rat bike on a budget

i got my 80s maxim that i regret to say havent taken too many pictures of what ive done.. not that it looks like much. but the 650s got the solo seat on her, a bunch of skulls... i did the side mount tail light and lic plate, led in the skull eyes in the front for my directionals, a riding buddy on the front fender which tells me when im about to say OH SH*T... lol. got the 4 to 1 that goes into a sportster tip thats straight now instead of angled.... white header wrap... STUPID handlebars until i can figure out how to make my 12" extension cables for everything that goes to the bars. removwed bulky tach and speedo and replaced with a 2 1/4" speedo. crash bars with highway pegs.... bucket hweadlight that had to come with a ghetto wiring box to hide all the stock wires. aftermarket master cylinder so i now have brakes after my 5 years of owning her!!! cigareete lighter and swapped backwards shocks to kind of take up some open frame in the rear... which also dropped it about 2 inches... thats about it for now. seince this picture ive also painted the front fender black.. and thats my rat as she sits

 

some during the swap pictures.

 

looks good dude.im not too keen on the seat cover,but apart from that looks cool.and deffo too good to b classed a rat.

 

Looks like a big ol unsafe hunk of shit but thats just my opinion

 

Thanks grinder.. and waldo.. I guess its good that your opinion doesn't matter huh? The bike hyas had everything done by me and is the most safest and reliable bike around

 

Sorry, I had to

Are those rear shocks not just going to bend out the frame whenever you hit a real good bump? There is no support and a huge amount of leverage from the top of the shock to the frame...

and each to their own on the appearance, some nice cues though

Cheers
Dave

 

I'm all about critics man... that's fine.... but don't downright insult it you know? I'm not sure if it'll bend the frame.. only time will tell.. lol and I avoid bumps at all costs. It is what it is with no money invested

 

Heya!! =)

Another cheap mod that would clear up your potential shock issue...

Since you already have a sprung seat... You could replace the shock with a couple nice chunks of steel... make it a psuedo-rigid ( without the chopping )... you could attach them to the original shock mounts... and end up with a little lower back end as well... =)

Just a thought =)

Rat it up!!

Peace

David

 

No one should criticize anyone elses bike. Its his bike he made it the way he wanted it the only one he has to impress is himself. I have to say its different. Not my cup of tea but thats just me. The guys are right be carefull with those shocks or ad least tie both sides together with a steel strut between the shocks . I Don't like a bike that attracts so much attention especially from cops. But then again i took my maxim x from bobber to nice. I paid $500 for it put less then $200 in it and i think it looks pretty good carbs are off rebuilding them so that will be a few hundred more. Most of the parts i had from other bikes so i guess you can say i did a budget unbob lol lots of time in it tho

 

...one Mans Rat is another Mans Nightmare. Vice-Versa. Let the Man post his bike without beating him up over it. We've all ratted something out at sometime along the line to the distaste of someone, somewhere. Standard fare chop on that one IMO. Not much you can do without spending either time and skill or money to get something different. Skulls never did it for me, ...but that's me.

I do all the service maintenance to bring a bike back up to par with safety and reliability, then I'll start doing things my way, however it turns out.

My $100 SECA below. A "Rideable Wrencher" is what I call it. A work-in-progress. To each their own.

 

Whoa guys!!! Ive got a lot of useful info on here and havent read any post like some if just read on here now. I see no reason in thes d*ck headed statements yall posted. Ifonly2005 if you like it man enjoy it and dont count this site out, Ive found it extremely helpfull and usually not this kind of comments..

 

"dick headed statements"?

Shoot Man, I post it as I say it.

The thing about posting on open Forums is that you open yourself up to the possibility of criticism or worse, and things can easily get misunderstood or worse (very easily) via a keyboard when people try and click what they say and mean. I try to keep it simple and spell well enough that most can read what I say.

Again, to each their own. Not my cup-o-tea, but more power to 2005 if that's what he likes. If'n it ain't, ...then he'll change it. Rats are more like Chameleon's, ...they change with time. Sometimes in a short amount of it.

 

ifonly2005 I hope none of the comments people have said about your bike don't take them to heart i really don't think they say it to hurt your feelings. When i posted the pic of my bike when i got it they ripped it apart. Like i said earlier its your bike do it the way you want. If you decide you don't like it you can change it. I was just worried about reinforcing the rear frame just as a safety point i dont want to see anyone get hurt. I think one of the reasons i am not really crazy about attracting attention. About 2 years ago i had 2 viragos the orange and black one was really beautiful it had ghost skulls which was cool. I took the black and white bike to have it painted with a picture of the other. Told the painter i liked the way the 1100 looked and to use his imagination when he painted the other. It was a 2 hr drive to where it was at. He did ask me if he could do it in black and white i said ok. He called me 2 weeks later told me it was done and i would be surprised boy was i ever. Soon as i finished it up i sold it so i had a bit of an attitude towards skulls after that. He did a good job with the airbrush but!!!!

