| Project Not Made in China The market is full of Chinese built minibikes and choppers. Although some of them are quite nice, we felt the need for a true custom built American chopper. A one-of-a-kind bike had to be built from steel with a real functional gas tank. So, the bike started off with a few design sketches and an old, but quite powerful Briggs engine. Next, we mocked up the bike proportions. We needed to determine just how mini we were going to make this chopper. Approx. 3/4 scale was the result. The frame jig came next. The jig is far more complicated than the frame itself. The rear fender needed to be widened a bit so we took this opportunity to add some simple bead work. We split the fender, made a small filler piece with the bead, welded it back together and smoothed back out. Fender before, during and after shown below. Frame tubing was tacked and brackets were added. Then, the frame was TIG welded. Next up was the triple trees. The bike is set up with 45 degrees rake. All of it is in the neck, none in the trees. The large rake and heavy trees give it a great look. The 3.5" of trail will make it drive-able. The tank was next. We decided to shape the tank without a buck. This makes it a bit more difficult to achieve a desired shape, but it gives you freedom to develop the shape. Although the bike is still in progress, we rigged up a temp seat, tank, and bars an took it out on the street for some fun. This thing is fast. More to come... |
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