Riff Ratt upgrade

Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
10,773
Reaction score
16,061
Location
Zambales, Philippines
Rating - 100%
8   0   0
I went back to the original apes and the fenders I looked at previously finally went on sale. Instead of fifty bucks, they were less than twenty. They showed up in two days from ordering. I just laid them on for a look and will do some modifying and mounting tomorrow.
fenders2.jpg
 
I went to work on mounting the fenders. I chopped 5 inches off the rear to make it a shorty fender. The braces were too long, made for fat bikes, so I bent them into curves, like the old CWC braces. That should work. I wanted the bottom attachment of the rear fender stronger since it's plastic, so I cut out the bottom of the piece I cut off and glued it to the bottom where I left a tab already. Tomorrow I'll drill a hole and clean up the edges. Then I'll need to fab up a couple of brackets, for the rear lower mount and the top front mount. It should all work with no problem.
fenders2 23 Oct 21.jpg


fenders3 23 Oct 21.jpg
 
The glue didn't work at all, so I went through the scrap box and found a metal brace all ready to go. I just needed to drill the holes in the fender. I just need to cut out a scallop for the chain and put a brace on the front, although it's wedged in tightly. Before and after pics.
fender brace2 24 Oct 21.jpg

fenders before 24 Oct 21.jpg


fenders on 24 Oct 21.jpg
 
I still had a skip in the driveline, and I think it's because the springs have too much side to side play in them. It also felt unsteady riding because the rear wasn't that stable. Then I found one of the struts in the front springer had a crack almost all the way through it. So I'm doing a rework of the bike. I replacing the front struts with the original straight ones, adding a section of tubing on each to be long enough. Then the rear is going to be hardtail with some heavy steel bar that will get welded up tomorrow. The rear wheel has already been updated with a SA kickback hub. It should make for a more stable ride, and with a shorter wheelbase will have more of a bobber look.

hardtail.jpg
 
The welder guys showed up and completed the job, just couldn't find a grinder to clean up the welds. I'll have to use my dremel and a few hours to do that. We went over some plans for a veranda out back also.
new weld 2 20 22.jpg


A video of the work, my wife was supervising so the work got done today.

 
Still reworking the bike. I'm hoping to add these big 86 mm wheels I just laced up. The same 3" tires, just wider rims. I took the 57mm wheels off and am using them on my go to bike, Chrome Molly. This will be a 24 tooth freewheel hub with band brakes front and rear. Both hubs are rear hubs. The rear needs to be dished about 3/4ths of an inch to have clearance for the chain. I'm hoping it works.

wheels.jpg
 
The springer got some spacers and is wide enough now. The rear triangle wouldn't work, I need 100 mm total clearance, so some cutting was done. I've got more steel bar to finish it up.

springer.jpg


widen springer.jpg


widen frame.jpg
 
I laced them up and they were almost straight, so I tried to dish the rear so the chain would clear. With the single freewheel there was no way it would clear and still work, the rim would be too far to the left for the stays. So, I added a cluster which gave an extra 30mm to the width of the hub, now 130mm. I should be able to use the 18 tooth cog with no problem. Like the worn out 10 speeds from back in the day, with no derailleurs, just a shortened chain stuck in 3rd gear. I'll get a smaller chain wheel to get my gear low enough. 47/24 was a 55 ratio, 36/18 would be almost the same at 56.
I also will do the chain stays differently after looking at it. Instead of a left and right side, I'll have the machine shop put a bend in the flat bar to make it a loop that gets welded to the existing stays. That also gives 120 mm of clearance for the wheel, which only needs 100mm. Between the crank ends is 150mm so I'm good there also.
cluster.jpg
 
The shop bent the chain stays for me, 100 pesos charge. Along with the 100% tip, came to 4 dollars total. 120mm wide as ordered.
Then I tried to whiten up the whitewalls. One was scrubbed using baking soda, the other left alone. No difference at all, so they will stay brown. Got some string to align the frame.
I'm deciding on which handlebars, probably the apes.

brownwalls.jpg
 
I used the string method to line up the drops. I was wrong about the chain stays, they are130 mm wide, not 120 mm. But there is just enough clearance for the cranks, 10 mm on either side so it's good. Now I have to cut the frame so the bar sits flush where it will weld up.
string method.jpg



130 mm.jpg
 
Last edited:
The shop bent the chain stays for me, 100 pesos charge. Along with the 100% tip, came to 4 dollars total. 120mm wide as ordered.
Then I tried to whiten up the whitewalls. One was scrubbed using baking soda, the other left alone. No difference at all, so they will stay brown. Got some string to align the frame.
I'm deciding on which handlebars, probably the apes.

View attachment 190747
I don't know if you guys have Black Magic Bleach white or Soft scrub would work on your wide whites... Good luck... Razin...
 
I've got all the parts now and am starting to put it all together.
The front brake and hubshiners are on, brake cable was too short.
front brake hub shiner.jpg


The tensioner I had from before worked perfect. Gears can be shifted by adjusting the little wheel with a small hex wrench. I'll only need one gear. There is plenty of space with the wide wheel, I could use the 22 tooth cog, but the 20 is probably an easy enough gear. I'll add the band brake next time.
low gear.jpg


I added a couple of vintage parts, headlight and spring from an old Schwinn.

vintage.jpg


All I need now is to do the rear brake, finish the front brake. and add a kickstand.
 
I've got all the parts now and am starting to put it all together.
The front brake and hubshiners are on, brake cable was too short.
View attachment 190944

The tensioner I had from before worked perfect. Gears can be shifted by adjusting the little wheel with a small hex wrench. I'll only need one gear. There is plenty of space with the wide wheel, I could use the 22 tooth cog, but the 20 is probably an easy enough gear. I'll add the band brake next time.
View attachment 190945

I added a couple of vintage parts, headlight and spring from an old Schwinn.

View attachment 190946

All I need now is to do the rear brake, finish the front brake. and add a kickstand.
Looking good.. Can't wait to see this finished.. Love the direction this bike is taking... RideOnn.. Razin...
 
I had nothing better to do than work on this all day. It stays a little cooler down in my shop, it's like a basement. But still gets hot with just a wall fan. I got all the cables worked out and put the kickstand on, it's ready to ride. I wasn't going with a plastic fender, but it flows well with the cantilevers. I hope to find a steel motorcycle fender.
It's right at 50 lbs so it will be hard to get back up the mountain after a ride. I have to get it up the curved stairway first.

done 23 apr 22.jpg


stairway.jpg
 
It's right at 50 lbs so it will be hard to get back up the mountain after a ride. I have to get it up the curved stairway first.
That's a drawback to building in the Bunker! My basement lab has a steep staircase, but at least it's a straight shot to freedom
 
I live on a steep hill to boot, and I've got sciatica, so the trainer looked too inviting. Now I can ride it everyday. This is my answer to Schwinn's new cruiser exercise bike.

1650772861084.png


trainer.jpg
 

Latest posts

Back
Top