*Silent Assassin* - Rear Fender Added

[laidbackcool]

I still think the fat 144 painted black would be cool, or maybe do that black chrome spray paint on the fat 144's for a more subtle look.

Good call on the black chrome! Next question is would you still roll with the whitewalls?

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I still think the fat 144 painted black would be cool, or maybe do that black chrome spray paint on the fat 144's for a more subtle look.

Good call on the black chrome! Next question is would you still roll with the whitewalls?

I would. I mean what looks better than black rims and whitewalls? Especially with a bare metal body.

 

[laidbackcool]

I still think the fat 144 painted black would be cool, or maybe do that black chrome spray paint on the fat 144's for a more subtle look.

Good call on the black chrome! Next question is would you still roll with the whitewalls?

I would. I mean what looks better than black rims and whitewalls? Especially with a bare metal body.

With a bare metal body, I honestly can't think of anything better than whitewalls on black rims, especially ones with 144 spokes! Okay, you've convinced me to continues sticking with my gut instincts.

Looking at the photo of the truck again, it never occurred to me till now that it appears to sit low to the pavement. I just finished a quick mock up of the frame with tires to get a feel for the stance of the bike. It's the only photo I could take due to the fact that sunset is vastly approaching in my neck of the woods.



I checked the clearance on the front and rear tires. I have enough room for a 26x3, 144-spoke wheel and will likely mount a 2.35 tire. Unless I can manipulate the width of the front fork, in particular the straight legs, then I won't have the same kind of space to put a wider rim. I would have to settle for a regular size 144-spoke wheel, but with slight adjusting of the extensions would still have the space to mount a 2.35 tire. One thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is the positioning of the seat, which needs to be more upright. Using the rear rack mounts as a platform to build a bracket should not be a problem. Now I leave the floor open for suggestions.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

If you need more clearance in the front fork area just get a longer bolt for where the fork hinges and stick a few washers in there to space the legs out a bit. and turn the fork legs to the outside of the spring plate instead of inside. :wink: I had to do that when I put 20x3's on my Bratz lowrider "Brat Rod" bike.

 

[laidbackcool]

If you need more clearance in the front fork area just get a longer bolt for where the fork hinges and stick a few washers in there to space the legs out a bit. and turn the fork legs to the outside of the spring plate instead of inside. :wink: I had to do that when I put 20x3's on my Bratz lowrider "Brat Rod" bike.

You read my mind regarding the bolt and washers, but it never crossed my mind to move the fork legs to the outside of the plate. With the way the fork is set up with it all tied together. I guess you really can't do one without doing the other. Bet...sounds like a plan I will jump right into tomorrow!

 

[outskirtscustoms]

If you need more clearance in the front fork area just get a longer bolt for where the fork hinges and stick a few washers in there to space the legs out a bit. and turn the fork legs to the outside of the spring plate instead of inside. :wink: I had to do that when I put 20x3's on my Bratz lowrider "Brat Rod" bike.

You read my mind regarding the bolt and washers, but it never crossed my mind to move the fork legs to the outside of the plate. With the way the fork is set up with it all tied together. I guess you really can't do one without doing the other. Bet...sounds like a plan I will jump right into tomorrow!

Well you can leave them inside but you will have to slightly bend the plate out or use a few washers on the wheel axle as well. easier just to flip them.

 

[laidbackcool]

If you need more clearance in the front fork area just get a longer bolt for where the fork hinges and stick a few washers in there to space the legs out a bit. and turn the fork legs to the outside of the spring plate instead of inside. :wink: I had to do that when I put 20x3's on my Bratz lowrider "Brat Rod" bike.

You read my mind regarding the bolt and washers, but it never crossed my mind to move the fork legs to the outside of the plate. With the way the fork is set up with it all tied together. I guess you really can't do one without doing the other. Bet...sounds like a plan I will jump right into tomorrow!

Well you can leave them inside but you will have to slightly bend the plate out or use a few washers on the wheel axle as well. easier just to flip them.

I agree. Flipping them outside should do the trick.

 

[laidbackcool]

Man, what a busy day and a half it has been for me! I just got a new car and have been ripping and running across town to take it through city inspection and then for registration, tags, and insurance. Luckily, I got all of these tasks completed and can now take a break, regroup, and shift my focus back to this build.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Cool man, what did you get? Hemi? V-dub? Jeep?

 

[Machine Age Victim]

Nice, I like the "busyness" of the frame, gives an industrial feel.

Thanks. Rugged is exactly what I'm shooting for, but one of these days I need to learn how to weld so I can give add-ons a more natural flow when working on builds in the future.

By the way, I love what you've done with your build, especially the wood rims! Very classy ride!

Thank you, I've convinced the GF to let me hang it on the wall in the living room

You're definitely pulling off the look of that truck. I say the 144s painted black would be the best route. Congrats on the car purchase!

 

[laidbackcool]

Cool man, what did you get? Hemi? V-dub? Jeep?

BMW

 

[laidbackcool]

Nice, I like the "busyness" of the frame, gives an industrial feel.

Thanks. Rugged is exactly what I'm shooting for, but one of these days I need to learn how to weld so I can give add-ons a more natural flow when working on builds in the future.

By the way, I love what you've done with your build, especially the wood rims! Very classy ride!

Thank you, I've convinced the GF to let me hang it on the wall in the living room

You're definitely pulling off the look of that truck. I say the 144s painted black would be the best route. Congrats on the car purchase!

Man, you must have a way with words because there's no way on God's green earth that my GF would allow that to happen! :lol: Also looks like I got another vote for the 144s painted black and is more than likely the route I will go. Glad to finally be done with car shopping, and I appreciate your kind words!

 

[laidbackcool]

It took a little bit longer than expected to configure a bracket for the seat, but I finally utilized the right mix of parts to put it together and work in a cohesive manner. The positioning of the seat definitely looks much, much better and has improved the overall appearance of the bike. I also made a slight adjustment to the rear dropout extensions in hopes moving the rear wheel slightly further back. Unfortunately, it was dark outside by the time I got finished and was unable to take pictures. Once I finish making the adjustments needed to the front fork, I will post photos no later than Sunday.

 

[laidbackcool]

I woke up this morning before I had to go to work and made adjustments to the front fork. I left the curved legs inside of the springer plate and placed the straight legs outside of the plate. I also loosened up the hinge bolt that attaches the fork legs to the steer tube. Overall, the fork has a much wider base, and I'm now confident I have sufficicient clearance to put a 26x3 in the front. I'm very thrilled with end result and looking forward to getting wheels and tires mounted on the frame! I should have photos posted sometime tomorrow morning.

 

[laidbackcool]

Mock up #1

Mock up #2





Front fork from Mock up #1




Front fork from Mock up #2





I also made a bracket for the seat to raise it more upright. I still have to buy some nuts to screw into the loose bolts.

 

[laidbackcool]

I wasn't quite satisfied with the positioning of the seat and made further adjustments to the bracket to make it even more upright.

Mock up #2 (Before):

Mock up #3 (After):



The bracket is very much still a work in progress from a support standpoint and hopefully will be completed sometime this weekend. But in terms of the seat's position, I couldn't be any happier!

 

[laidbackcool]

Slight change of plan to my build. I was fiddling around with an old front fork hoop to a Monark springer, was able to widen the legs with my bare hands and suddenly the :idea: went off in my head! As of now, I'm experimenting with the hoop where the truss rods used to be on the rear of the frame.



Alterations may have to be made to the seat bracket to account for enough clearance for the springs. Very much a work in progress but I have a couple of ideas on how to pull this off!

 

[laidbackcool]

While cleaning up the staff office at my job yesterday, I stumbled across some metal pieces and didn't have a clue what they went to or were made for. However, I thought I could put them to use to further extend the front and rear dropouts. It's a bold and risky move on my part, but I'm hopeful it will work out in a good way (if only I knew how to weld ).

Front dropouts:


Rear dropouts:



At the end of the day, I like the stance of the bike much better, and the addition of double springs on the rear will add the kind of flare that the truss rods were lacking.

 

[MplsCoaster]

I like the way you are pulling this together
The seat position (seems more level) looks more comfortable to me

This is just my $.02, you may want to beef up the mounting for the back of the seat
My last year's bike had a mount that bolted more together (near the bottom of the page)
viewtopic.php?f=67&t=56493&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=135
But wasn't robust enough, so I made some more heavy duty aluminum brackets from stock pieces
viewtopic.php?f=67&t=56493&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=150
After a year of riding it, I'm seeing some bend ( :shock: ) in the aluminum from flopping down on the seat
So now I need to build it even beefier, again, just my $.02...

The stance on your bike is awesome!!

 

[kingfish254]

The stance looks cool, but before you go too far, throw a sprocket up front and check out your chain lines top and bottom.