Fisch's new ride!

[fisch]

So I just got bitten by the Bike bug, which explains why I've been a bit more quiet around these parts! (I discovered Rat Rod Bikes dot com) I started a project thread there, but want to share to progress with my Ratsun peeps!

 

Not that bikes will ever replace the love for the Dat, but my daughter is at prime bike riding age, and I want to play too and haven't had my own bike since 7th grade!!

 

So I just picked up this 24" '69 Sears Spyder for $35 and in a few days took it from rusty junk to a rider, which swiftly came apart and is currently in primer waiting so be sanded down. It has the SHimano 333 5-speed setup. Shifter on the frame, naturally! What sold me on it was the uniqueness of the twin rear calipers. Also something about the way the chain guard flows into the rear fender has me hot and bothered... Thinking I might bob that fender more too... hmmm so much to think about!

 

 

24" muscle (This is sorta a muscle bike.) isn't all that popular, value wise or collector wise compared to 20", but all the more reason to try to make something cool out of it and have some damn fun, right!

 

At the moment the plan is to fab some sort of tank to fill the upper bars, and go for a bit of a beefy copper/ brass steampunkish feel. I've done my homework and learned that this one was based on the Sears Spaceliner frame. I could get a tank from one of those, but would like to try to fill almost the entire length of the quad cantilever upper bars with something custom first! Try to integrate the stick shift into it and leave room for the rear calipers.

 

 

[CharlieBucket]

Very cool, but i fear you might be getting me into a new hobby!

[fisch]

This is how is currently sits.

 

I was thinking of going with a Brooks type brown leather saddle, but thought I should try to make the original banana seat work first. The problem I had with it is that the sissy bar broke up the flow of this bike. Especially the line created from the chainguard to the fender. So using an rim from teh '59 I bent the hell out of that sissy! I liked the lines that created, but worried about it bending under my weight, so I need to anchor the front nose of the seat, using the original post as a fulcrum. At the moment the thing I like most is the drum brake shoe from the 1971 Datsun! It should be plenty strong. You can see foamcor where I plan on cutting the shoe.

 

I think the seat looks pretty cool now and can cover it with brown leather. Also the brake shoe will be painted whatever color I do the rest of the frame in, so it will match a little better.

 

I am also thinking it would be wicked to mount the 5-speed stick shift to the 'hump' in the middle of the brake shoe! I also did a copper insert for now, but have been thinking about using Fender guitar pick guard material.

 

Lastly I picked 2 schwinn 24X1.95 wheels. I have one on the front, but want to change the tires to something more classy!

 

 

Pics!

 

 

I was surprised how well the bent sissy bolted in front of that back wheel! I used long bolts with rubber hoses on them for protection (top one isn't all the way in there yet!) Still have lots of room for the twin brake calipers.

 

That is all atm folks! THe '59 is crying from lack of attention!

[Creepy Cruiser]

Damn, that's cool!

[motavated]

Nice!!!

[fisch]

Very cool, but i fear you might be getting me into a new hobby!

 

 

Tell me about it Charlie! My wife could see the avalanche coming when I picked this up!! Spending some time at Ratrodbikes.com blew my freakin mind, and now I want a prewar bike, a board tracker, a cycle truck, a fixie! But she is so cool, she said "ell they take up a lot less room than cars, and you can make one for each of us and we can go out riding them!" Gotta love her.

 

As if I didn't lose enough time surfing the net for Datsun related goodies!!! There are 100 years of bike designs and stuff out there!!

 

Check out this madness!! (NOT MINE) A dude made this one so you could open and close the mouth and it spits freakin FIRE!!!

 

 

 

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Scott the new bike rocks. Love the brake shoe under the seat :cool:

I have a friend who builds bikes like that,,,they stand out & get plenty of looks.

[The Dat-side]

I haven't been on RRB since last summer. Is the bike build off going on right now? I was going to enter last year. Last summer I bought 5-6 bikes, most for parts. I need to finish up my bike. But luckly the datto comes first since it's the DD.

[]2eDeYe]

Nice bike. :cool:

 

I was rebuilding a bike for my mom, but she killed my enthusiasm when she bought a new seat instead of revoering the origonal. You may have rekindled it. :lol:

[fisch]

I haven't quite gotten the lay of the land there yet, but I think build off 5 is going on!

 

RRB buildoff 5

 

It also looks like they do individual challenges between two builders here and there too? Totally inspirational stuff!

[matchstyc]

Cool bike, I like the double brake caliper. And the sissy bar turned out sweet! Not to mention you have good taste in guitars. Post more pix with the progress! I build bikes as well and still rock my first Schwinn that I actually learned to ride on when I was a kid. I use it as a bar crawler now. Haha. I recently cleaned it up and got some new whitewalls for it. There's a pic of me on it with my pup. Viva la banana seat! I also build sweet BMX bikes.

