Spring Fever Stretched Road Master

[Flame Jigger]

I haven't done much with bikes over hte winter and haven't been on here much either. Now the weather is warming up and I have caught up reading the past post. So this weekend I decided to start a new build. I had a couple of Roadmaster frames that had been damaged and repaired poorly. I grabbed the sawzall and angle grinder and started chopping them up. Once I had the pieces I needed I lay out a stretched frame and got busy tack welding it together.

Here is what I got done so far.

I have been trying to decide what to do about the seat tube so I mocked up a couple options with MS paint. What do you guys think?

I am planning to add some bent springer forks that will drop the front end a bit.

 

[SkR8Pn]

Nice work on the stretch so far, i like the first seat tube idea..

 

[Flame Jigger]

Nice work on the stretch so far, i like the first seat tube idea..

Thanks! I think after looking at it some more I like the first seat tube better also.

I finished the welds on what I got so far and need to grind them. I am also going to strip the paint and sand everything before going any further. I think it will make it much easier to get it ready for paint. I might just go with the bare metal look depending how the welds turn out.

 

[aka_locojoe]

Looks good so far. I like the 2nd seat tube better.

 

[SkR8Pn]

Nice work on the stretch so far, i like the first seat tube idea..

Thanks! I think after looking at it some more I like the first seat tube better also.

I finished the welds on what I got so far and need to grind them. I am also going to strip the paint and sand everything before going any further. I think it will make it much easier to get it ready for paint. I might just go with the bare metal look depending how the welds turn out.

I found that stripping the paint at the start of a stretch/custom makes life easier if your going for a full smooth clean finish. I tend to lack Motivation sanding the frame after all that grinding "as you'll see in my current build"

Keep up the work and keep us posted.

 

[Flame Jigger]

Looks good so far. I like the 2nd seat tube better.

Thanks for the feedback. I decided to go with the first seat tube though. I didn't like the big open area with the second choice. I got a bit more done on it this evening. Here is what it looks like now.

I am liking the way everything is flowing so far. The handle bar extensions are just held on with tape right now but I kinda like them so probably gonna weld them together tomorrow.

 

[Flame Jigger]

Until now everything has just been spot welded but today I finished the welds. Need to to grind and file the welds next then attach the seat stays. Then I guess I probably should figure out where I want the bottom bracket located. No pics today since it still looks pretty much the same as before.

 

[Flame Jigger]

Got some more work done yesterday evening.

Got the bottom bracket spot welded in place. Might need to adjust it a bit to get the chain alligned properly.

The cranks look a bit high but I still plan to add a bent springer or bend these forks to drop the front of the bike and move the front wheel forward. The seat stays are just held in place with black tape but will be welded soon.

Found this pair of forks I had cut off for another project that I never used.

I thought they might make good exhaust pipes with a little cutting.

I was originally just going to mount them to the rear axle making them removable. I needed to extend the seat stays a bit anyway so this what I came up with.

Now just got to find time to cut the other exhaust pipe, weld the seat stays in place, And allign the chain & finish welding the bottom bracket. Then I can slap the springer fork, new wheels and tires on it and take it for a test ride.

 

[Flame Jigger]

Well so much for spring fever. It has been cold here again for the past several days. Fortunately I get home from work when the temp is at it's warmest so I can get a little done each day. Here are some updates. Mostly just more mock ups as I want to make sure it is the way I want it before welding.

Here is the donor bike I got for free. I am using the forks and tires.

I was wanting a bent springer but hey this one is free and I can bend it as much or little as I want. I am getting a conduit bender next week.

Here is the bike with the springer fork. I think the fork needs bent a bit to get the stance I am going for. I also got the other exhaust pipe made.

Here is another idea I came up with awhile back. I had a set of Schwinn blade forks that had a messed up steer tube. I cut the blades off and was planning to find another junk pair and do the same. Then figure out the angle I want and cut and weld them together to make new fork blades for the springer. Problem is I don't have an extra set of schwinn forks. Oh well I'll put this idea on the back burner.

I liked the sprocket on the donor bike but when I tried to remove the pink paint with paint thinner I found out the chrome wasn't actually chrome. I guess it was that new spray chrome. It looked just like real chrome. Oh well I will finish stripping it and see how it looks in bare metal.

Here are my red wheels that I built for another project and never used. They ain't much but like everything else on this bike they were free.

