The fact is everybody secretly would like to own a motorbike, but they are sometimes expensive to run and often dangerous. In this instructable I will show you how to make your very own motorbike which costs virtually nothing to make + maintain and of course is safe. When you have made your motorbike you can spray it, put logos on it and even pretend to ride it; its your very own motorbike. To make this sculpture even cooler I have designed the templates and the model so that it can be displayed on your wall at home and it will look as if it is bursting through the wall ! If you want to do this on an exterior wall I would advise varnishing the cardboard with several layers of waterproof varnish, if you don't have this then you can use waterproof PVA.

materials:
- corrugated cardboard (about 60 cm x 60 cm), you will use this for parts of the bike which require texture, if you can't find this simply strip a layer off off the top of normal cardboard to get the stripy texture
-plain, smooth cardboard,any color (you will need several large boxes for this, the good thing is though if you run out you can always collect up more and carry off from where you stopped last on the project )
-1 large cardboard tube, 20 cm diameter and 1 m long
-hacks saw for the tubing

Tools:
- A pair of scissors (your hands will get really tired so I would advice using a jigsaw if you have one but it is perfectly possible to do this without one , I use scissors)
-glue gun with plenty of glue alternatively you can use duct tape which is a lot quicker but looks a little messy when finished but if your painting your bike this may not matter.

Step 1:

Firstly I have created some templates for you to print off and use to get the correct shapes and shape ratios. These templates have been designed by me for a lifesize motorbike; copy and paste these templates onto Microsoft Word and enlarge so that each image fits onto a single sheet of A4. If you don't want a lifesize motorbike you can simply make sure that all of the templates are smaller than a sheet of A4.

As you can imagine constructing a lifesize motorbike accurately from cardboard could be a little confusing so for clarity each step will have the relevant set of templates and detailed written instructions on how to compose them.I apologise in advance foer the bad quality of photos but my instructions should be clear enough.

Step 2:

You must take your hack saw and your thick tubing.
Cut the tubing at 20 cm and set aside, this will be for your head light so mark in pen "headlight".
Now with the remaining 80 cm place in a standing position and cut vertically straight down the center of the tube trying to remain as straight as possible with the saw.
Then take one of the halves and cut off 15 cm from it, the short part will be used for the ventilator so set aside and mark with pen "ventilator".
Print off the above templates, 1 x wheel centers,4 x tyre pieces, and 4 x half wheel sides.
Next you must cut and stick template pieces on paper onto cardboard. Then cut out the cardboard around the template. you will need to stick the tyre template onto corrugated cardboard if you want to have a textured effect.
Keep in mind that the shaded areas are for glue.
Stick together two of your wheel plates to make a full circle. Do the same with the other two.
Now stick one of your wheel centre pieces directly in the middle of one of the wheel plates and, again do the same with the other centre and plate.
Now you have both of your wheel plates and centers I would advise adding rivets for extra details, to do this simply cut out 20 small circles ½ inch in diameter and line them around the plate. With cardboard projects I find it is the details that make them really stand out.
Stick together your 4 textured tyre pieces until you have a long rectangular shape.
Next this is a little tricky: take one of your wheel plates and line the circumference with glue, now slowly wrap around the textured tyre shape all the way around the plate so that in the end you have a hollow cylindrical shape with one plate missing at the bottom. Take up your second plate and line the circumference with glue. Now simply stick this onto the bottom of the cylinder without a cover until you have a full cylinder. This is your completed wheel.

Step 3:

(please click on images for the correct full size)
Next cut out and stick the suspension stick templates onto card and cut the cardboard out. Fold around to make half a circle and then fold the tabs inward. Cover tabs with glue and stick onto the center of the wheel plates coming out towards the edge of the plates as shown. Then place a detail strip over the glue marked center of each suspension stick this just adds some visual interest to the workings of the wheel.
Once this is all done you should use the wire templates run up and down the suspension stick 4 on each side, again this is just for a detail, if you would like you can use colored cardboard for these wire (I found red looked particularly good)

Step 4:

Now you’re going to need a big bit of cardboard. Cut out two rectangles 35 cm x 80 cm and stick them together (this is for rigidity however it is not absolutely necessary)
Now stick your long half (80 cm) of the cardboard cylinder directly vertically down the center of your rectangle.
Print off your 2 side strut pieces and 2 side strut continuation pieces. Stick your side strut pieces to the top of each of the continuation pieces.
Stick your entire long strut pieces onto both the cylinder and the backing plate vertically then when all of this is done stick two 30 cm long thin corrugated strips, equal distance symmetrically from the center as shown in the picture.

Step 5:

Next you should cut out and stick 2 x templates for the front wheel cover. Stick these onto the same piece of cardboard so that they form a single' y' shape. Now cut out around the template on the cardboard and stick onto the large rectangle you have just made such that the tips of the 'y' are flush with the bottom of the rectangle and so that it is curved accordingly. The picture shows this clearly.as you can see from the picture I have already placed to front air ventilator on. To do this take your 15 cm tubing piece which has been cut in half and stick directly on top of the wheel guard. Inside this place your cut out front grill pieces (see template above). When all of this is done place a corrugated detail strip over the ventilator and running down onto the wheel guard.

Step 6:

For this part you will again need to have a very large piece of cardboard. cut the dimensions as shown in the picture above . when you have done this please then make a 90 degree valley fold along the line a quarter of the way up the rectangle stick the tab at the end onto the very bottom of your other large rectangle you made previously ( with the wheel guard etc).Now, as shown in the picture stick the arc shapes onto the rectangle and curve the rectangle around the arcs while sticking so that there is a flush joint where the side arcs are making a hollow shape with the rectangle. look at the photo for guidance.

Step 7:

Now, stick the very top of the wheel onto the bottom of the wheel guard and then stick the suspension sticks onto the far inside of the wheel guard. this will support the front of the bike.
Finally on top of the " large rectangle" use your handle bar and handle template to make those things: join two of the handle bar strips having been rolled into a cylinder on the end of each roll your handles and place your detail strips around them on the area left for glue. now you should attach your brake onto the handle like an ordinary bike.
take your cardboard tube you set aside for headlight and place the cut out corrugated piece for the light directly inside this tube (use template)

Step 8:

You now have your finished bike !
If you would like to mount on wall, simply place two nails into the wall where you would like your bike to be and then hook the very back on top of these nails. be careful that you get the height of the nails right. for a good effect place some fake wall paper on the wall then peel it of in a ripped way. after this you could paint some realistic bricks onto the wall[a[r behind. this is what I did. for and even more realistic feel you can place rubble and bits of broken brick on the floor around.