wrenching4fun
Well-Known Member
Certain things add a nice finishing touch to builds. A fine paint job or pin-striping give bikes a custom look. Other big features like unusual fuel tanks, duck tail fenders, fishtail exhaust tips, and magnesium rims always stand out. None make the thing go faster, they just turn heads and make people say," Wow, look at that!"
My current build is more of a rat rod build. I kept the original patina-clad paint, cleaned up the rusty chrome as good as possible, and made the original swept-back bars work. Basically, I've focused on other types of finishing touches. You'd be surprised how much difference custom brackets can make. To a lot of you young guys who are looking for instant gratification, anything other than plug n play is of little interest. But to old codgers like me who grew up learning how to make what you need, there is a lot of satisfaction in figuring out the configuration of a clamp to attach the engine to the frame, instead of going with a bulky mounting plate. It's just a cleaner look. Today, for example, I fabricated a simple bracket to mount a cone breather for the crankcase vent. Normally, the crankcase is vented into the air cleaner on these 49cc four strokers. Since I'm not using the OEM air filter and venting contaminated air through the carb doesn't seem like a good way to optimize efficiency, I'm venting the crankcase the old fashioned way.
I've fashioned custom brackets for the springer seat, for the fuel tank, for the tool box, even for the Shimano tranny. None of them are sexy, but they work better than duct tape of a muffler clamp! There is one drawback to customizing brackets or any other part. You must have an array of proper tools like a good hack saw or angle grinder, a good bench grinder, a set of files, a drill and good bits, and a descent set of taps and dies. Most of you young guys who grew up in front of a TV or computer screen might not know how to use any of these tools. When I was a youngster, they taught something called "Shop" in school where guys learned how to do things with their hands other than pick their nose. Those skills have served me well for over 60 years now. Curses to the morons in education who decided that girls don't need to know how to manage a home (a course called home economics in high school) and boys don't need to know how to fix a car or lawn mower, or make a carbide cannon (shop). Sorry for digressing.
Most of the tools you need to start customizing can be found at garage sales or in thrift stores. Sure, some of it is junk, but discovering the useful stuff can be a satisfying adventure and can save you a lot of money. Do yourselves a favor and hold out for quality. A fine set of USA-made, German-made, or Japanese-made files is worth a boat load of cheap Chinesium ones. When shopping for an angle grinder, stick to Porter Cable or Bosch, though my cheapy from Harbor Freight has held up pretty well with some maintenance (the electrical chord burned out and the paddle switch broke in half. Repaired both).
The only way to learn how to make stuff is to try it and learn from your failures. I have an entire bin full of brackets that didn't fit or ended up looking like doo doo. I usually get it right on the second or third try, but sometimes, like this morning, it came out perfect right out of the gate!
My current build is more of a rat rod build. I kept the original patina-clad paint, cleaned up the rusty chrome as good as possible, and made the original swept-back bars work. Basically, I've focused on other types of finishing touches. You'd be surprised how much difference custom brackets can make. To a lot of you young guys who are looking for instant gratification, anything other than plug n play is of little interest. But to old codgers like me who grew up learning how to make what you need, there is a lot of satisfaction in figuring out the configuration of a clamp to attach the engine to the frame, instead of going with a bulky mounting plate. It's just a cleaner look. Today, for example, I fabricated a simple bracket to mount a cone breather for the crankcase vent. Normally, the crankcase is vented into the air cleaner on these 49cc four strokers. Since I'm not using the OEM air filter and venting contaminated air through the carb doesn't seem like a good way to optimize efficiency, I'm venting the crankcase the old fashioned way.
I've fashioned custom brackets for the springer seat, for the fuel tank, for the tool box, even for the Shimano tranny. None of them are sexy, but they work better than duct tape of a muffler clamp! There is one drawback to customizing brackets or any other part. You must have an array of proper tools like a good hack saw or angle grinder, a good bench grinder, a set of files, a drill and good bits, and a descent set of taps and dies. Most of you young guys who grew up in front of a TV or computer screen might not know how to use any of these tools. When I was a youngster, they taught something called "Shop" in school where guys learned how to do things with their hands other than pick their nose. Those skills have served me well for over 60 years now. Curses to the morons in education who decided that girls don't need to know how to manage a home (a course called home economics in high school) and boys don't need to know how to fix a car or lawn mower, or make a carbide cannon (shop). Sorry for digressing.
Most of the tools you need to start customizing can be found at garage sales or in thrift stores. Sure, some of it is junk, but discovering the useful stuff can be a satisfying adventure and can save you a lot of money. Do yourselves a favor and hold out for quality. A fine set of USA-made, German-made, or Japanese-made files is worth a boat load of cheap Chinesium ones. When shopping for an angle grinder, stick to Porter Cable or Bosch, though my cheapy from Harbor Freight has held up pretty well with some maintenance (the electrical chord burned out and the paddle switch broke in half. Repaired both).
The only way to learn how to make stuff is to try it and learn from your failures. I have an entire bin full of brackets that didn't fit or ended up looking like doo doo. I usually get it right on the second or third try, but sometimes, like this morning, it came out perfect right out of the gate!