat post is rusted solid in this frame. So I cut off the tapered end that clamps in the seat clamp, and stuck a solid seat post I had into the stock one, and then tapped it down in to the height I wanted for riding.
Here you can see that it is a nice tight fit, perfect O.D. / I.D. combo.

But as you can see in this photo, the sissy bar is extended to the max height, and the seat is still not high enough.

After watching @Chad T do his magic on multiple muscle bike builds adding a rear sissy-pension to the seat ; I had to give it the old college try! And, it would bring my seat up to the level height I want it to be.

My design is slightly different from the couple of designs that Chad used. I made a cut in the sissy bar, and then inserted the 1/2 x 1/8 steel tubing piece with the spring mounted on it, and two lock collars.

You can see I have about 2+" of steel inner tubing that will sit inside the top and bottom portions of the sissy bar. Once I had the seat level, I cut off the needed amount from the top portion of each side of the sissy bar.

Then I set the bottom seat collar set screw so it locked on to the inner steel tube, and left the top collar 'unlocked' so the collar and spring could compress and allow the suspension to do it's thing.

I added a coat of the Rustoleum Hammered paint to the springs (they were 'rustified' in my One-Liner build) and then remounted them. The ride is really nice. Firm, but on the bumps I get around 15-20 mm of compression. It really takes the edge off!

I also added a couple of Electra decals I had purchased on close-out a couple years ago. A little bit of 'pin stripe' on the fork legs and seat tube.

Remember the missing black 'vent stripes' from the chain guard? I dug into our 3M pile of goodies (my wife retired from there after 35 yrs, and took half the outlet store with her!) and found some auto / boat pinstripe in the right width, in black.

Before:

And after:

Finally, I got the bike out on this beautiful day for a test ride! Here it is.....




RaT oN~! RiDe oN~!

 

[OddJob]

Some more shots from today's ride.
What a day!

That 'reddish hue' on the chain guard and front rim in the photo above is not overspray or red 'rat-ina'. It's the reflection from the brilliant maple directly behind me! This is the best time of the year when you live in a city called "Maplewood".

Just a big kid playing on his muscle bike in the park! That 'free' feeling is still there...

 

[Jude Ephesus]

Some more shots from today's ride.
What a day!

View attachment 107221 View attachment 107222 View attachment 107220 View attachment 107219 View attachment 107218 View attachment 107217

Just a big kid playing on his muscle bike in the park! That 'free' feeling is still there...

-fall color setting in to boot! looks great!

 

[kingfish254]

Cool mod man!!! Does it give much suspension?
Super transformation on this build!

 

[OddJob]

Cool mod man!!! Does it give much suspension?
Super transformation on this build!

Thanks KF! I get around 15-20 mm of movement out of the spring sissy. It really does take the edge off the bumpy road, without being spongy or soft. I rode it a couple times before I added the springs, and def noticed the difference after!

 

[Brian macumber]

Bike looks awesome

 

[dropstep]

Man you work fast! Looks good

 

[Chad T]

Springer came out nice. Looks like some good weather. Went from 90s to 40s here. You heading to AZ soon?

 

[OddJob]

Bike looks awesome

Thanks Brian! It's coming together well, and rides great too.

 

[OddJob]

Man you work fast! Looks good

That's kind of my M.O. dropstep, my builds usually last only about a month. I'm like a bike rolling downhill once I start!
Thanks for the support.

 

[OddJob]

Springer came out nice. Looks like some good weather. Went from 90s to 40s here. You heading to AZ soon?

We had a top 10 Fall day yesterday Chad. And a couple more near 60 days this week. Our "Indian Summer".

The springer feels good, and fits the build fairly well. I debated with using a longer spring, I have the ones that were on the faux springer sissy I made for One-Liner. These are the ones from the faux fork on that build.

The downfall is you can't pick the bike up by the seat rail behind the seat, because the suspension pulls apart. I haven't brainstormed any ideas to fix that, let me know if you have one!

We leave right after Christmas for AZ. It's beautiful here now, but a month from now we will be getting anxious!

 

[Chad T]

The downfall is you can't pick the bike up by the seat rail behind the seat, because the suspension pulls apart. I haven't brainstormed any ideas to fix that, let me know if you have one!

Yeah that's the drawback with doing the springer like that. I've put stops on some off the Schwinn ones where the sissy is still one piece but passes through a larger tube. Tough to do with the split sissy.

Forgot to ask if you had thought about doing dual rear brake calipers like the originals had?

Christmas is perfect for heading out west. get to enjoy the fall and the best part of winter.

 

[Jude Ephesus]

Bike looks awesome. Great work. Shifter works good? That was quite a project!

More importantly, it looks super comfortable to ride. This a 24” with apes and a ‘naner?

Original forks n rake?

 

[OddJob]

Bike looks awesome. Great work. Shifter works good? That was quite a project!

More importantly, it looks super comfortable to ride. This a 24” with apes and a ‘naner?

Original forks n rake?

Hey Jude, (couldn't resist ) Yes, the shifter mates well to the modern version of the rear derailleur and the 6 speed cogs on the freewheel.

It is very comfortable. I'm a solid 6' 1"+ and long armed and it fits like a glove. I could ride this all day. It is set up as it was originally with 24" wheels fr and rear, the rear rim is wide and a 2.125 tire and the front is narrower with a micro 24 x 1 3/8" tire. Keeps the front end light, real quick steering and if I was so inclined, could probably pop a wheelie with not much effort.

The seat is a repop from the '80s and the bars and grips are original to this '60s Sears Spyder.

Thanks for the kudos!

 

[OddJob]

Another beautiful day for a ride on the new build.
RaTsberry Buffet is an 'all day' kind of rider!

 

[Klunkruiser]

They left a t out. But got these outta the vending machine today!