I just need some time to get the welding finished and see how it rides. Feel free to comment and let me know what you guys think.

 

[SkR8Pn]

Well so much for spring fever. It has been cold here again for the past several days. Fortunately I get home from work when the temp is at it's warmest so I can get a little done each day. Here are some updates. Mostly just more mock ups as I want to make sure it is the way I want it before welding.

Here is the bike with the springer fork. I think the fork needs bent a bit to get the stance I am going for. I also got the other exhaust pipe made.

schwinn forks. Oh well I'll put this idea on the back burner.

I just need some time to get the welding finished and see how it rides. Feel free to comment and let me know what you guys think.

looking sweet, the seat tube turned out good imo.... As for the forks i see what you mean, that style springer suits the era but it kinda lacks in the rake department. The cranks over lap the front wheel also. I wouldnt bend them. Id drop the spring out of them first see how it drops and what you gain, or leave the spring in and cut the head tube free and take some length out of the top tube to gain some more rake also clearing the cranks up too..

Just some ideas... keep up the good work.

 

[Skipton]

Bike is looking great!

Got to love a Free! parts bike

I got the same pink girl Schwinn for free also.... I think I have used every part but the shifter
my fork...before paint :wink:

Keep up the great work :mrgreen:

 

[Flame Jigger]

looking sweet, the seat tube turned out good imo.... As for the forks i see what you mean, that style springer suits the era but it kinda lacks in the rake department. The cranks over lap the front wheel also. I wouldnt bend them. Id drop the spring out of them first see how it drops and what you gain, or leave the spring in and cut the head tube free and take some length out of the top tube to gain some more rake also clearing the cranks up too..

Just some ideas... keep up the good work.

Thanks for the ideas and input. Another option I came up with for the fork is to buy an extended crown. http://www.streetlowrider.com/shop/popu ... 91&image=0 It would solve the problem but bending the forks a bit is pretty easy especially when I get the conduit bender. I don't want them bent as much as the bent springers they sell. I have bent one pair before and used a tree in my yard with a forked limb.

 

[Flame Jigger]

Bike is looking great!

Got to love a Free! parts bike

I got the same pink girl Schwinn for free also.... I think I have used every part but the shifter
my fork...before paint :wink:

Keep up the great work :mrgreen:

Thanks mrgreen. I am planning to convert the schwinn to a mtn bike for my mom. I like your Monark. I want to find one with a tank like that some day.

 

[Flame Jigger]

Got my forks bent today. These forks are quite a bit heavier than the cheap chrome ones so I used my brother's pipe bender. (I couldn't wait until I got the conduit bender.)

Here it is with the bent forks. Still need to redrill the strut bars. I will probably bend it a little more but it is looking better.

Here is what it looked like before bending the forks.

 

[X-RAY]

i would like to see what it looked like if you swaped the exhaust pipes side-for-side, so they angled down instead of up. just a thought.

 

[Flame Jigger]

i would like to see what it looked like if you swaped the exhaust pipes side-for-side, so they angled down instead of up. just a thought.

That is the way I was planning to do them but they actually do look better this way. They seem to flow better this way. Atleast in my opinion but I only had one of them made when I tried it. I might switch them around and take a pic.

 

[Flame Jigger]

Got the forks bent some more and now it sitting the way I want. My hours at work got cut back and I now have Fridays off. Should have time to do some welding this weekend.

And just for X-RAY here is a pic of it with the exhaust pipes swapped around. This is the way I was plannig to do it at first but didn't care for it but now it don't look half bad. Now I gotta decide which way to go. Thanks for the input X-RAY.

 

[Flame Jigger]

Got up early today and was planning to do some welding. Got to weld for about 5 minutes and ran out of wire. Due to my hours being cut back at work I don't have the money to buy any. Now I have to sell some parts so here is a link to my post in the for sale section. As soon as some of this stuff sells I will be back to work on this project.

 

[Flame Jigger]

I was able to sell some stuff locally so I could afford a roll of wire for the welder. Now I'm back in business. It was nice and warm today and even though I got a late start I was able to get most of the welding done.

Threw the red wheels and whitewalls on it to see how it looked. I need to make a few minor adjustments to allow the chain to miss the seat stays. Minor set back but it is an easy fix and won't change the look much.

Here it is next to my 24'' stretch.

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Looks good 8) That springer is asking for a repaint though :lol: