Wasn't looking for another project..
 

So the last year has given me more time with the kids at home because, well, they've been home a lot with everything that's been going on. I havent missed much if any work. In fact it has been the opposite. Just about anytime that Im not working my regular job, there's someone who needs some work done on their house.

The past year, with the kids home much of the time has made it clearer to me that I really need to try and balance work and home times better.

Last year, around this time, the boy and I built a BMX bike ramp which he and his friends abuse regularly. It was therapeutic for me without a doubt and I think that he had an alright time designing and seeing that he could make things that he conjured up. It was fun for me to help a little, let him make a few of his own mistakes and in the end have a useable product.

We have still been home a lot although it seems things are loosening up some lately but that hasn't stopped him from his next harebrained idea... I wasn't too crazy about the rusty pile of junk that he drug home for 40$ but he had a better vision than I did. At this point Ive bought in..

I present to you the Rusty Spoke OCC Chopper...

Sorry, no pics of when he got it. It truly was a piece of junk :lol:

This is after the first prime coat after bead blasting. I guess its a high build primer - filler. There was a lot of sanding to get the rust pits filled in and the frame looking good. Tank tabs and engine mounting tabs welded on replacing the funky "U"bolts that the engine kit came with..

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This is what it started out as before it was left in the bottom of a creek bed years ago :lol:

He is aiming to make it as good if not better than new..

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Here he is color sanding the frame and saying how he thought it would have been finished a couple of weeks ago. The frame burned through 4 cans of that primer to get it smooth enough for paint.

He's chomping at the bit to ride it but he's not ok with "good enough" or bare minimum. He's a pretty decent wrench and not happy with stock. Has to be custom. He's got better vision than I do..and more energy :lol:

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This bugger has a pretty wide rear tire. 3.5" but only 30 - 40 spokes which were nearly rusted the rough. No way they'd be safe to bomb around on let alone having an 80cc, 4hp 2 stroke turning it.

He found a new set of stainless spokes with red anodized nipples to replace them. I kept my mouth shut but was blown away that he was able to re lace it in a half an hour hanging out watching tv the other night. Ive never re laced a wheel but I sure have bent a bunch of them. He took to it like a duck to water!

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The stock chain tensioner was also a u-bolt mount and looked a bit chintzy as well. We fabbed this one up using parts from the original one and some spare flat stock to keep the chain off of the brake lever.

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Two weeks ago, I took River down to NAPA to meet Paul "the paint guy". See, they fill aerosol cans with automotive grade paint which makes it pretty convenient for small repairs and projects like this while giving a way wider range of colors and finishes than a hardware store. Just last year I used some of this paint on a replacement boat trailer fender that I tried to take down an oak tree with. The fender matched the rest of the trailer perfectly. The oak tree is still doing well :lol:.

Anyway, with Paul's help he picked out a Diamond White Pearl and a real nice metallic red for all of the bolt on bits.

Saturday was paint day which stretched into Sunday. Had to order one more base and mid coat of the pearl this morning to finish up the forks and a couple of other small parts. After that, it is off to the 2K clear coat and reassembly. Its really taking shape now and Im hoping he's riding in a week or two..

This is the base coat and mid coat pearl. Cant see it in the photos but man, this thing really pops in the sunlight!

You can see the forks sitting on the stand under the frame. We ran out of paint partway through one of them. At least we had enough for the frame!

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The red metallic base laid down nicely and flowed well. The tank came off of an old Kohler 4hp engine. We soldered four countersunk 1/4"-20 screws and an 1/8" fitting for the fuel valve into it. All of the little bolt on bits (not pictured) are the same red.

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There was a little too much white on the frame and he wanted to break it up a little. We masked off the gusset, seat clamp and kickstand mount and shot the red metallic. The tape lines will get pinned in black and buried in the clear coat. Again, his idea.

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And where she sits at the end of the weekend.. Not bolted but everything just placed. A little instant gratification. Im pretty proud of him.

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It's looking good Chris. You should be proud.

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Sure does look great. And it's only the beginning. There is no turning back now. He's building customs now :cool:.

