My dilema: resolved - Project Chopper

[SirHSV]

Hi guys, some time back i posted a thread on a new toy project we got.

My Dilema: NEW toy (project)

We have had alot of people asking what happened to it? was it finished? what did we do? so here is the work log (as best as we can cover).

Well alot of time has passed, parts were sourced (from various bike's) to make up the finished
project as she sits now.

Thanks must go to:

CrashTestdummy for his colour ideas, we eventually with a black base coat (can
never go wrong with black somehow), over this we laid down a 7 colour shift metal flake, the upper
sections we laid down a coarse metallic base and laid down our skull/grim reaper theme, over
which we laid a custom mix pagan gold/tangerine kandy and seperated the metal flake lower and
upper sections with 22k gold leaf.

For anyone wanting to modify one of these, DO IT!, as this bike sits without its neck modification,
it is 98% road legal (NSW), still have an exhaust issue and neck issue to sort out, then it will
be able to be registered, and who wouldnt want to ride one of these around legally

Motor: Lifan 150cc
Paint: House of Kolor - black base coat, orion silver, pagan gold kandy, tangerine kandy
Gold Leaf: 22k
Front Forks: Virago
Brakes: Honda CBR250rr, Yamaha CR125, Suzuki RGV
Headlight: Kawasaki VT Vulcan (not shown in these photos)
Hand Grips: Harley Davidson
Mirrors: Harley Davidson
Brake swith: Suzuki RGV
Indicators: Honda (not sure of the model)
Front Guard: Hand made fibreglass
Painted by: ME!

The whole bike was purchased, like most are, in a mess!. Thankfully the motor was pretty new
and strong!







When we first started breaking the bike down after getting the thing together and working, it
was time to paint. Stripping the tank showed some pretty lousy chinese craftsmanship.

The entire tank looked like it had been beaten senseless into shape, with no definate curve
to it, no real edges (most of the upper top section looked like it had been sealed with solder),
it was pretty shocking!.

[SirHSV]

After doing the tank PROPERLY, it was time to get it back into the shape it should have been
in the first place!, we changed it alittle going off the BBC (big bear chopper) Athena. Always
loved the shape of that tank and decided to keep this tank similar to the Athena tank, i know
it changes it from the Martin Bros style alittle, but its not a dramatic change.



Once the coarse silver was laid down it was time to airbrush the theme onto the bike, the lettering
for the paper scroll was airbrushed not written in pen like some people do, the poem was taken
from the start of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The reaper and the flowers" published in 1839.



Grim reaper on top of the tank starting to take form.

[SirHSV]

The one problem we also encountered, and its a problem with most chinese bikes, its fitment.
Nothing ever seems to line up correctly, we took our time and made sure the tank section lined
up with the lower seating section perfectly!, alot of sanding in the early stages and gapping
always helps, when your trying to do this ensure you leave enough gap for paint fill, sanding
a gap will make sure that when it comes time to fit panels up, they line up perfectly.



Another shot of the seat section cover.



The rear guard i have never liked, but with no time to make a new one the one was prepped and painted.
We are still in the process of fabbing another from sheetmetal to give it a more traditional
chopper look, but this will come later.

[SirHSV]

Another pre-kandy shot showing the tank and part of the lower section completed, before we lay
down the custom mix kandy.







The frame wasnt too bad considering its origins, there were places that needed to be re-welded
for strength, and a few parts that didnt make sense, these sections were removed. The entire
frame was painted in HOK black base coat and then hit with the 7 shift metal flake and cleared.

[SirHSV]

The motor thankfully was in great shape with a few things to fix up, this was sanded and repainted
in black 'satin' not 'matt', the satin gives you a nicer look than just dull matt black, well
i think so anyway. The forward controls were also modified, these were all wrong!, a new bracket
was custom made and the brake lever now has a Honda CBR250 fluid res connected to a yamaha
CR125 brake booster and brake line to the rear brake caliper.



Photo of the motor and chrome bolts/covers, we also sanded the fins back to alloy, these were
going to be diamond cut, but also ran out of time, but who cares? looks pretty cool either way.



Unfortunately for now the neck has to retain its rake, this will later be chopped off and set
back to 550mm ruling that the engineer wants to see, no big problem will do it later.

[SirHSV]

Tank and seat cover now in its kandy mix.



Another shot



Front shot

[SirHSV]

Here is a sneak shot with the 22k gold leaf and in final clear ready to be fitted.

[SirHSV]

Rear guard with gold leaf, custom kandy and final clear (most of the skull detail will be lost
or unseen when the guard is fitted, but its there).



Close up of the rear guard



Assembled shot, the headlight on this bike was stolen from my younger boys mini chopper for
the photo (they got it back when the VT Vulcan headlight arrived) lol, they also talked me
into painting their bike as a result, who says kids cant make deals? mine do *sigh*

[SirHSV]

Close up shot of the Henry Longfellow poem.

[SirHSV]

Kick start (love kick starters) was taken from another trail bike.



This photo was an assembly shot, the exhaust has since been legally modified to comply with
current ADRs.



Brake lighting for this thing was always an issue, and with most makes and models looking shocking
on this bike, it was decided to make one, the outer housing was made from 2mm balsa wood and shaped
into the ace of spades and glued, the front panel was also glued to the sides.

The entire housing was then layered in fibreglass resin and left to set, sanded and painted.

The red lense is from a VR Holden Statesman brake light, the lighting comprises of 30 3mm LEDs
around the sides for parkers, the inner LEDs are 5mm and comprise of around 25 LEDs, the entire
brake light is DAMN bright!, if you cant see this lit up, theres a problem!.

And when was the last time you saw a brake light in the shape of the ace of spades and NOT a
maltese cross?