Monday, May 30, 2011

Post 4: What Actually Happened


Things always take a life of their own, and before stripping the paint, I decided to make a spray can mock up to see how the chopper would actually looked. I borrowed the La Rosa Leather seat from the other bike( I will explain in the next post), and decided to use real brass accents instead of gold leaf or anodized aluminum.
First, I blacked out the rusted exhaust pipes with 3000 degrees paint, and swung the foot rests down and extended them with rubber and brass trim and half balls:


I mounted the Arlen Ness flame mirrors on brass balls, and made a brass ball housing with a red button from Radio Shack for the horn :



I bought cheap Chinese air horns from Harbor freight , threw away the plastic horns, and connected an old brass Model T horn I found at a flea market 20 years ago:


I used something I also had about 25 years as a very skinny "pretend rear fender", which I attached to the frame with aluminum angles and brass bolts:


I made a Hi/Lo headlight with an old potato masher and a car headlight from Auto Zone. It gets a nice amber glow though the holes when it is turned on, and is attached with lamp brass ball hardware:


I temporarily put on a pair of megaphones I had ordered for the other bike:


I fitted the hood ornament to the gas cap, angled down low so I don't impale my "cojones" by accident, and stuck brass plumb lines in the ends of the handlebars for the moment:


This is getting to look pretty good. I kind of like my coiled cell phone charger cords used as wires from the horn and the turn signal future switch instead of running wires though the handlebars :



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