"The Electric Thunderbird"

Bike Wall
Advertise with us
BOXKARS
Shop deals on ebay
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.
J

Josex

Joined
May 14, 2011
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Location
Bakersfield, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
yep, Another Schwinn. I'm thinking everyone knows the bike already so no before pics necessary. It's the flat black looking kind with the usual stuff on it, nothing fancy. My plan is to electrify it. This was always my favorite bike until it was stolen about 5 years ago. A cousin of mine just happened to have one getting all vintage in his back patio and decided to let me scoop it up, for free! So first order of business is to widen the fork so my 500w E-HubMotor will fit. I also have to move the V brake mounts up an inch or so to match the new 26" wheel up front. I got the "how-to" with the widening form this page: http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28819
Thanks for that BTW

Pictures coming soon... :D
I think I'll call it

"Thunderbird"

Black and copper sounds nice... hmmm
hey anyone slap some disc brakes on these things?
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

I decided to shoot for this, here's a very rough Idea of the goal...
Thunderbird1.jpg
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Cool idea! I will be following this one.
Welcome to the OCC world. You should really consider putting 16 inch motorcycle tires on that rear rim. Josh has done it and so have a few others.
I am doing it front and back on my Fugsley build. I posted some measurement info on a batch of Harley tires I picked up the other day.
Good luck with your t-bird.
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Gotta love a OCC build !I tried a 26x1.95 on the front of my Hooligan build and it looked good but it raked the front to high and made my feet hit the tire when I turned while pedaling.I guess my kicks are size 13 so that could have been the problem.Cant wait to see what you come up with! :mrgreen:
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

HEY SHOULDN'T I BE DUBBED "KING OCC"!! I TOLD YOU GUYS THAT THEY ARE GOOD BIKES! BUT NOOO...YOU KWAZY WRATTERS JUST WANNA CHOP EM UP!! :lol: GOOD LUCK ON YA BIKE IT'S FRIDAY SO...GET TA BUILDIN'!! PEACE
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Thanks for the encouragement guys I'll be sure to show the wife, she's a little worried after the last 30mph death trap I built:)

I'll definitely keep an eye out for some 16's that sounds very nice! Buddy a mine can't get to the fork till next week some time so I haven't seen the 26" in place properly but just posing them together the big wheel reminds me of ... well, a Big Wheel. The front being to light with the hub motor was a problem on the last bike but then again the whole bike was about 10lbs lighter and the front bent style springer fork was a wire hanger in comparison. I was thinking of adding a big brass funeral coach lamp for my headlight but so far it looks like I could build two or three rats for the price of one lamp!

Anyway, this weekend... hardware clean up and seat repair/replace.
Party on!
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Good luck! I totally get the Munsters vibe with the funeral lamp, but hit the yard sales find something else you can fabricate. Check out the Kingfish254 finds and take a look at the old Craftsman torch that I found. I can see something like that making a cool as heck light turned 90 degrees.
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Woah, Kingfish254, truly inspirational! I see the thrift store pile of dishes and hand vacs in the corner totally different now. Thanks for sharing, Josh too. That brass lamp was ill, thanks for that. I'll head to the swap and thrifts in the morning. For now it's seat time.

So my buddy is setting the seat stem forward about 2-3" giving me some extra clearance even though I really don't need it. I just like sitting all stretched out (I'm only about 5'3" with a hat on). Also I remember from the last OCC I had what a beating the saddle shape gave my tail bone. So then I did this:
Here's the poor cracked and abandoned glitter seat looking like a used prom date.
IMG_0289.jpg


Then I stripped it down and took a kitchen knife to it
IMG_0290.jpg

IMG_0291.jpg


Now it's in the freezer to harden up and first thing tomorrow I'll take the sander to it and get all the lumpies out.
My bum is already happier!
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

oh yeah, what was the MC tire size again that fit the Schwinn rim with the Schwinn tube? I got a friend with some scooter tires he might be tossing, I haven't seen em yet but if they're the wrong size it'll save me a trip
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Josex said:
oh yeah, what was the MC tire size again that fit the Schwinn rim with the Schwinn tube? I got a friend with some scooter tires he might be tossing, I haven't seen em yet but if they're the wrong size it'll save me a trip
Click to expand...

They have to be 16" MC tires, but that doesn't really narrow it down. I picked up about 8 or so tires (free) but only two are going to work. I think Josh has 16 90 130. 150s are too wide. I there is someone else using 120s. You can check out the measurements I took on my mc tires on my Fugsley thread.
The thing you have to watch for is not just will the tire fit, but chain clearance has to be considered.
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

cool thanks. Looks like a hunting day tomorrow, I can't wait! And a thunder storm is rolling through Bakersfield right now! How ominous!

Pum-Pum Puuuuummmmmmmm!!! :x
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Ok so I've been away from the toolbox for a while but I made some progress today. Check out the seat. I think I'll add a black design over the gold but I'm not sure what yet. First try at the upholstery thing but looks good enough to sit on!
IMG_0352.jpg

I went to the thrift store and found a pile of bowls and pot lids and stuff. This is what I came up with for the head lamp so far I just need to find something to cap off that candle holder. this is actually 3 pieces. A metal bowl, a pot lid and the candle sconce. I'll insert an led ufo camping lamp in the front, it just so happens to fit perfectly and is really bright. it looks like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-24...095?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e61ce0f07
IMG_0355.jpg

The head lamp is face down it'll be mounted 90degrees clockwise from the photo. the tail light will go inside a little closed lantern and hopefully be free swinging from a tall hook all spooky like.
Next... the tedium of sticker removal so I can get the frame all gussied up.
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Looks like a fun project. I really like that headlamp, talk about creativity! I can't wait to see the finished product. Good job dude :)
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

I thought that was your bike helmut!! :D
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

thanks guys, LOL yeah maybe it should be my helmet! You just gave me a great idea:)
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Okay, I know there's a better way to take stickers off, but I'm impatient and lazy so OF COURSE I'm gonna use the angle grinder!
 
Re: "The Thunderbird"

Alrighty yall, I'm back home and ready to get this bird off the ground! I got the paint stripped off the frame and it's ready for rattle can. It looks like the fork is gonna get cut widened and welded on Wednesday. I need to figure out a mount for my battery box as well... Maybe I'll shape it like a casket...hmmm
 

Latest posts

Back
Top