First build

This is my first build. I have posted for a while now but today was the first day I had where everything was in that allowed me to do my first step of painting the frame.

So far this build is going to be a retro/vintage looking Indian cruiser/board track racer.

The frame is a GT2A Skyhawk frame with 150mm drop out. The front forks are black powder coated 1 1/8" threadless Sunlite Deluxe double springer. Once my threadless stem arrives Monday I hope the paint to be cured enough to assemble the head set so I can cut my steer tube down to size then I will be using Eastwood Down to Metal paint and powdercoat stripper so I can paint the forks in the same color as the frame.

Anyways here are the photos I have taken from what I have done today.

Primered with Dupli-Color self etching primer

Base coat

Base Coat w/ Indian Script

First coat of clear

Second coat of clear

Third and final coat of clear

For me the shape of the frame resulted in some over spray with the clear so I am hoping when it comes to the buff stage after this clear had time to dry it will buff out. If not I still have some clear left over and I will simply put more clear where it needs it and just blend it in.

For those that are wondering the paint is 1949/1950 Dodge Red. This red as per PaintRef.com shows the mixing code is the same as Coke-Cola red. Which from my research a guy who had these bikes new said the closest match to Indian red was Coke-Cola red as that's what his guy did when there wasn't any Indian red for his bike he would use Coke-Cola red for a almost perfect match. The clear is automotive grade high gloss clear that I purchased from AutomotiveTouchup which is where the base coat came from as well. I have used their paint in the past for automotive and am very impressed with color matching even for 40+ year old vehicles that are sun bleached.

 

[Rusty_S85]

It sounds like all your problems stem (stem! ) from trying to stick to a certain look instead of letting form follow function. Which I'm not going to criticise (it's your bike), but it does make things tricky for you!

Too much of a perfectionist is my problem. I am going for a vintage/retro looking motor bicycle look. Hence why I used a Indian color for paint and the proper Indian script decal.

Aside from that my perfectionist in me has me thinking of spraying the whole frame again with clear to fix the hazy over spray. I sprayed the fork pieces today and they came out beautiful nice and smooth and shiny. Now I don't know if I want to risk trying to polish the frame out or just mask it off again hang it up wipe the clear down with my paint prep to remove any oil and dust off the clear and then spray the whole thing again and put it on thicker and wetter this time to eliminate the hazy over spray. Thing is I will have to buy two more cans of clear as I am out of clear doing the front fork pieces.

 

[Rusty_S85]

Well I uploaded some photos and they will be below. I went ahead and rehung my frame and wiped it down with Eastwood Pre to remove oil from me handling the frame to install the bearing cups. I then sprayed clear on the whole frame again and it came out in my book 110% better than before. Still some slight dullness in the side and top of the gas tank due to roughness but that is easily repaired with some 1000 - 1500 grit sand paper and a Blue then White buff wheel with #2 3M machinist polish.

Primary Fork

Secondary Fork

Misc. Components for Fork

And below are two photos of the frame after I clear coated it again today to correct my haze problems on the seat down tube, the rear down tubes and around the fuel tank to seat tube joint.

And last but not least, I ordered last night this handle bar from HBBC. I tried to order the Clubman Deluxe from Jake but he was out of stock and HBBC was out of stock as well wouldn't get more in till November/December. This was the last one they had listed online as well so I ordered their Project 346 Motorcycle Handle bar as from the photos it appears identical to the Clubman Deluxe just not as high of a rise/drop so this one might actually be more my style considering that I am 6ft 1in tall and I am not sure how well this bike will fit me once completed.

 

[Crisco]

Nice.. Paint job looks good..! Are you going to flip those bars..?? Given how tall you are it wouldn't hurt if you were slammed on the front end..

 

[Rusty_S85]

Nice.. Paint job looks good..! Are you going to flip those bars..?? Given how tall you are it wouldn't hurt if you were slammed on the front end..

Thanks, I had to shoot more clear on the frame as when I did my forks they looks great and I wasn't happy with the gloss on the frame.

That is my plan to flip them and see how they feel. I am also looking at maybe getting a laid back seat post to move the seat back more over the rear tire so I would be more leaning forward than hunched forward. Down side is those handle bars don't appear to be as tall as the others so upside down shouldn't be too aggressive which is good cause this I don't want to look like a board track racer. I want this to look more like a retro 1916 motor bicycle.

Aside from that I just spent $65 with Grubee and bought his 61mm #2 HD axle which based off the chart over on Bicycle-Engines.com is used for a single speed 150mm drop out. I also got a 44T sprocket, the listing for the axle lists a 36T, 44T, or a 48T but all I could find on his website is 44T. Would have liked to get a 36T to play around with and see what would be best. I wont be running a stock 2 stroke my plans as of now is to pick up a GT5 Grubee 2 stroke and then do some work on it. Would love to get it around 4 to 5 hp if possible.

My only concern now is wheels. I was going to buy a set of wheels from MBRebel.com for $115 and then have my local bike shop swap my 61mm HD axle for the rear wheel. Down side is I didn't think of this but guy over on the RatRod Bike forums told me I most likely will have to change spokes as going with a wider hub will most likely make the sprockets too short. Well if I buy the wheel set for $115 and the HD axle set with sprocket is $65, local bike shop charges $50 a wheel to assemble with your parts. I am looking right at $230. I am waiting on a email from them how much could I be looking at having two wheels built by them buying the parts from them minus the rear hub. Might be cheaper to go this route and I could have the wheels faster than ordering them.

Down side for that is I don't know if they stock plain chrome/black rims without decal lettering. I just want plain looking vintage spoke wheels. Just like what was on my old mountain bike from the '90s that I still have. Could probably use those rims but they are multi speed and the things been sitting on the front porch for close to 20 years. So I am sure they are rusted pretty good by now.

