Schwinn Build II (straight bar)

[lillback44]

She's a beauty Quenton! That's some bold colors! Mine is going to be boring all black with a little chrome. I love it when a build starts finally starts coming together. Dropped off frame, feathered chainguard, and some fork legs at the powder coater this morning. I decided to change the forks from reproduction monark forks to the classic Schwinn springer fork with heavy duty whizzer spring.
I already have a nice powder coated steer tube and I had the fork legs so I made a call to Fred White in Ohio for the yoke assembly and heavy duty spring I needed. Those of you who don't know Fred, he sells hard to find vintage and repro Whizzer and Schwinn parts, as well as rebuilding and selling Tillotson and Carter carbs. Fred can be reached @ 330-770-4324 if your looking for parts.
Nothing beats original parts if you can get them and I was not happy with the reproduction monark forks I purchased so I decided at the last minute to change them. Cheap repro parts just don't have the look or feel of the original in most cases.
Most parts will be here by the end of the week so I hope to have this together by the end of the weekend! Stay tuned for pics. Here are a few pics of the parts sent off to powder coat.

 

[lillback44]

I decided to make a few changes from my original plans and decided on a traditional Whizzer gas tank, which arrived yesterday. The nice thing about building your own bike is being able to make changes along the way.

 

[k-wad]

Very good choice!
One of my favorite things about the Whizzer is the shape/size of the gas tank.

 

[jbcruisin]

Very good choice!
One of my favorite things about the Whizzer is the shape/size of the gas tank.

I like the Whizzer tank too.

 

[lillback44]

I received my parts today from the Powder Coater today and couldn't wait to post the pics! This is one of the most exciting part of the build for me! Taking something old and beat up and bringing it back to like new. Just think of how many old bikes and motors like this found their way to the scrap yard.
Lots more pics to come as I start to put this thing together tomorrow.

 

[jbcruisin]

nice!!!!

 

[lillback44]

In a effort to prevent scratching the frame while installing the motor I wrapped the frame with a old inner tube and taped it with the green tape. It may be a little hard to see in the pic.
The H-motor is a extremely tight fit on a Panther/Hornet frame so I'm trying to protect the frame. While mocking up the bike I really scratched and chipped the paint badly.
This posting isn't about how much it costs to build a bike. but I wanted to mention how affordable powder coating is. The frame, chainguard and fork legs only cost me $130 total. Another bonus is that you don't need to do sanding and any prep work because they do all of that for you. The finish is beautiful and will certainly outlast paint. I'd almost be willing to bet that the finish on this bike was not this nice when new!
The only real downside to this is that deep pitting or dents will show, as you can't powder coat over bondo, however the nice shiny black helps to hide the flaws

 

[lillback44]

Here's a pic of the bike as it starts to come together.

 

[tigatron]

That's purty ... I'm trying to find a reasonable priced place to powder coat around me but so far best quote was $200 for just frame.
And that motor is a very tight fit.
You planning a custom tank? IMHO it would look good with an in frame tank. (I can't stand the kit tanks & personally an trying to find a 2gal motorcycle tank).

I love cruisers and MB so keep up the good work.

 

[lillback44]

Thanks Tigatron! If your planning on building an old Schwinn or a Whizzer, $200 would be a very small amount of your budget!!! I don't know where you from, but if you have any local powder coating shops in your area you may negotiate a better price by seeing what colors the place is scheduled to run and go with one of them. If they are already doing a certain color it is cheaper for them to do yours too. Shops may use a color like high gloss black multiple times per week and that is a way to get your bike done cheaper and faster. Got my bike done in 4 days!