Post 13: Practice Does Make Better

I spent a couple hours this Sunday morning in the empty Bank parking lot down the street with the bike practicing slow maneuvers. It is getting easier and and I am getting steadier on the bike. Raising the front of the saddle about 3/4" helped with the position so I don't slide forward any more. Also, I realized I had to go faster than we did in the class with the Rebels, and I don't really have to slip the clutch, just keep some pressure on the foot brake is enough. As I was taught, looking where you want to go, even if it is right behind you is the key to getting this chopper to turn. It is hard on the arms, and takes a lot more effort than the Rebel to control. But I am managing much tighter turns than last week, and more precision in the trajectory.
I am also much more at ease on the road, shifting gear,braking , turning. I practiced counter steering and lane changes on the expressway.

Post 12: Practice, Practice, Practice!

I am very pleased with the way the "mockup" is going, but now that the bike is "rideable", I will need a lot of practice to get used to its rather difficult handling. It is definitely a handful, and doesn't like bumps and pot holes at all. It is a bit easier now that the seat has moved back, but still feels very rather unstable compared to the Rebel 250... You really have to hold those handlebars and turning them is hard.

The single rear brake is rather good actually, but will lock easily. I do need to install a small disk brake on the front.

Even with the pair of megaphones, it has quite a roar.

I spent a good while this morning doing figure 8's around the light poles in the parking lot of the bank down the street, and didn't even fall over... But I will need plenty more practice to start to relax and master the beast. Actually, slow manoeuvers are the hardest with this 6 foot fork, and turning radius is nowhere near the one of the Rebel... And you can't go as slow either...

Post 11: Solid brass billet foot pegs

The old Honda 350 foot pegs were worn, rusted, too short, and plain ugly. So I bought two 6 " sections of solid 1.5" brass rod, got them on the lathe to file 9 grooves, and put o-rings in them. It was rather difficult to tap the hole to attach them with 7/16" grade 8 bolts. The end is going to have a wide flat black rubber washer and a 2" brass half ball.
Also visible in this image is the almost new kick start lever I found on eBay.
I will use an automotive rubber pad with an aluminum plate on the foot brake.

Post 10: Brake and clutch levers installed

The brass knuckle levers really look impressive and work quite well. You can use them with the fingers through the holes, but it might be a little risky in case of a fall...
After stabbing my forehead bloody three times hitting the ends of the brass plumb bobs I stuck in the ends of the handlebars, I decided they were just too dangerous and screwed a brass ball in replacement of the sharp black steel ends.
This picture also shows the side attachment of the tail light.

Post 9: Rear "fender" and tail light

I have no idea what that piece of metal was I collected 20 some years ago from a junk yard, but it had just the right curve, I painted it flat black and it made a perfect "pretend rear fender", and the hole in its side was jut right to mount a brass ball with brass lamp parts. The LED trailer light was just glued in place with silicone and wired to the ignition switch.

Post 8: The Tag

I finally got my tags after a two and a half hour wait at the courthouse, and proceeded to make a tag holder that wraps it vertically around the back of the rear sprocket. Landers gave me an old bracket that I trimmed a bit, and I cut the border out of a brass kick plate, the back out of aluminum, and attached them together with 16 X 1/4"-20 brass acorn nuts and lock nuts on 3/4" sections of brass threaded rod. I will paint the bracket black once everything is fitted.

Post 7: The Perfect seat for the Black Angel, Sort of

I designed the perfect seat for the Black Angel, narrower than the La Rosa, and bordered with a bolted brass strip, and then found that somebody had already made it and was selling it on eBay, so I just ordered it.
It just came in, and is perfect, except that it is hard as a rock. I am considering taking it apart to but some memory foam or a gel pad in. I will wait till I get the shock absorber springs I also ordered.

I got the seat and shocks yesterday, and made four 1" x 1.5' welding tabs out of 3/16" steel to mount them to the frame cross bar:

I installed the seat way back over the rear tire, welding two steel tabs to the frame and drilling 1/4 " holes to attach the springs/shock combination. I had to cut a 1" x 1/8" brass bar to attach it on the front to the round brass Chinese hinge.
The existing tire was dry, and we replaced it with a Vintage Indian Style tire by Koker that is about .4" wider, and looks great.
I cut a 1/8" aluminum plate to cover the mess of wires that was exposed above the battery box after removal of the old seat, painted it flat black, and attached it with 6 brass acorn nuts.
The compressor for the horn was mounted under the saddle and connected to the horn with a black rubber hose.

Post 6: The Custom "Brass Knuckles" clutch and brake levers

I really liked the black levers made by Yana shiki, and almost ordered them, until Landers pointed out they probably would not fit. So I started thinking of casting my own bronze levers at Sloss.
Then I got this idea about building them around brass knuckles, and loved the concept. I ordered a pair of real brass knuckles (most are plated steel or aluminum), and made a couple of sketches. At first, I thought it would be neat to put the fingers through the holes, but quickly realized it might be very painful in case of a fall, so I reversed the knuckles to use the edge.
I found a piece of 1/2" brass at the Metal Supermarket, and cut out add on pieces. Welding/brazing them on the knuckles turned out to be very difficult. I am not happy with the first try, so I got some special flux and low temperature brazing wire :

Post 5: They were right

Yes they were, and I have really enjoyed riding the Rebel. I have ridden the 77 Chopper too, but it is much harder to handle, and getting back on the "little bike" seems like a breeze... I was lucky to find about 1 hour and a half away in Mississipi that 1997 Rebel with only 10,000 miles, that had already been substantially chopped, and repainted in my favorite metallic orange and black. The vertical tag plate is nicely made of non skid aluminum and the short rear fender looks great:

The side mounted black leather bag was a nice touch I kept:

The foot rests and controls had been moved way forward and up chopper style, and the brake pedal extended about a foot:

The gear shifter had been moved up to the foot rest, but the amateur mechanic had not done a very good job of it, and it fit very loosely and got out of whack. I had to add a spacer sleeve and work on it to make it work properly. I still might redo the linkage tighter and with a longer lever arm to shorten the travel of the foot peg. In fact, I will probably replace the foot peg altogether with something a little more stylish :

The mufflers had been removed and the pipes blacked out, and it sounded awesome, for a short while... I ordered a pair of 24" megaphones from J &R to cut the noise down, but it now sounds a little too "emasculated". The neighbours are probably happy now, but I may have to remove some of the baffles to restore a little roar...

The homemade seat it came with was formed out of a flimsy piece of a 55 gl bucket and upholstered in cheap vinyl with thin polyester padding from a quilt. I put some good foam in it and was going to cut a stiffer pan and upholster it in buffalo leather, but then I ran across a wonderful hand stitched La Rosa tan/orange leather seat with an iron cross tatooed in it on eBay, and figured I couldn't do any better. It is wide and fits both my butt and the bike perfectly:

The ignition switch fell apart on me and I replaced it today by one found on eBay that came all the way from Hong Kong...

I had bought a pair of metallic orange dragon stickers at Deal's Gap the other week, and they finish up the sides of the tank:

So here we are today, left, right and rear view. A long way from the ultra classic stock Rebel, and so much nicer to ride: