Step 5: Paint, handle bar, brakes, and FUN!
With the frame and steering finished it was time to paint. I took apart what I could and taped up what I could not. I used a coat of primer and then 4-6 cans of spray paint to cover the bike. After it dried for a few days I reassembled the steering, this time with the addition of an extended handle bar neck so the bike can be steered from either side of the bench seat.
At this point I was running low on time so I could not fit the bike for gears. I made two long chains from all the old chains and fitted them on similar sized chain rings and rear gears. I had some issue with the inside one wanting to fall off so I added a janky chain stay made from metal conduit clamps and electrical tape. I would have prefered to use chain tensioners off the original bikes but I did not have enough chain to loop through them. Note: I added them later when building the bike into a boat.
Well I could make it go, and I could make it turn, but I could not make it stop so I needed brakes. I used the mounts for the rear brakes still on the bike. I fitted it with brakes and ran an extra long cable up to the handlebars. Well without secure locations to keep the cable from moving this did not work well so I just took the cable and ran it along the arm wrest, tying it off around the first vertical frame member. Presto brakes! Now this single brake did not work great but was adequate as the bike just does not go that fast. So when you want to stop you pull up on the brake cable as hard as you want.
After the important stuff was finished I worked on the extra bits. I mounted a metal frame made of two metal shelves on the back and bolted an old steamer trunk to it. This allowed me to carry a cooler and other stuff I may need. I used electrical conduit to build a canopy and then I was ready to bring it home.
Since I don't own a truck I had to mount a piece of plywood to my roof racks and stick the bike on the roof. The lifts at my shop came in handy for doing this. Unfortunitly I would need to get it off with no lift so I made really long ramps to roll it off with. Thankfully I now have a trailer so was able to ditch this method of moving it. With the bike home we tested it around the neighborhood and made final preparations to bring it to the desert. I finished it the weekend before I left and the bike ran like a champ for an entire week in the desert. I used it most of every day, picking up people and riding around. It worked out great for meeting people out on the Playa and going off the ramp of death on Sunday. I only ran into one art piece, bending the canopy, got run into by a large metal hamster wheel, and pitched one passenger out the side when I turned to sharp. She was fine, her head cushioned her fall so I would say it was a success.
The last picture is of the bike after my kids and I put it into a flat skid on wet pavement. Guess I need heavy duty tires if I want to do that. This happened after the bike went to Burning man.
At this point I was running low on time so I could not fit the bike for gears. I made two long chains from all the old chains and fitted them on similar sized chain rings and rear gears. I had some issue with the inside one wanting to fall off so I added a janky chain stay made from metal conduit clamps and electrical tape. I would have prefered to use chain tensioners off the original bikes but I did not have enough chain to loop through them. Note: I added them later when building the bike into a boat.
Well I could make it go, and I could make it turn, but I could not make it stop so I needed brakes. I used the mounts for the rear brakes still on the bike. I fitted it with brakes and ran an extra long cable up to the handlebars. Well without secure locations to keep the cable from moving this did not work well so I just took the cable and ran it along the arm wrest, tying it off around the first vertical frame member. Presto brakes! Now this single brake did not work great but was adequate as the bike just does not go that fast. So when you want to stop you pull up on the brake cable as hard as you want.
After the important stuff was finished I worked on the extra bits. I mounted a metal frame made of two metal shelves on the back and bolted an old steamer trunk to it. This allowed me to carry a cooler and other stuff I may need. I used electrical conduit to build a canopy and then I was ready to bring it home.
Since I don't own a truck I had to mount a piece of plywood to my roof racks and stick the bike on the roof. The lifts at my shop came in handy for doing this. Unfortunitly I would need to get it off with no lift so I made really long ramps to roll it off with. Thankfully I now have a trailer so was able to ditch this method of moving it. With the bike home we tested it around the neighborhood and made final preparations to bring it to the desert. I finished it the weekend before I left and the bike ran like a champ for an entire week in the desert. I used it most of every day, picking up people and riding around. It worked out great for meeting people out on the Playa and going off the ramp of death on Sunday. I only ran into one art piece, bending the canopy, got run into by a large metal hamster wheel, and pitched one passenger out the side when I turned to sharp. She was fine, her head cushioned her fall so I would say it was a success.
The last picture is of the bike after my kids and I put it into a flat skid on wet pavement. Guess I need heavy duty tires if I want to do that. This happened after the bike went to Burning man.
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