As promised here are some pictures of my previously mentioned rat bike.It is torn apart right now since I am working on modifications. The copper tubing in the first picture is part of a new tank mockup.
It is a 1936 Hawthorne frame, 1950s Monark springer fork, 1930s schwinn brakes: front drum, rear cantilever, 9 speed rear hub: Sturmey archer AW threespeed hub with a cyclo triple hub sprocket shifted by an mid 1960s chrome plated bronze Campagnolo Record derailleur. I modified handlebars from a small dirtbike by brazing a Campagnolo braze-on downtube shifter, and brazing on cable guides made from the inner rollers from bicycle chain. The 1950s era three speed hub is shifted by a 1930s vintage top tube shifter mounted on the handlebar.
The front hub is a 1930s Schwinn drum brake. I originally built this bike as a mountain bike prototype in 1980. All the parts except the front fork, rear hub and derailleur, alloy rims and tires, and handlebars were made before WWII. I built the wheels at this time with the only 26X1 1/2" rims alloy rims available: Araya. I made a headbadge from an emblem off of some old machine , thus conceiving a bike brand that never was.
I rolled it to fit the radius of the headtube. I used a Monark springer fork off of a girls bike because of it's longer steering tube. I put large washers between the forkcrown and the crownrace to lift the headtube and give more bottombracket clearance since this was an off road prototype. The frame is from a Hawthorne brand bike which was sold by Montgomery Ward. It was made by Cleveland Welding Co who made many brands for numerous companies. When I first got a chinese motor, I was planning to put it on either an old Schwinn straight tube or a phantom frame, both of which I had lying around. Both these frames had curved downtubes and I didn't like the way the motor fit the either frame. The rat bike has straight down and seat tubes and they were at the exactly correct angles to fit my motor without modification. I don't like the way the teardrop tank fits this frame, so I am in the process of making a tank to fit between the toptubes. I also didn't like having two left handlebar levers(1 clutch, 1 brake). I didn't want to use a twistgrip type clutch control either. I ended up taking a barend gearshift lever and modifiing it to use as a clutch lever. It has more travel than the stock lever and is adjustable for tension. I have it rigged to run in the down position(out of my way) and disengage the clutch in the up position. This is still out of my way but increases the width of the handlebar by 1.5 inches. On most motorcycles the left lever is the clutch and the right lever is the front brake. On most bicycles the left lever is the front brake and the right lever the rear. I decided to go with the standard bike lever setup, since this is more bike than BIKE. I have a few more pictures which I will post right after this.
It is a 1936 Hawthorne frame, 1950s Monark springer fork, 1930s schwinn brakes: front drum, rear cantilever, 9 speed rear hub: Sturmey archer AW threespeed hub with a cyclo triple hub sprocket shifted by an mid 1960s chrome plated bronze Campagnolo Record derailleur. I modified handlebars from a small dirtbike by brazing a Campagnolo braze-on downtube shifter, and brazing on cable guides made from the inner rollers from bicycle chain. The 1950s era three speed hub is shifted by a 1930s vintage top tube shifter mounted on the handlebar.
The front hub is a 1930s Schwinn drum brake. I originally built this bike as a mountain bike prototype in 1980. All the parts except the front fork, rear hub and derailleur, alloy rims and tires, and handlebars were made before WWII. I built the wheels at this time with the only 26X1 1/2" rims alloy rims available: Araya. I made a headbadge from an emblem off of some old machine , thus conceiving a bike brand that never was.
I rolled it to fit the radius of the headtube. I used a Monark springer fork off of a girls bike because of it's longer steering tube. I put large washers between the forkcrown and the crownrace to lift the headtube and give more bottombracket clearance since this was an off road prototype. The frame is from a Hawthorne brand bike which was sold by Montgomery Ward. It was made by Cleveland Welding Co who made many brands for numerous companies. When I first got a chinese motor, I was planning to put it on either an old Schwinn straight tube or a phantom frame, both of which I had lying around. Both these frames had curved downtubes and I didn't like the way the motor fit the either frame. The rat bike has straight down and seat tubes and they were at the exactly correct angles to fit my motor without modification. I don't like the way the teardrop tank fits this frame, so I am in the process of making a tank to fit between the toptubes. I also didn't like having two left handlebar levers(1 clutch, 1 brake). I didn't want to use a twistgrip type clutch control either. I ended up taking a barend gearshift lever and modifiing it to use as a clutch lever. It has more travel than the stock lever and is adjustable for tension. I have it rigged to run in the down position(out of my way) and disengage the clutch in the up position. This is still out of my way but increases the width of the handlebar by 1.5 inches. On most motorcycles the left lever is the clutch and the right lever is the front brake. On most bicycles the left lever is the front brake and the right lever the rear. I decided to go with the standard bike lever setup, since this is more bike than BIKE. I have a few more pictures which I will post right after this.
