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Full suspension mountain bikes with v-shaped frames have become very popular over the years, so it's no wonder that the local landfill has been seeing...
The donor bike has a single spring connected to the rear triangle which is hinged just behind the bottom bracket (Photo 1). The frame consists of two ...
I stripped down the entire bike (Photo 2), and found the front rim to be rusted and seized, so it was tossed. The rear wheel had an "old school" chrom...
It wasn't at all difficult to make a stylish chopper frame out of the mountain bike frame - in fact, the entire frame only needed a single cut and two...
Because this new bottom bracket was the non threaded type for a one-piece crank arm, I did not have to worry about orientation (no threads), I just pu...
Here are the front suspension forks taken apart (Photo 5). There is a long bolt that has to be removed under the plastic cap on each top end of the fo...
To extend the forks, I found a pair of 50-inch long lengths of 1.25-inch electrical conduit, and wouldn't you know, it fit snugly over the end of the...
Getting here was easy, just drop the fork leg into the conduit, and weld it solid. I took this opportunity to fully weld and grind the joint, as it wo...
The fork stem would be fairly easy to join to the fork leg extension tubes since it had a square tube originally connecting the stem to the fork legs ...
To connect the stem to the fork tubing, I measured from the top of each leg, and marked a point that would place all three tubes at the same height (P...
Once it was tack welded solidly, I checked the entire fork for alignment by looking down the length while the front wheel was installed (Photo 10). If...
The top of the triple tree fork design will be a flat plate bolted to each fork leg and secured to the fork stem via gooseneck stem. Simply cut the to...
The top of the triple tree fork is just a bit of plate or flat bar rounded at the edges to conform to the width of the fork legs (Photo 12). A hole is...
Photo 13 shows the 1/2 inch nuts welded into the fork legs. Since the diameter of the nuts is much smaller than the inside diameter of the fork tubing...
Here are the completed triple tree forks installed on the bike (Photo 14). Notice how the top plate is rounded around the edge of the fork legs. This ...
Since the top of my workbench was clean (rare event), I decided to get out the jigsaw, some scrap steel and work on some eye candy for the bike. Photo...
12 gauge steel is light, easy to find, and can be readily cut with a grinder or jigsaw with a steel blade. I use this stuff for most fenders, gussets ...
The shapes are cut from the steel using a jigsaw with a steel cutting blade (Photo 17). Take your time, especially around sharp corners and your blade...
The newly cut spike shapes are welded to the tops of the rear dropouts (Photo 18). A few tack welds were done first, so I could bang the steel into th...
Since the jigsaw and sheet metal were already laying on the workbench, I decided to make a custom rear fender using the same method as the dropout spi...
To make the center strip conform to the curve on the fender, it is first tack welded to the end, then bent along the curve, placing tack welds at abou...
Once you are done tack welding and bending the center strip, it should for a perfect curve along the top of the fender (Photo 21). At this point it is...
To ensure that your fender will be solid, and for that professional look, the entire length of the joint on both sides of the center strip should be w...
If you have some patience, the finished fender will look factory pressed after you grind the welds (Photo 23). I always do the rough grinding with a h...
The fender was welded in place just inside the seat stays in order to hide the welds (Photo 24). Three short welds per side are plenty to hold the fen...
Yes, it's an old skool racing steering wheel (Photo 25). When I was a kid, I always wanted to build a chopper with a steering wheel, but always got ca...
I placed the bolts tightly on the steering wheel, held it in the proper place, then tack welded the bolt heads to the top of the triple tree plate (Ph...
The seat was made by cutting to sides from the left over sheet metal (Photo 27) using the jigsaw. These were bolted to a plywood base so that is fit s...
The seat base is cut from 3/4 inch plywood and placed directly on the frame and fender (Photo 28). The two steel sides cut earlier hold the seat snugl...
I threw the bike together to make sure all the components fit and had proper clearance (Photo 29). Everything looked just right, and the steering whee...
Here is the completed seat (Photo 30), including the rigid foam and painted sides. Because the seat just drops over the top of the frame with plenty o...
In line with the car-chopper fusion theme, I installed the brake lever as though it was a stick shifter. On a motorcycle, this kind of installation is...
The next few photos show you how to get a decent look from a spray can without having a proper area to paint. I hung the frame from the clothesline in...
Once the first light dusting coat of primer is dry, you can fully coat the frame with primer (Photo 33). Again, shake the can often, and only make sho...
Once your primer has dried, and if the neighbors have not called the cops on you for stinking up the neighborhood, you can now start painting the fram...
Now you can fully paint the frame, using the same side to side strokes with the can held away from the frame. Shake the can often, and do not spray th...
The painted and assembled bike is sleek looking unique chopper / muscle car fusion. (Photo 36). A huge light was added to the top of the forks, and th...
The steering wheel and upright brake lever give the chopper a surreal look (Photo 37). I think it all came together nicely. It's hard to tell this fra...
The bike is long, and low (Photo 38). The overall seating position ended up being very comfortable, and could accommodate riders of varying heights ea...
Photo 39 shows the rear details of the bike - seat, fender, and brake.
The frame is purple and black with white stickers on each side (Photo 40). I'm not sure what the huge dual colored light is from (possibly a railway c...
Nothing odd about riding Carnage - in fact, the steering wheel feels just like a handlebar (Photo 41). The crazy brake lever on the other hand, is def...
Well, there you have it, another unwanted bicycle rescued from the scrap heap and churned into a unique and rebellious ride! With only a few welds, an...
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