 

I appreciate it all guys. The only guy that pissed me off was waldo... but then again he shut up quick didn't he. Everyone else is opinion... wich I respect.. but don't be ignorant to come out and say its a pos. I've had it for 5 years.. its been a solid rig. Thanks again everyone... and there's no sweat off my back... it all rolled off when I was driving my pos deathtrap today!! Cheers

 

it's a rat. "looks like She-@t" is high praise.
all them bikes look way cleaner than my Seca, Pigpen.
Hey, ifonly-oh five, what's that plastic thingy you're using to keep your atari wiring abortion out of the weather? mines stuffed into a cut open plastic oil bottle until I "get around to" a full stem to stern rewire.
I dig the cup holder if for no other reason than it's got a slushy in it. camel back in tank bag how I do.

As for the comments of others. clean on the inside is where it counts. keep your maintenance up, wrench on your own ride, never trust it in the hands of some ape at a "shop". know your bike through and through...

my only criticism? you were RIDING your pos deathtrap today and enjoying every minute of it

 

Lol yes I was. I havean old carrying case that I drilled holes into.. ran square fuses so they would actuallywork... and used heat shrink. Works ggreat.. and yes.. the pos took a full rotation to start today

 

Re: rat bike on a budget UPDATE











got rid of the ugly stock rear fender and the god awful ginormous exhaust and replaced with sportster tip and sportster rear fender. put my drag bars back on because i didnt like the looks of the other ones. next is 11" shocks to drop the bike an inch and a half or 2. thoughts> ideas?

 

Like what you have going on there. Gotta be a blast to ride.
Since you asked, I'd ditch the skull motifs.

 

Lol. Appreciate theadvice but the skulls are me. Ieven have the skull seat as a tattoo.

 

How is it that everyone seems to be missing the most important thing here? IT HAS A FRICKEN CUP HOLDER! How awesome is that?!?
Now all we gotta do is get ya an extra long straw... Hrm... And maybe a small water pump... Wouldn't want you sucking yourself lightheaded before ya got your drink! :lol:

 

I like the rear fender. What did you get that off of? Nice build b.t.w. ifonly2005. I'm slowing getting my murdercycle to my liking as well. I plan on shaving my turn signals off and figuring out how to hook up my new side plate/tail light.

P.S. the cup holder...it's the pièce de résistance!

- Matt

 

Lol. Thanks guys. Fenders an old sportster fender... side mount plate was an ebay item with a trailer stoplight ... and cup holders a rubber suage piece with 3 inch pvc cap both from lowes

 

Just found this thread...I love it! And I'm jealous of the cup holder. I've seen someone mount a bike water bottle holder, but yours is a ratty twist, it's awesome.

Good move on remounting your box of wiring.

My $.02, those grips are way too nice. Consider some light colored hockey tape? Visually, could match up with the exhaust wrap too.

Keep it goin'!

 

Not a bad idea. Thosewere the first grips I put on 5 years ago. I'm looken to do apes on her but need to find all new cables first. Seems to be a royal pain in the arse to find

 

I used a bicycle bar wrap. Then electrical taped in on. But I see nothing wrong with using those grips.


My make shift grips.


Sweet budget build!

 

Nice build. Way too much shiny stuff on there to be a rat yet. lol! Here's my '82 from when she was ratty. Used an old electrical box to hide the wires and mounted those lights to the lid.

 

I know there's. Too much chrome.. but remember... its on a budget... and its gone from stock to this in. 3 months. Wewill get there someday

 

Shine has nothing to do with it being a rat bike it not. It is all about the budget. Building a bike, or maintaining the bike for little to nothing what makes a rat bike what it is. This is Def a rat bike.


Although my bike is a bit more clean than a typical rat it is still a rat bike. People always tell me how awesome my bike is, but I tell them that they are wrong it is indeed a pos. It still gets me from point a to b every day. Just keep up the oil, tires, and brakes, and enjoy riding it.

 

I agree. I. Felt after 31 years it was either fully restore or rat out.... opened my wallet and.. well you can figure it out. Lol. I got an 82 I want to do the same thing to and sell... but no money

 

for sure. my miles of enjoyment to cash spent ratio is awful dang good.

 

Actuall what I said was your bike is a hunk of s**t to a Rat Biker thats a compliment as far as being unsafe Im not the only one that thought that, I see you moved the shocks from that weak spot you mounted them to. Now about mounting the muffler to the swing arm...

 

Good stuff.