[freaky510]

Man you alway score the cool stuff that bike is totally sick

[fisch]

Cool bike, I like the double brake caliper. And the sissy bar turned out sweet! Not to mention you have good taste in guitars. Post more pix with the progress! I build bikes as well and still rock my first Schwinn that I actually learned to ride on when I was a kid. I use it as a bar crawler now. Haha. I recently cleaned it up and got some new whitewalls for it. There's a pic of me on it with my pup. Viva la banana seat! I also build sweet BMX bikes.

 

 

 

Dude I gotta see more pics of that bike, pronto! Also, a Boston Terrier! Freakin love them. My next dog will be one, or a mix with one, like a Bug or a french-bo. More and more I notice how much cross over there is with folks around here. Like we are all drinking from the same cool-aid!

 

There is a thread around here with my guitars, but I will post a pic of the family!

 

 

 

 

[I'm BLUE]

Didn't know you were a mod :D

[fisch]

Man you alway score the cool stuff that bike is totally sick

 

 

Dude freaky, not sure if it is vintage, but craigslist is your friend! Looks the part and the price is right! The springer forks alone could be anywhere from $40 to $90!

 

Freaky Banana!

[purple]

I don't have any bikes, japanese basses or Datsuns. JUST KIDDING!

 

The link you posted is a Bratz bike that was sold at Walmart. I was a bike assembler there for a while. Even though the stickers are removed the grips give it away.

[datrod]

Well I just went and got my bike out of the shed and took a couple pic's. But freakin photo bucket is giving me a hard time. I'll try again soon. It's not as cool as yours fisch but I did build it from a pile of chit. I would have been better off just buying a bike. Could have saved myself some $$$

 

 

O.K. photo bucket is back up now. This is a mid 70's off the wall bike. Some old guy in my complex was going to toss it in the trash. Well I saved it. I wish I would have had some before pics. Sand blasted it and powder coated the frame and fenders. Put some 52 spoke wheels a springer front. Flamed tires. Oh and some short handle bars. Hope you like it fisch.

It's more of a hot rod lowrider style that rad rod. But when we go down to the beach I get lots of looks. Everyone likes it.

[datrod]

Here is another project I just finished. I thought you might get a kick out of fisch.

Some very good friends of mine gave this to me a few months ago. Well it just didn't look right. So I had to slam it a little.

[motavated]

I had one of these but sold it....

 

I don't regret it either... My fat ass could not ride it... :(

It was rusting away so i sold it to someone to restore it and such...

[HRH]

Here is another project I just finished. I thought you might get a kick out of fisch.

Some very good friends of mine gave this to me a few months ago. Well it just didn't look right. So I had to slam it a little.

 

 

That's neat, how did you do the emblem on the grill? Custom made, shop done?

[Pumpkn210]

Does mine count as a RRB?

[bonvo]

i diggin the bike man i made a frankenbike a while ago i took my first bike (12 inch i think) put a set of 26 inch cruser bike forks on it with a toddler bike front wheel found a mongoose bent seat post and put it on backwards so the seat was over the back wheel and made a sissy bar of sorts out of inch square tubing the bike is long gone now otherwise i would take some pics ill draw it out in photoshop so you can get the idea

 

 

 

 

i see 2 in this pic i would love to own the ibanez in the upper left and the ibanez bass :P

[Guest DatsuNoob]

Very cool! I have a black 26" Huffy beach cruiser frame that looks to be from the mid to late 50's possibly early 60's. Also a 60's 20" Schwinn Stingray frame. I may end up getting around to doing something with them one day. The truck will get done 1st though. They're just too cool to toss out.

[fisch]

Totally, totally RAD Datrod! The bike and the wagon. Though I would expect nothing but quality from anything you touched! Those ape hangers are crazy awesome tall.

 

Adam I hear you on the small muscle bikes! One of the pluses of the '69 Spyder is that it is a 24" bike rather than a 20" like most muscle, so there is a bit more room for a grown man to fit! But there seem to be a lot less options for tires in a 24". The schwinn Manta-ray was also 24" muscle, but with a single top tube rather than the cantilever, style most muscle had. So grab a 24" bike and start pedaling!

 

The next generation of spyder bike was pretty neat too. Came stock with ramshorn handlebars. But the frame isn't quite as sexy as the '69. Still I was bidding on a mint one at a bike auction a few weekends ago!

 

What I really want to find is a cycle truck. They were industrial bikes used for deliveries with a massive basket on front and a huge space to hang a sign. Some dudes are removing the baskets and making them cool as hell!

 

[fisch]

Does mine count as a RRB?

 

 

 

I think that defines a rat rod bike Pumpkn! You should get a 'stunt' bike. Crazy bikes that were hinged in the middle!