Need opinions and ideas, your $.02 inside!

[deadman13]

ok, so i have a murray monterey, mens and womens. i think with the womans bike im going to do a powder blue with white accents and do kinda a 50's hotrod theme. i have the chain guard painted nice deep, metal flake dark blue, and i think that ill put that on something else since its got 9 coats of clear on it. could any of you rattle can artists give me some kind of idea about where i could use the white to accent the blue?i was thinking of just doing the front forks and about 1/3 down the tubes, stopping at an angle ( / )



main question: the mens monterey pictured has the original bars (laying on the tool box) and the nice apes. im not too worried about painting those, but i would like some ideas on what to do with the whole bike. i dont have a welder or id be all over that already.

was thining maybe a springer front (unless theres fit issues) either normal or bent, but beyond that, im lost. id like to try to make it neat looking, but with the lack of hack-it-up tools im really limited.

keep in mind, im 6ft 280lbs, so i still would like to be able to ride without my nutz getting caught in the sprocket (but i do like low...)

 

[icyuod2]

why not try bending the forks you have? (use a big pipe)if it doesn't work out, you can always add a springer.
couple 24x3" rims(red) and tires(white/white wall) and call it a done deal (unless ya want to add a tank)

those bars need to be painted though, blue and orange is a terrible combo.
how ya feel about flat black? lol lol

 

[Tommy Atoms]

All depends what style of bike you are trying to achieve. Looks like youre off to the right start anyway with the apes, no fenders kinda look. Maybe do something with the paint or loose the chainguard. You know with bikes you really dont have as many options as say a car might but thier are alot of subtle things you can do to change the look of a bike you just try different things. Its all about what you like. Good luck on your rat.

 

[stretch]

try to bend the forks and throw a 24" in the front, if the forks break or something, you have an excuse to get a springer! it should fit, cuz murrays have longer headtubes, and most springers ive bought are made to fit longer headtubes. of course everyone had to be tweaked a bit, but thats all part of the job. 8)

 

[deadman13]

paint im happy with ( was thinking satin black with lime accents)

i may try the forks, but am not too sure how to bend em right. i know how to use a lever bar, but not too keen on the whole bending by eye type deal.


i may just go for a springer anyway and some 24's

 

[icyuod2]

its actually easier than you think.

i made numberous cuts/welds on my first set of forks then a member here told me they'd bend just as easily.
just bend em one at a time with the aid of a long pipe, or jam the forks between something solid, throw the pipe over the stem and bend em both at the same time.

just do alittle at a time and you'll be fine. if your really worried about it, see if your local bike place has a used set of forks you can bend. chances are ya should be able to find a set for $10.