STRATO FLITE

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Joined
Sep 13, 2006
Messages
1,438
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Location
southern PA
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I guess I kinda ran out of time to do a proper photo shoot for this one. Down to the last day, and it's a rainy cruddy day and we have plans to go to a cookout, so all I can do is rip off a few shots against the garage door and the neighbor's brick wall. Oh well, the bike will have to stand on its own merits. :)

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This was kind of an interesting project. Many times I've heard guys here on the board say stuff like "Listen to the bike." Well, it took me a while, but I finally heard this bike saying "stop putzing around with taillight ideas."

Sure enough, I was better off sticking with what I started with.
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My daughter asked why I left the little #32 decals all over the bike. It's a philosophy I carried over from collecting old Aurora slot cars. Many guys who collect will go to a lot of trouble and expense to restore cars to their original condition. But on the occasions when I have found a Pit Kit full of cars left exactly the way they were when the kid discovered girls and stopped playing with toys, all painted and stickered and beat up, I have mostly left them exactly as I found them as sort of a snapshot of a different time. Some kid spent his hard-earned paper route money buying decals and fat little tires and hop-up magnets to customize this thing, and I choose to preserve that.

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Same goes for this bike. Fifty years ago, some kid made it his own with these decals. Now I made it mine with the bars and seat and cleanup effort, but the decals are part of the story.

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Really dig this build! Nice wotk all around on this. Great 'vintage clean' vibe!
 
That Strato Flite turned out perfect! What really impresses me is just how subtle your modifications are. To the untrained eye, this bike looks completely stock. But we know better; this bike has been enhanced 10 ways to Sunday! I especially love those handlebars and the brilliantly fauxtina'd STRATO FLITE script on the chain gaurd! You did a fantastic job breathing new life into your bike!
 
It was awesome watching your meticulous work at bringing new life into this beauty!
Your work is always so well thought out. Not sure if my favorite part is the wiring job or the guard lettering.
Beautiful ride!
BRAVO!
 

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