** BILLET BULLET ** RRBBO#4

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Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

Hey you are moving along on this build, Sorry about the negativity youve dealt with, I think your fab work is top notch and everyone cant have an Elgin or a Hawthorne or whatever classifies as the perfect rat, I just dig on the diversity in what your doing with what you have.
Now with that said, hostility breeds hostility, and that is NOT what this site is all about. :wink:
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

Gold Street Customs said:
Hey you are moving along on this build, Sorry about the negativity youve dealt with, I think your fab work is top notch and everyone cant have an Elgin or a Hawthorne or whatever classifies as the perfect rat, I just dig on the diversity in what your doing with what you have.
Now with that said, hostility breeds hostility, and that is NOT what this site is all about. :wink:
Click to expand...

Thanks GSC.
Usually I can deal with the every-once-in-a-while negative comment very well. 'Ugly' and 'beauty' is and always will be in the eye of the beholder. And I can live with that. But I couldn't help myself checkin out 'the beholder' I'm dealing with. And it just didn't and still doesn't make any sense. That's what ticked me off. But I think I made myself clear and we can leave this negativity behind us.

And you know what? Next to the diversity of beautiful bikes, the lack of hostility WAS what attracted me to this site. So, you can say I was a bit surpised...

Anyway, I'm glad you (and others) like what I'm doing, eventhough this is not a cool fat-tired cruisertype bike. Heck, this isn't even a rat... I just wanted to build a custom bike. And this bike had enough potential for me.

:)
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

herr_rudolf said:
I just wanted to build a custom bike. And this bike had enough potential for me.

:)
Click to expand...
thats all that matters.....besides....i like this just for the fact that its completely opposite of the majority being built(aside from all the great hand made stuff :mrgreen: )
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

yeah I agree....generally if your getting over a dozen positive comments when that negative one rolls in you just have to take it as a personal coice or that they are just absolutely jealous :p. I have been really trying to work on my fab skills but generally all of my stuff looks like southern-engineering and just flat out rigged. Nice work, keep it up :)
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

I have to say,the angle you choose for your rack works much better for me with it's new incarnation-better flow with the bike as a whole. Cool deal! :)
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

yep it ain't rat, or maybe it is. who cares. i really like what you are doing. your skills are awsome. keep up the good work.

Outlaw
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

yeah, you are alright by my book.

and your aluminum skills are awesome.
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

The craftsmanship you're are putting into the work on this bike is phenomenal, the flow of geometry to enhance the appearance of rake is genius. Great work.
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

good work! didja see what i did with my mixte a few years back when i had acess to a welding technician? sorry this is a poor pic.
chopperjosca.jpg
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (powerdrill massacre..) may 20th

mix_92.jpg


The last couple of days weren't so much of bike building days... Wanted to finish the woodpanneling today. It started out fine but when I progressed things started to go wrong. Badly. Somehow I couldn't be as precise as I wanted to. I had a hard time making the panels fit the frame, but I managed in the end... I also had to make another framework for the wood-panels. Times two. Testfitting proved the whole thing was getting slightly bigger and bigger resulting in damaging the (old) paint. And finaly, when I was drilling holes through panel #1, wooden frame #1, aluminum frame, wooden frame #2, panel #2 the drillbit broke! The the drill bounced off hitting and damaging the panel. This is the second time during this build... Gonna lay down my tools for a while...

JOScatRATrod said:
good work! didja see what i did with my mixte a few years back when i had acess to a welding technician? sorry this is a poor pic.
chopperjosca.jpg
Click to expand...

That used to be a mixte?? Well done! That came out really great. Did you document this build on this forum?
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (tank + new rack) may 19th

mix_93.jpg

mix_94.jpg

mix_95.jpg


Did some work in my 'tank'. Not without some trouble ofcourse... Broken drillbit and damaging the wood. It turned out okay-ish. I made the whole thing a bit smaller. It'll fit the bikeframe perfectly now.

But...

I was somehow not satisfied. It does it's job perfectly: It lenghtens the line from the rack towards the shifter-area, creating a visual lowering of the frontend. It has the right shape. It fits perfectly. I like the fact that I can see the ribbed alloy through the seperate upper framerails. It's just that it isn't in character with the rest of the bike. No ellegance. The frame, lights, rack... All are kind of thin and 'see through'. The woodpannels are not... It looks heavy. Thats because it IS heavy. Very heavy. It almost weighs as much as the bike itself ;-) I think I will drop the idea of making a 'woodie', and try to come up with something different: a more open insert for my frame.

mix_98.jpg

mix_97.jpg


Also, I wasn't completely happy with the sollution of mounting the light/fenderbrace. I didn't like the way it crossed the fork so I made a bracket. From a circle I bent. Had to make another bracket so I could mount this bracket (...) The brace now sits perfectly. It kinda ballances out the rack. There is a lot going on at the back of the bike, and not so much in the front. Until now, I think. Sure you can say that I'm using add-ons. But it's all functional. (or I try and make em LOOK functional... ;-) I still have to detail by with shortening the screws, and rounding off the strips. Oh, and I still have to mirror the circle-bracket for the other side. But it will not be an exact duplicate... It wil be a 3/4 circle to make clearance for the quick-release (which isn't as quick as it should be...)

mix_96.jpg
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (changed my mind again) may 25th

I think dropping that panel thing was a good decision, like you said, not in character. It'll be interesting to see how you make the interrupted left side circle bracket work. Good luck!
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (changed my mind again) may 25th

deorman said:
I think dropping that panel thing was a good decision, like you said, not in character.
Click to expand...

I agree! :) I like those lights! The reflection of the rear light is a nice effect!
 
Re: BILLET BULLIT (changed my mind again) may 25th

Galtbacken said:
deorman said:
I think dropping that panel thing was a good decision, like you said, not in character.
Click to expand...

I agree! :) I like those lights! The reflection of the rear light is a nice effect!
Click to expand...

yesyes... I hear ya ;-)
Prime example of a good idea on paper (in my mind) but not so good IRL. It'll take a lot of work, material, and probably some more weight to make the woodpaneling fit the bikes character. But I do really like the contours of the panel and its effect on the bike in general. The main problem with that thing is that it's sooo massive looking and that it doesn't have a real function on the bike. There are some ideas floating around in my head to replace the panelthing for something else but I usually don't like things on a bike that are not functional (-looking). Sure, my aluminum fabrications look like strange add-ons, but all has it's function. The circles are beginning to look like some kind of concept so I try to incorporate some more in following fabricationwork.

Question:
Does anyone else ever had problems with buying tires? Yesterday I had to get back to the store to get a refund for a 'wrong' tire. That's the 3rd time that's happened to me. I thought a 26 inch tire would always fit 26 inch rim... For my cruiser I bought a cool, normal sized-looking, all black 26 inch tire that was far to big for my 26 inch rim. Last weekend I bought a 28 inch tire (for my 28 inch mixte) and I discovered I could put the rim, fitted with the old tire through the new 28 inch tire without any problems! I don't get it... From what point to another is 28 inch?

The old tire I want to replace is the thinnest tire I ever saw on a bike... I really have problems finding a replacement. Stores I visited don't carry them and I can't find webstores that have em in stock. If I decide to run a slightly bigger tire I have to fabricate a new fender... That, and another problem is that I will be loosing some of the contrast in the 'hotrod-BIG'n'little-look' of the bike. There just isn't much choice for 'fat-looking' 28 inch tires for the back of the bike so I want the front to be as skinny as possible AND matching the rear, which I still don't have...

I got the advice to visit a 'specialist'-store. Which means $$$...
 

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