Other thing is the tire. I am not so sure now the CST C241 White Wall 26x2.125 tires will fit on the 26x2.125 wheels I was looking at. I also am now wary of if they will fit my bike. Bicycle-Engine states 150mm frame can handle up to 2 1/4" wide tire. Ive heard of people running up to 3" wide on the forks I have. But I didn't know that 2.125" is not the actual width of the tire as that varys based off the width of the rim. Apparently a 38mm wide/29mm inside width rim will result in this 26x2.125 tire to be shorter and fatter than if I ran it on a narrower rim.

 

[Rusty_S85]

Ok today I received my 61mm HD axle, my HBBC handle bar, and my speedometer.

Everything is fine except for the HD axle I had to email Grubee for clarification. Over on Bicycle-Engines it has the same diagrams that he provided in box but it states the 61mm HD axle is for single speed 150mm drop out frames while the 51mm HD axle is for multi speed 150mm drop out and single speed 135mm drop out. Paperwork he included stated this 61mm HD axle is a single speed HD axle for 135mm drop out frames. I have a gut feeling this is a typo.

Tires I ordered on Wed. at 1pm still have not shipped, wont be doing business with Niagara ever again as the two CST C241 tires cost me $24 but shipping was $28.90 and it still didn't ship out yet. My wheel set I ordered at 8pm Wed night and my tracking number shows my delivery date moved up from Saturday to tomorrow.

So if this axle will work which I think it will, I will be at the bicycle shop this Saturday paying them to swap the axle over so maybe I can assemble my bike enough to sit it on its wheels while the clear coat cures more.

 

[Rusty_S85]

Well Friday I received my wheel set and was amazed at how much beefier this axle is than the old one. In any case I formulated a plan to use this hub on my frame. I had a brainstorm and realized the frames are the same only thing different is the drop out so all I have to do is center the wheel in my frame by using 17mm spacers on each side of the axle. I was going to try and get x2 10mm, x2 5mm, and x2 2mm spacers so I can fine tune but seems all I am able to find is 5mm or 2mm in bulk packs. Might have to do that.

I dropped my wheel and hub off at the local bike shop when they opened at 10am on Saturday, told me I might need new spokes the difference in eyelet diameter is very close but is still off a little. I told them what ever it takes to build the wheel as I want to use this hub. Told me it would probably be Wed maybe Fri at the latest.

I assembled my secondary fork Saturday, wont do the link bars till after I get it mounted on my frame. Didn't want to do that just yet as I wanted both wheels so I could sit the bike on the rims to keep the painted surface off the ground.

Another problem I ran into which isn't that major but my speedometer drive will not work with the front wheel as the spoke flange is too tall. I am thinking of drilling holes side by side in the spoke flange for the ear to slip into but not sure if I want to go that route. I did find some kind of adapter that mounts on the wheel that has square notches cut in it for what I assume is the speedometer to mount. Down side is it wont work on this as I cant put the speedometer drive flush with the wheel as the ear hits the hub itself. I thought of flattening the ear out and rebending it further up to custom fit it but I have a feeling it is going to break the metal ear off.

In the mean time a little update here is late but I have some new photos that I haven't had the time to share till now.

61mm HD Grubee Axle

Secondary Fork reassembled

New wheel set

My tires still haven't shipped they emailed me back that they canceled my order like I requested of them since I refuse to pay $28 shipping for $24 worth of tires that they still hadn't shipped out on Saturday morning after I ordered them on Wed. Their website still lists my order as awaiting fulfillment so I cant order other tires as I don't want to end up with 4 sets of tires.

 

[Rusty_S85]

A new little update. Just got a notification from PayPal that Niagara refunded my money. Went to their website and see they did not how ever refund my $30.30 store credit they gave me for paying return shipping on the fork I sent back to them. I had to argue with them to get it in the first place so I will just let them steal the $30.30 from me and never do business with them again. I went ahead and purchased two of the same tires off BikeTireDirect and shipping was $5. Says I will get them by the 14th. I'm at the point I don't care as I cant justify spending more money on shipping than I am on the tires. I also don't even know if the local bike shop even carries this tire. In any case odds are UPS Ground they should get me the thing by Friday if this company doesn't drop the ball and hold onto the tire till Thursday to ship it out.

I also ordered from Amazon which will be here Wed. a Mr Tuffy tire liner in brown for $16.

 

[gary55]

Beautiful bike. Your a little wrong on your springer assy. It should be spring, rubber bushing, washer, top bracket, rubber bushing, washer, 1st nut, acorn nut. I know they often come assembled wrong. If you run it like you have it now every time you go over a bump the studs with the nuts on top of them will move upward through the holes in the top bracket and when the return downward the nuts slam against the top bracket. It will not only drive you crazy due to the loud clacking noise it makes, but will probably chip the s**t out of that beautiful paint job on the top bracket.View media item 60781

 

[Rusty_S85]

Gary, thanks that's what I was thinking was that one of the rubber bushings and washers went on top of the bracket to protect the bracket. I will swap it around before I assemble the secondary fork to the primary fork.

You are right about it being assembled wrong, the way I reassembled was the way I took it apart.

 

[gary55]

Looking forward to seeing the finished product. That is one hell of a first build. The reason I caught that is because I made the mistake of buying a bike built by someone else. I've built a lot of bikes but to listen to him you would think he was the guru of all builds. The springer was put together wrong and the cables were run in between the springs. Clattered like hell, and crushed the cables. that was just the start of my education of realizing that pictures of a bike don't even come close to the important things that really make one work. Long story short I had to take it apart to the frame to get it to where it was a reliable ride.