A motorized '62 Schwinn Project.

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
BOXKARS
Shop deals on ebay
Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Sheik Yerbouti

Sheik Yerbouti

Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Messages
40
Reaction score
0
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey everybody. I am new around these parts but I'm a regular on http://www.motoredbikes.com.

I know a lot of people think of a project such as this as being kind of blasphemous, but in all reality it has a very practical application for me. I am a full time college student stuck in a city without a car, and a motorized bike is probably the most logical form of transportation for a few reasons. I can ride it around campus like a regular old bicycle when I don't want to offend anybody, but back and forth to my apartment I can use the motor. My first build was a Ross Eurotour which just a cheap old bike. I have a picture of it right here:

Best1.jpg


It's the one with the chrome fenders in the front. It turned out pretty rad and it sure is fast, but I'm selling it to a friend. Mostly because it's not good for year around riding, it's mostly a fair weather bike. I decided this time around to do a more all weather bike with a more reliable 4-stroke engine. I found a really cool Schwinn frame (from a member of this forum) to use as my base, and I have some fun plans for it.

1. Springer forks in the front, probably something cheap like a Micargi (I'm dealing with a super limited budget).
2. A new front caliper front brake.
3. New Pedals, customized seat, rear basket/sidebag, other fun stuff.

First thing's first, I have to fix this bike up before I even consider motorizing it. The paint right now is in a sorry state. It's been sprayed with some awful orange nonsense and it's flaking off in nice chunks. The original paint (you can see it by the crank) is some sort of deep reddish purple or something. I want to take off the paint and assess the condition of the original paint before I decide whether or not I want to strip it. I'm thinking just some paint thinner? It seems like it's coming off with my fingernail so I don't need anything too heavy. If the paint is shot to heck, I'm going to strip it down and do a nice repaint. I've already been doing some research and want a really good result. I was thinking aircraft stripper to get it down to the frame without having to sand it off. After that using a good primer, topcoat, clear combination. Something super durable and rustproof, because I love overkill.

So I'll make a little list of inquiries for people who don't want to read my above rambling.

1. Paint thinner to remove crappy chipping spray paint but keep the original intact?
2. Aircraft stripper if the paint under the spray paint is not worth keeping? Will it hurt the frame at all?
3. Really good paint, primer, and topcoat that'll last a good long time?

Here she is:

Schwinn-1.jpg
 
try taking the frame to a do it yourself car wash and hitting it with the pressure washer itll blast most of it off.
btw.....you might want to go to the intro thread and introduce yourself (before the intro police see this :wink: )
 
Good advice, I don't want the gestapo on my back. I'll try that carwash suggestion, but I'm not sure if the paint is "that" loose.
 
Hey Sheik, great name, I'm also a Zappa fan, welcome to the forum. Nice looking pair of bikes there. I dig the old Schwinn too. Is that one getting a motor also? I've got a '63 typhoon that is motorized and it rides like a dream. You may also like to check out http://motorbicycling.com/ a very knowlegable, friendly bunch of motorized bike enthusiasts. Looking forward to watching the progress of your Schwinn...Kelly
 
im sure it wasnt sanded before they rattle canned it.........but......if that doesnt work try acetone. it should take the spray paint off with out killing the original paint(try it somewhere it wont be seen just incase) aircraft stripper will work its just a long messy process(and burns like heck!!!!!!)
are you going to paint with rattle can or automotive(base/clear) paints?
 
nogoodnic42 said:
Hey Sheik, great name, I'm also a Zappa fan, welcome to the forum. Nice looking pair of bikes there. I dig the old Schwinn too. Is that one getting a motor also? I've got a '63 typhoon that is motorized and it rides like a dream. You may also like to check out http://motorbicycling.com/ a very knowlegable, friendly bunch of motorized bike enthusiasts. Looking forward to watching the progress of your Schwinn...Kelly
Click to expand...

It sure is. A Honda GHX50 to be exact. I'm going with the Whopper Stopper mounting kit. I'm going to try to make it look as classy and not "motor slaved to a bike" as possible.
 
Cool, you'll probably have to get a wide crank to clear the engine. I've been wanting to dabble in the 4-stroke world but haven't had the chance yet. I look forward to reading your oppinion of the Honda and how it mounts up...Kelly
 
sensor said:
im sure it wasnt sanded before they rattle canned it.........but......if that doesnt work try acetone. it should take the spray paint off with out killing the original paint(try it somewhere it wont be seen just incase) aircraft stripper will work its just a long messy process(and burns like heck!!!!!!)
are you going to paint with rattle can or automotive(base/clear) paints?
Click to expand...

I was going to do a decent quality rattle can job, or alteast give it a try. Any suggestions as far as good brands go?
 
nogoodnic42 said:
Cool, you'll probably have to get a wide crank to clear the engine. I've been wanting to dabble in the 4-stroke world but haven't had the chance yet. I look forward to reading your oppinion of the Honda and how it mounts up...Kelly
Click to expand...

Luckily the kit comes with a wide crank kit and a nice adjustable mount which should span the bars. I'll make sure to give you as thorough of a review as I can muster when the project is completed. Thanks for all the replies, guys!
 
Sheik Yerbouti said:
I was going to do a decent quality rattle can job, or alteast give it a try. Any suggestions as far as good brands go?
Click to expand...

Not so much brands as methods. See the section on painting in the how to.

If you do two things, sand it really well, wet sand it, then put the paint on with an airbrush, not a rattle can. You can get one for about $20 and it will make a world of difference.
 
Okay, well. I have some cool news. It turns out my college actually has a spray booth with an exhaust system and an air fitting that drops through the ceiling. All I need to do is invest in the gun and devise a way to hang the frame!
 
Well, we took the entire bike apart today and we're down to the frame. The original color is really awesome, a really really nice pearl red, but unfortunately the paint is too damaged to salvage. We went to an auto store to buy some aircraft stripper, and hopefully by tomorrow we'll be down to the bare metal.
 
sensor said:
IF i paint i use ppg(i do bodywork.....so i get to use the booth and toners and clear)but if i was going to rattle can... im kinda partial to krylon
Click to expand...

I talked to my friend's dad, and he does design work for PPG, and gets free car paint. The paint he gets is called Matthews, which is supposed to be the really upper crust version of PPG paint, so I might get some paint for free.
 
that would probably be the best brake set-up. if you ran a traditional caliper brake on a springer, the brake pads might get pushed out of alignment with the springer movement, i think the only reason they have the "brake mounting hole" on the springers is realy for a fender mounting hole. i have seen it done tho. but the disc brake idea would probly be the best IMO
 

Latest posts

Back
Top