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Looking good, he should be proud. Nice of you to help him with it

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The boy's dipping his toes into a life time love affair with making things with your hands, not on a computer program. And he has vision, necessary to start from scratch and see things through. Congrats Dad.

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It's looks great! There's no stopping him now.....:metal:

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Looks great! I had one I sold a year or so ago, pretty decent shape. I sold it for 50 bucks with an extra seat, rear wheel & fender..... :(

LockDoc

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Good for you guys! A nice father and son project, and he can use those skills for a lifetime...and a living, for that matter.

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Love these projects, i have a West Coast Chopper bicycle awaiting my time to install a powerplant...but is so much fun to pedal around with the kiddos

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It's really cool that you guys are working on that together and that you are letting him decide how he wants it to look. It's coming together nicely and it's always cool to take something beat up and discarded and make it into something worthwhile.

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Ill pass the compliment on. He's doing most all of the leg and grunt work. But yes, Im way proud of the guy Paul.

When he started fixing bicycles a few years ago, I told him "get good with your hands but use your mind, be creative and you'll never have to own someone else's idea of cool". Man Tim, I didn't think he was listening until recently. Now Im a little worried that he's been listening to everything thats come out of my mouth :lol:!


I think he is pretty proud although he's pretty quiet about. Think he's become more patient and determined to get it to where he wants it. Kinda of a neat side of him Im seeing.

It all started with him watching me repair things. Mostly out of necessity or my need to be self sufficient. Its kind of a disorder in my case :lol: and I feel like Im encouraging the same disorder in him. Doesn't feel very parent like but I am enjoying seeing him kick off the training wheels!

No kidding Dale! He's already 10 steps ahead of me. A couple of weeks ago he popped the head gasket on his dirt bike pulling wheelies on a cold engine. Told him that he has to buy the $40 dollar head gasket and talk to the machinist about decking the head. Now he's looking into a big bore set up that adds 70cc to an already fast 400! Yeah, no stopping him..:dohh:

Maybe he has inherited my "buy high, sell low" financial strategy Leon. I think Ive gotta work on some basic investment skills with him next! :lol::lol:
Seriously though, parts for this thing are tough to find especially rear wheels. That was the reason for re spoking the rear on this one. Heck, complete bikes in decent shape are fetching 300-700 around here. $40 creek bed special it is! :lol:

Hopefully Im investing in a future of him not living on my couch when he's 30 :lol::lol:! In all honesty, Its been a treat for me. He gets his license in a few months and this is likely the last bicycle that I will help him to build. I was a little bummed thinking about it like that. Then he starts talking about a '90 Furd Ranger that my Pop is giving him and how he wants to convert it to a 4x4. That bittersweet thought quickly turned into an "oh crap" moment!

They're pretty cool alright. I had never seen one until he showed me the rust bucket. Been thinking of having him add an engine to my '78 Schwinn Spitfire cruiser!

Its been real cool to see that he has his own style and watch him work through some of the snags that have come up through the project.

As far as taking something beat up and discarded and making it into something worthwhile, my Mrs may disagree with you but I certainly have appreciated her efforts with me over the last 22 yrs ;)!

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Not much to report today. Paint wasn't ready for pickup and had to work late. River did get the tubes patched up and the tires on the hoops. He's going to save up for new front spokes to match the rear but thats a little down the road a ways. I think the tires and wheel combo are going to tie in well..

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Whitewalls.....nice!

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What's the little motor and how fast will it take it?

Very cool project. I never knew these bikes existed either.

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Cool project . The OCC bycicles were better than their actual choppers . Orange county is the next county over the first shop was about 35 minutes from my old house. Used to see Senior and young Paul at local poker runs and charity rides before the show . They usually never made it to the rides end .

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I may have helped on that decision :lol:. My Shovelhead has had wide whites since he was 2 or 3. I agree. They're gonna look pretty sharp!

The motor comes in a kit from BBR. I think BBR modifies dirt bikes and makes parts for them as well. This motor is a 66 / 80 (I'm guessing a 66cc) 2 stroke. 4 - 4.5 hp depending on what you're reading. 1 speed with a handle bar mount cable clutch. Engine is bump started every time. As far as top speed.. not really sure. Maybe 25 - 30?

