Enfield tribute bike

Hey guys, figured I'd share some progress I've made today. This started out as a plain jane Grubee Skyhawk frame and a conglomeration of 3 different bicycles that I've pieced together with a 48cc China girl. I'm still not yet done, but it already looks so good the way it is.

Originally:


Painted frame:


Assembled as a bicycle:


Just finished as of 10:00 pm, so night time photo is all i can do:


A couple more things need to get done to finish this off. I have a right side chain guard that I painted to match, but unfortunately it wasn't dry enough when I applied the decal, so some of the paint came with the transfer paper. I also have a rear rack which I still need to paint, and I assume that's going to take a hot minute because of how much sanding and stripping I'll need to do. The last thing is to make it legal again, which means lights and mirrors. I already have those, but I think I want to go a different route for the rear lights, so I have some searching to do before making a final decision on that.

Messed up chain guard:


I decided on painting it like a Royal Enfield bullet; one of my all time favorite motorcycles. I would love to have one, but my collection of vehicles wouldn't allow it, so I'm just going to have to make do with this tribute bike.

Feel free to offer criticism. I'd love to make it better.

-Terrence

And here's the bike to which I'm making the tribute:

Thanks for the kind words! I think I'm finally satisfied with a build for once. While working on a car it seems like the work is never done. There's always something you want or need to change to make it a little bit better. No matter how much time or effort you put in to it, it seems like it's never enough. I have also found that the two hardest things to do during a build are 1) keeping the wife happy, and 2) sticking to the plan without compromising. Both are equally difficult. This build was way easier than a car, obviously. From start until completion it only took about 2 months. Most of it was just me being nit-picky and taking my time (for once). I could have taken the easy way out several times by compromising on certain aspects, but I didn't want to end up with something I didn't want to build. It was certainly difficult sticking to it, but the end result was way worth it.

One idea I had was to use a fender on the rear, but I had seen so many people lose their bikes when theirs failed and turned them in to a snowboarder. I built a good solid fender with unbreakable mounts, everything welded together and securely bolted down. That's when I started wondering how to mount the panniers. The Enfield that I see at work has a rack with khaki canvas bags mounted to it, so I decided to ditch the fender idea and go with the rack again. I'm so happy I did. I like the look much better this way.

Anyway, I'm considering this build a success. It's complete and I like it, and it's staying that way.





Until next time!

And the chain guard turned out great. Took some more sanding, primer, and a couple coats to get it right. The lighting of the picture makes it look weird, though. It is still a little beat up, as it came off a 20 year old Schwinn. Don't mind the wire mess. This is a progress picture.

I think it's time for an update:

A while back I decided I wanted ammo cans as panniers. Well, that turned out to not be the best of ideas. They were mounted on a rack that came from a ladies Scwinn Del Mar. The rack looked good, and seemed up for the job of carrying the ammo cans. Unfortunately, the cans were really heavy, which threw off the balance of the whole bike. Made it cumbersome to get in/out of the garage. They also made the rack very wobbly. Eventually hardware gave in and my rack swung down behind the tire, dragging the road behind me.

So, I went back to the drawing board and decided on a new path. I wanted a larger, more comfortable seat, but still look cool, and it also had to be light, but sturdy.

http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=59512

I came up with the idea based on a lot of other bikes I had seen, and I think it turned out alright!



I'm thinking of using some aluminum sheet to make some nice fairings on each side for underneath the seat. Triangular shaped fairings to sort of take your eyes off the big gap there, and I also want to mount the battery underneath the seat.

Notice I also made a poo poo pipe. I had the kit-supplied muffler clamped on the end of it, but after the rack fell the muffler came off with it and got all beat up in the road. I tried to straighten it out a little, paint it with high temp black, then reattach it...but it keeps falling off. So it's loud for now, which is fun.

I still need to attach the tail/brake light assembly, but that shouldn't take long.

So, give me some thoughts! I always want to hear people's input; positive or negative.

-Terrence

And the picture sucks because it was twilight when I snapped it. The seat is a lighter brown than before (which I don't like) but the piping around the top part is a closely-matched green. I may redo the upholstery soon. I want the vinyl to fit better than that, and also a darker color would look nicer.