Project Molotov

[UncleKudzu]

look out, WalterF, i'm back in the Summer Junkyard Build! the 49cc Franco Morini has been ordered and i'm preparing an old rustbucket coaster bike that i picked up Saturday at a roadside vegetable stand.

except for the gleaming Italian powerhouse and expansion chamber, the Molotov will be a bike of the junkyard/ratbike style. i put the wide rim from my old MTB on front and borrowed a fat tire from the Goodwill Jaguar and pedaled her around the neighborhood yesterday. i'll work out a couple of kinks and put a new tire on back and she'll be ready for that engine.

pictures to follow as soon as possible.

[Walter F.]

Let me see if I got this right, you bought a brand spanking new "eye"talian motor, 3hp or more and your gonna put it on some rattyassed POS you got on the side of the road? Uncle Kudzu you are a piece of work!

Well a least you got something going, lets see some pics, probably need to see this in small doses. Walter F.

[UncleKudzu]

Originally Posted by Walter F.

Let me see if I got this right, you bought a brand spanking new "eye"talian motor, 3hp or more and your gonna put it on some rattyassed POS you got on the side of the road?

that sums it up pretty handily, but the whole will be greater than the sum of the parts. there's something about a nice patina of rust that makes my heart go pitter-patter. and that 3HP jewel of an engine dropped in to that finely aged setting will be the centerpiece of my work of motorized art. poetry in motion she's gonna be, WalterF, poetry in motion.

[Walter F.]

I don't know what you been smokin' but I want some, poetry in motion my big ole butt. Walter F.

[eDJ]

Tell me about that bike Uncle Kudzu ? Are you planning to do a restoration or just team up with mother nature and play it from there. I've seen some old timers lately and I'd guess they were pre WW2 with the original paint scheme still barely visible under the rusty patina.

There's just something about vintage that draws attention. I've seen that phenomonon over and over today with young people. I guess it's cause the movement to build your own stuff is a novel idea. Most of them have learned to "Hack" electronic gizmo's and a few are lucky enough to have dads with time enough and tools to show them how to do some things. I can't remember the last time I saw kids rolling down a hill on wooden "soap box" carts.

One place I go just to see how boys and men used to make things in pre WW2
times :

http://www.lindsaybks.com/

They sell reprints of old how to's from the earlier part of the last century.
I first started buying books from them when I was in school of Art & Design.

In more modern times there is:

makezine.com: MAKE: Magazine

You can find the magazine in bookstores. It's like a boy scout manual and rather pricey. (but worth it)

i-Hacked.com is an interesting place too. (note the hyphen)

I-Hacked.com Taking Advantage Of Technology - Home

There has been a rekindled interest in trying to get people to take interest in
encouraging boys to build things with their hands once again. Books like "The Dangerous Book For Boys" is an interesting concept & best seller. (it was soon followed by "The Dangerous Book for Girls".

The advantage of theaching these skills to young lads is the development of good judgement, and good skill sets can be learned while they are growing up. Thus the quality goes in as they grow up. It's hard for the military or industry to build that into 21 year olds who grew up in front of game consoles or TV having done little else but that and attend school.

[Easy Rider]

I heard the good news today at the shop Uncle! I can't wait to see what you've got cooking! Pics ASAP

[UncleKudzu]

eDJ, i am for some reason drawn to the ratbike aesthetic in motorcycles, so the patina will for the most part stay. i was happy to discover that there exists a healthy rat bicycle culture too.

you are a font of useful info, eDJ! i lack the electronic skills for many of the projects in Make, but i regularly look at it at the library. i bet you'd also like the Instructables site. i can't wait to look at some of the other sites that you mentioned!

[UncleKudzu]

yup, Easy, it's official - Pipelyne Dean's gonna fix me up with the little Morini

due to camera failure, those photos will have to wait. i may have to dust off my old 35mm if they still make film.

[eDJ]

Uncle Kudzu, when I first started looking at Easy Rider magazine years ago I noticed the Trash or Rat Harley's. I sensed there was a nostalgia for the old
cycles just as there are some old rust bucket 1947 Farmall tractors chugging around here every spring. I know some are enamored with the trick paint that makes anything it's on look like an amusement park ride but I figure to each his own.

For awhile I remember people wanted those lace table cloth paint jobs. Or the wicked metal flake jobs....not to mention those phosphorescent Marada & Flip Flop paint jobs. But I've always been a basic solid colors person with the bright colors used on small areas or things.

It will be interesting to see what it looks like when you're done, and I promise I won't make fun of it.

[Easy Rider]

Hey Uncle, I stopped by the shop today and look at what I saw! LOL