Interesting that the engine comes unassembled with zero instructions. Pretty clearly a china bomb knock off with the accompanied poor quality. :lol: I asked River how he and his friends assemble them and he said that they just slap 'em together..:lol:. I guess his buddies have have more than a few blow up as well. I helped him with his. Decked the head, cleaned the overspray out of the cylinder and packing peanuts out of the case. Checked ring gap, used assembly lube on everything blah, blah, blah. My son said "he and his buddies didn't do any of that stuff".:dohh:

It is a cool bike though. Ive seen the bicycles fetching a couple of bucks out here. Saw one unassembled in a box going for 500 recently. Never knew they existed til now. Current affairs aren't really my strong suit :lol:.

Thank you for the laugh! Ive only built 2 chops and my current Shovel. Im no pro builder by any means but would like to think that the manure is on the outside of my boots unlike, well, those two.. :lol::lol:. Id watch the show with buddies that Id ride or wrench with and it was more of a sitcom for us. Just goes to show that a fool and their money are always parting somewhere :lol:

Anyways, for a fairly "inexpensive" bicycle, its actually pretty well built as you say. Nice welds, heavy enough tubing to have a couple of ponds of rust blasted off and still be solid. Nice thick drop outs for the rear wheel.

Your story about them still has me laughing though!

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This doesn't surprise me one bit. After seeing a bit of their show, I wouldn't let either one of those knuckleheads near my bike.

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Cool bike and even cooler project. Your son has a good eye and clearly has caught the knack from you. It is both a blessing and a curse. I caught it from multiple sources, father, uncle, and grandfather.

Love the build photos and now on board for the finished product. Classic cool never goes out of style. It may not be the front runner at the moment, but everyone that sees it, recognizes it, and appreciates it.

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Same, after googling them, I kinda want one :lol:

I've finally reached a point where I'm so busy/focused with my own family/life, I literally give zero "trucks" about much of anything outside of keeping up with politics (which seems is becoming way more important than it should :rolleyes: ). New movies or who's famous, new music... couldn't tell you....

Even if they are crap, I think it's really cool him and his friends are assembling engines and blowing them up and rebuilding them. Gives us all hope :)

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Its a sickness alright. Not a bad one though if you ask me.

Yeah, kinda the same thought here. The kids and work don't leave much time for other diversions. I may complain about having another project but truth be told, its been pretty satisfying for me. Heck, a lot of people don't even get time to spend time like this with their kids and Im sure one day he will be busy with his own.

Ill post the remainder of the pics in a minute but he just took off with his "crew" :lol:, made it to the park a few miles away and called asking for me to bring the plug wrench cuz the plug backed out... Told him to call his sister to bring it to him. Im beat!

SMH, I told him to take it out on a couple of short shakedown runs first... We're still working on the patience thing :lol::lol:!

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Finished painting yesterday. Shot the base, mid coat pearl and clear all in one sitting. The base kicks pretty quick. The clear takes an eternity. He did most all of the painting this day. Got a little short with me when I tried to intervene so I just grabbed a beer (or 3), watched and gave a little commentary. He was amused as you can tell in the pic. :lol:

I made it pretty clear (no pun intended) that it would be several days before it would be ready to assemble...

Woke up this morning and he was already after it. Luckily the clear coat had kicked a little faster once the temps dropped last night.

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Most all of the touch up to the base and mid coats he did himself. The 4 coats of clear he did all on his own. I only found one run and it wasn't even that noticeable. I think he has the hang of it. The pearl came out very deep and the metalic red laid down super even and pops just sitting there!

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I almost forgot what it was like to be 15 and have what I thought was every skill necessary to finish up a project....except for patience..

