Sunday, August 12, 2012

Here we go again...

Well, I decided I needed to do another bike.  Another cruiser.  As an aside...you can get an Electra for $250.  Nice bike...but what's the fun in that...


I started with a design that looked like this...


...which, conceptually is not bad.  But then I saw this...


Now clearly a completed project won't look exactly like that, but I certainly like it.

Anyway, I gathered up a lot of parts I had on hand and started assembling...


After a few issues that needed to be addressed--bent cranks, head tube that needed rethreading, flat spring in the springer, and a few other things--I got a version that's rideable...


So I'm going to leave it like this for a while.  I need to decide on how I want to finish it (if I want to finish it).  I need to decide on a half rear fender...a chain guard...other stuff?  I dunno.  To be honest, I like it as a rat bike...

Stay tuned...

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Grin Factor!

It's just not possible to have any more fun than riding this little thing brings me! The grin factor is just off the chart! :-)

After painting the tank for the third time, I decided to go with it as is...just all red. I might stripe it...or attempt to stripe it again...but I dunno...I sorta like it as is!

This is what it looked like after tonight's hour-plus ride...

Sorry for the poor quality...I took it with my cell-phone camera...
AWESOME FUN!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Things that suck...

I mocked up the final design for my tank and drove over to Kurt's place and dropped it off.  Below is the mockup, though the font in the mockup isn't what Kurt is going to use--he's going to paint "Mallin" in an Indian-style font, but I don't have that on my computer.  Anyway, you get the idea...


I thought that was that and very shortly I'd be getting a call from Kurt to come get it.  Well, I got a call from Kurt all right.  He said I wasn't going to be happy.  He said he began painting the graphics on the side of my tank, but when he pulled up the outlining tape, some of the paint came up with it.  Great...just great!  I went and picked up the tank...here's the damage...


At least Kurt didn't get too far into the painting...he simply put down the first coat of gold on one side and hadn't gotten into a second coat or the details with the black outlining.  

You know, I used paint and primer from the same manufacturer--the paint and primer recommended for use with each other...and I even scuffed up the primer a bit before applying the color coat.  The only thing I can figure is that somehow some way some sort of contaminant--oil, gas, oil from my hands...something--got on the primer.  Aggravating!

So for the third time, I will sand the tank down again (at least to the primer) and repaint it.  I think I will also allow a longer drying time before I take the it back to Kurt...maybe even put the tank in the oven for a bit (after 48 hours) to ensure the paint is cured.

On the plus side, it extends this project out a little longer and stops me from buying an old motorcycle for my next project...

Anyway...that's the current status.  I'm about to head into the garage and start sanding...[in the voice of Yosemite Sam] Frickin fracken...

Stay tuned...

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Almost...

Well, as I mentioned earlier...tonight was the night for the final coat of color paint on the tank. I dry sanded everything...then wet sanded everything to make it as smooth as possible.  There are a couple/three imperfections in the tank...I left them.  The reality is, I don't want it to me "flawless;" I want it to look as authentic as possible, so the imperfections add to the character.  Anyway, I think it turned out beautiful!


I'm very pleased!

So for the next 48 hours I will let the paint dry.  Friday afternoon (night) I'll go see Kurt so he can pinstripe and put the "Mallin" graphics on the sides of the tank.   Then the tank will get a coat of clear enamel...then 48 hours after that I will reassemble everything and take a few glamour shots of the bike and call it officially "Done!"

Almost there!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Preparing for the final detail...

I found someone to paint the graphic and pinstriping on the sides of my tank. The guy is a professional artist who does this sort of thing all the time...and he’s giving me a pretty sweet deal to do my tank. I'm going with what most of you suggested: old-school gold letters in an "Indian style" font with a black outline around the letters and black and gold pinstriping around the tank.

So given that his work is professional, I wanted my tank to look just as nice as his work. I’m not the greatest painter, but my frame and fender came out great. Unfortunately my tank had a few fisheyes in it, so before I drop it off with Kurt, the pinstripe guy, I decided to strip the tank down and redo it. I don’t consider myself a perfectionist, but clearly I have issues.

Here’s today’s work...

Step 1...(kinda looks like Eddie Van Halen painted it)
Step 2...
Step 3...
In 48 hours I’ll sand it down one last time and give it one final color coat before it goes to Kurt. I figure I’ll sand it and do the final color coat on Tuesday night...48 hours after that it can go to Kurt...so probably Thursday or Friday night. Then once I get the tank back I have to hit it with a coat of clear...then 48 hours after that everything will final be dry so I can put the bike back together and officially call it done!

Monday, October 18, 2010

"Mallin" ???

So one more (multi-part) question for you guys...

A. Do you like a graphic on the tank?

B. If the yes to A. above, which do you prefer from the choices below:

Choice 1 (gold):
Click to enlarge

Choice 2 (silver):
Click to enlarge

Choice 3 (silver with a black and silver pinstripe):
Click to enlarge

Choice 4 (gold with a black and gold pinstripe):
Click to enlarge

Thoughts?