|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mountain Lion - Section 2| Section 2
Section 1 | Section 2
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All content copyright Chopzone.com 2003-2009. All rights reserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To install the seat base,
and allow it to be removable, a small stump of seat post tube was
welded to a plate which is in turn welded across the fork legs
(Photo 16). This will hold the back of the seat base into the
original seat tube, and the front will then be bolted to the frame
using the fork dropouts.
This chopper was going to
have a seat with a backrest as well - when you are climbing those
steep mountains, you wouldn't want to fall off the bike. The other
pair of spare forks was cut up as shown in Photo 18. The legs were
cut from the crown on whatever angle you need to recline your
seat. Don't worry about the exact angle when cutting, you can
always grind the forks later to get them the way you want.
Once the four fork legs have
been welded together to create your seat frame, insert the seat post
stub into the seat tube as shown in Photo 18 then center the
dropouts to the middle of the top tube on the frame. Make a hole
where the bolt will be placed on the frame in order to connect the
seat to the frame.
The bolts are either
welded to the frame on each side, or a long bolt is used through
both holes (Photo 19). Once installed, the seat frame will be
hold solidly in place, yet be easy to remove.
To try something a little
different, the seat padding will be made from three small blocks. The
blocks are made by gluing some 2 inch foam to a few squares of 3/4
inch plywood (Photo 20). Although the padding will be minimal, it
still beats a typical bicycle seat which has an even smaller
surface area, and almost no padding at all. "Wedgie" seats are
evil!
The seat covering is made
from the highest quality vinyl material money can buy - in this
case $3 worth. Because the seat blocks are square, you will
have to wrap the material around as if you were wrapping a boxed
gift. Stretch the material as tight as possible and staple it on
two sides, then fold over the other two corners and do the same (Photo
21). This method is not as nice as a fully sewn seat cover, but I
don't have a sewing machine in my garage, do you?
To complete the seat, bolt
the foam pads to the forks by drilling holes and using woodscrews
(Photo 22). Any number of pads can be positioned in whatever
placement you like, just make sure the seat is at least a little
bit comfortable for those long back road hauls.
The Mountain Lion has a large rear fender, cut from some scrap sheet metal of approximately
12 gauge. Photo 23 shows the three pieces that will be welded
together in order to form the fender. The two side pieces were cut
from the same pattern using a jigsaw, and the center strip is wide
enough for the rear tire, and long enough to frap around the round
part of the fender.
To make the center strip
conform to the curve on the fender, it is first tack welded to the
end, then bent along the curve, placing tack welds at about every
half inch (Photo 24). Just keep tack welding and bending until
the entire length is completed.
Once you are done tack
welding and bending the center strip, it should form a perfect
curve along the top of the fender (Photo 25). At this point it is
easy to manipulate the sides to ensure the entire fender is
aligned properly.
If you have some patience,
the finished fender will look factory pressed after you grind the
welds (Photo 26). I always do the rough grinding with a heavy disc,
taking the weld area almost flush with the metal, then I switch to
a cut off disk for the fine work. Once the fine work is done (this
includes re welding pits and holes), I use a sander disk to clean
it right up.
The rest of the components
were installed on the bike, so it could be taken for a test ride
before painting (Photo 27). It's always a good plan to do this,
as any adjustments or additions will wreak havoc on your painted
frame. Don't worry about cables, and shifter, just get the core
components together to make sure everything fits, and nothing was
left out of the design.
Here is the completed and
painted Mountain Lion chopper (Photo 28). The ends of the forks,
head tube and rear triangle were sprayed black just like the original
frame - the rest of the bike is red. Although this bike is a
radical departure from the original bike, it still shares some of
it's heritage - working suspension, 18 speeds, and off road
capable frame. A chopper for hill lovers and mountaineers
everywhere!
Overall ridability of the
chopper was good, the suspension still worked over rough terrain,
and the seat pads picked up the rest of the road shock - better
than the original seat. The front forks felt a little loose at
first, but that was only because of the front suspension having a
little play side to side. The original bike suffered from this as
well. Notice the cool red tail lights installed on the rear fender
sides (Photo 29).
Adam rips down the back
lane, heading for the deep wilderness bike trails (Photo 30). If
you're going to hit the back trails and venture where no bike
freak has ventured before, then at least do it in style - do it on
a chopper!
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mountain Lion - Section 2| Section 2
Section 1 | Section 2
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All content copyright Chopzone.com 2003-2009. All rights reserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||