With the clear coat just past being tacky still and against my better judgement, he slapped it back together. There were a number of moments that I just turned my head and cringed expecting to turn around and see a gouge in the fresh pearl frame. Not a scratch but it turned out his chain was too short so he wasn't going out for a shakedown run. It was Easter Sunday anyway....:lol:

The bike got a lot smaller when he actually sat on it. I said he looked like a circus bear :lol:! I guess its tough being 15 and 6'3". I wouldn't know personally :lol::lol:.

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His chain was too short until his "biker gang" buddies showed up after our Easter dinner. They each donated a link or two off of their own bikes that he had helped them build and worked on their own bikes while they were there. These are the kids that we take MX riding when we go. Good kids that are predisposed to knuckle headed moves. (Think pulling someone in an office chair down the street with a mini bike until the wheels on the chair go flying off at around 25 mph :lol:).

Anyway, they all donated to the cause and peer pressured him to finish the bike last night so they could go for a victory ride at 9:00 pm.

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And here are the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday Schwinn Chopper Thrash Fest.

They left at 9pm and I got a call at 10:15 asking to bring a plug wrench to a park 2 miles away. I was wiped out but luckily his older sister brought it to him. Turned out that the plug backed out and needed tightening. Upon further inspection, we noticed that the piston just kissed the plug and closed the gap. Got a new plug today and it did the same thing so I taught him how to index the plug and use an extra washer to get just enough extra clearance. Problem solved. Easy rider is rolling again! :lol:

The kid on the left was the one pulling my son (second to left in the Carhart jacket) in the office chair...SMH

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Pretty cool. Constructive activity with help from your dad and support from your friends. I started with painting, maintaining, and detailing my bikes. Never had one with an engine though, haha.

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When we were kids one of my buds put a 3 horse B&S on his 26" bike but it sure wasn't as cool as that one. Nice work.

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That turned out great! Do you have any video? Curious what it sounds like.

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Its pretty funny to watch them all together egging each other on. The next "mod" has turned out to be pulling the packing out of the mufflers :lol: He's been taking hand me down bikes and rattle canning them since he was 6 or 7. This is the first one that he had sprayed with automotive paint (at my urging) which took him into the world of body work and prep. Was tough to keep him patient but I think he did great once he got the hang of it to the point that he got a little annoyed with me trying to help him :lol:.

Time to let him fly on his own a little..

I never had one nor knew of anyone that had one as a kid. We did have a go cart that got old wore out lawnmower engines that my pop would bring home from work. Ended up giving that cart to my uncle and cousin. Uncle was a gear head that worked for Cummins West out here at the time. He cobbled up a vacuum cleaner blower to one of the cart engines as a supercharger. :lol:. That thing went like a scalded cat til it blew the head clean off the engine. Who knew that an old B&S wasn't really meant to be boosted?:lol::lol:

Only video I have is one where he was trying to start it after the piston kissed the plug. Its not that loud right now since the packing is still in the muffler. I suspect it might be in there until the weekend (See the first response on peer pressure ;)). Ill try to get a video. His buddy's bike has no packing or muffler end cap anymore. It goes a little better than before but I can hear him coming over from 4-5 blocks away now. Sounds more like a newer 125 MX bike with a aftermarket pipe now.

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I didn't get started that early, but I was on my own with working on my bikes. My dad was good at building all kinds of projects but not good at helping me with mine. Not enough patience. Your son is lucky.


A makeshift supercharger on a go kart? That is about the coolest thing I've ever heard of.

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That turned out nice! Cool that you’ve helped him and kept quiet when necessary

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My father was the guy who could fix anything. My uncle was the guy that could hotrod a peanut butter and jelly sandwich :lol::lol:. Between the two of them, my brother and I picked up a few things.

The "Hoover 1-71" blower was a pretty neat idea that he had. He knew all about compression, boost and forged parts from working at Cummins. We had no idea how to do anything like that. Us kids didn't think it'd work. Couldn't have been boosting much with that little vacuum belt and contraption but Im pretty sure they never found the head. It was funny once we knew my cousin didn't get his head taken off. Scared the bejeezus outta him though.

That was well over 25 years ago. Maybe he'd been drinking' when he thought it up. Either way, when I think about it or it comes up in conversation, I still laugh just as hard as when it happened. Like right now :lol: