The Rat - SpyGuy's Redneck-Style Cagllari/Daytona

SpyGuy · #1 (**permalink**) 19-08-2008, 08:29 AM

"The Rat" (a work in progress)

Background: Bike originally started off as a half-fairing 47cc Cagllari/Daytona. Purchased on craigslist.com for $80.00, previous owner had apparently used the bike as an offroad dirt bike. Front fairing was missing, seat and tank section was cracked in half behind tank and at end of seat - entire rear section missing. So begins the tale of my NF (no fairing) Cagllari, "The Rat"......

I decided when I bought this bike that I was not going to restore it to original condition. Instead, the plan was to play with it, see what fun a goofy things I could modify on the bike, yet still have a perfectly functional bike to ride. Below is a list of the modifications currently on this bike, with more to come. *** NOTE: this is NOT meant to be a serious race bike - this bike was built "redneck-style" for fun.**

SPECIFICATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS:
Gas Tank:
Hard-mounted to frame with brackets. Gas cap has been modified with a breather filter made from an in-tank gas filter. Gas tank was originally hard-mounted to frame using a hose clamp, which is visible in earlier pictures of the bike.

Seat:
Seat is glued down on piece of sheet metal, cut to fit shape of seat. Seat is supported by section of cut-down office keyboard track, and bolted to frame using the original holes. There is also a section of heavy-gauge wire mesh filling in the open area between the seat and the tank.

Air cleaner:
Air cleaner is an Altoids Chocolate-Covered Cinnamon Mints box. The box has been drilled multiple times to allow air flow, and a piece of window screen wrapped in pantyhose protects the carburetor venturi. Oh, and the red gasket in the picture is from a toilet tank. (A second air cleaner, not on the bike, is made from an electric socket junction box.)

Gas filter:
A cut-down Volkswagon gasoline filter makes sure that the carburetor stays clean.

Muffler/exhaust:
An empty DuPont paint spraycan was modified for the exhaust by cutting off the bottom of the can. Tinsnips were used to enlarge the opening on the top of the can to fit over the front ring of the stock muffler, while the bottom of the can was cut to accept the stock muffler end cap. It is held on by the original spring and cotter pin.

Footpegs:
Footpegs are Mongoose BMX stunt pegs mounted on tapped original studs. This was a previous owner modification.

MISCELLANEOUS FEATURES:

Dremel wrench killswitch cover: A spare wrench was bent and screwed down under the original-style killswitch, so I wouldn't accidentally bump it while riding.

Duct Tape on front brake cable: Oh yes ... it can't be a true ratbike without duct tape! For now, a strip of silver duct tape is holding the front brake cable to the fork leg. (I cheated - there's also a zip tie underneath it!)

72 Jet: Biggest jet I could run in the bike, since the new Altoids air cleaner was letting in a LOT of air. Am considering boring original jet out to 74 or even a 76.

Triple reed mod: One of the members of pocketbikeplanet.com (davation) came up with a simple yet VERY effective way of making a cheap reed mod for tha Cagllari/Daytona by layering two reeds together. The mod was created by leaving one reed completely stock, and cutting the other to resemble a Black Widow reed. They work just as well as a Black Widow setup, and costs about a third of the price.

Gearing: currently 7/68. Future change will be either 64th or 62th rear sprocket.

To be continued ....

SpyGuy · #2 (**permalink**) 19-08-2008, 08:36 AM

More pictures

minimotorider · #3 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 10:34 AM

Thats an awesome ride man.

Here ya go!

SpyGuy · #4 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 12:07 PM

LMAO !! Thanks! "I would like to accept this award today by thanking everyone who has looked at and laughed at my bike ...." I'm also on your TPB site, btw ...

Seriously, though, the whole reason behind the bike was to rebuild it in a way that would be functional and fun and NOT kill any of the performance of the bike. Okay, yes, it looks funny - that was the point!! The spraycan mod was something I'd seen several guys do on another site, and since my exhaust pipe was broken, anyway, why not go ahead and redo it? (I originally wanted a WD-40 can on there, but didn't have any empty ones laying around.) Once I got that on there, I started looking around and thinking, "What other fun and goofy things can I do to this bike without decreasing performance or totally messing it up?" The Altoids can air cleaner not only works, but works VERY well - I actually had to rejet to something HUGE just to handle all the extra air coming in. I drilled the original main jet out to something like a 74 or a 76, so one of my next tests will be to try running that jet in the bike, and seeing how it works. Gas filter? Had a spare for my car, figured it would be a lot better than that Briggs&Stratton lawnmower filter I had ..... I have one of the original-style killswitches that is screwed into a hole drilled in the handlebars (how many guys have one of those?), and I needed a way to protect it from accidentally being hit, so a spare dremel wrench was bent 90 degrees and screwed down under the killswitch. Despite the way the bike looks, it performs quite well.

If you could have seen the mess the bike was in when I got it, you wouldn't believe it was the same bike. It was literally a basket case - the previos owner had used it like a dirt bike, and had beaten the hell out of it. The bars had been drilled for self-tapping screws because the original bolts were stripped (idiot didn't even bother making sure the handlebar angles matched before drilling), the exhaust was bent in about three different directions, the engine would barely turn over - I think the guy was running straight gas in it or something - the wheels were flat, the fairings (what was left of them) were destroyed, the rear brakes weren't working, the front brakes worked but not real well .... it took a long time for me to get the bike repaired to the point where it was rideable again. About the only good thing was that the frame was fairly straight, and the engine turned over.

Like I said, The Rat was built for fun. It's not a "serious" race bike - I have another HF Cag for that purpose. This one is something to goof around with, try out silly and funny things, and basically was built the way it is to make people laugh. I don't have to have a high-dollar bike with a custom-built motor and 32 layers of clearcoat over a thousand-dollar chameleon paint job (not that I wouldn't LIKE one, mind you, but not everyone can afford something like that)... just give me a decent running engine, a couple of wheels to put the power on the ground, and a three-dollar can of flat black primer. While everyone else is buffing their Blatas, GP's, and BZM's to mirror shines and polishing all that chrome, I'll be out riding.

SpyGuy · #5 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 04:38 PM

Well, it's been a VERY long time since I've been on here. In the meantime, I've picked up three more Cag/Daytonas, two junkers for parts bikes, and a pair of gopeds. I've also learned how to weld, and have put that knowledge to use, as you'll soon see.

The Rat: At last count, I'd left it with the above mods. Since then, it has received a few more things:

Engine mods:
-Reed stop shaved down to allow the reeds to open further

General mods:
-Handlebars chopped 1"
-Hiot and cold water faucet handles for fork tube end covers
-Gas tank bracket rebuilt with wrench bent 90*
-Wrench brake bracket
-Welded wrench chain guard
-Welded wrench upper engine mounting bracket
-Heat shield made from pot strainer
-Welded brass knuckle fender

Yup, no kidding. Here's links to the pictures:

The hot and cold water faucet handles:
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture024.jpg

New gas tank bracket: One of those cheap wrenches from IKEA.
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture022.jpg

Wrench brake bracket: Another cheap flat-bar wrench, drilled and fitted to replace the stock support bar for the rear brake caliper.
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...eBracket01.jpg

Welded wrench chain guard: Three old flat-bar wrenches, sliced, ground down, and welded together. The top wrench is from a Yamaha tool kit.
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...ainGuard01.jpg
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...ainGuard02.jpg

Welded wrench upper engine mounting bracket: Top piece is from a 3/4" flat-bar wrench. Bottom piece is a 1 1/2" open-end Billings wrench, drilled to line up with the upper mounting holes on the engine block.
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture011.jpg
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture013.jpg

Heat shield made from pot strainer: Sliced off the handle, bent it in half, attached the left edge to the bottom rear bolt and upper bolt of the upper engine mounting bracket. The other side is kept in place by a large bolt running through the strainer holes, with nuts on either side to keep it sturdy. Helps keep my fuel lines and filter away from the exhaust pipe.
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture014.jpg
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...Picture015.jpg

Brass knuckle fender: Okay, I lied - it's not really brass. Left to right, those are the box-ends from 5/8", 11/16", 5/8", and 9/16" wrenches. The back bar is the handle from the 9/16" wrench, and the two support rods between the knuckles and the back bar are broken Allen wrenches cut to fit. Oh yeah, and the fender supports were from a gate hinge sliced in half.
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...leFender01.jpg
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...leFender02.jpg

And just in case y'all thought I was kidding about owning another bike ....:

This is The Purple Beastie, 47cc Cag/Daytona. PBU race pipe, ported stock carburetor with 72 jet, performance air cleaner with velocity stack, davation's triple stage reed mod (from pocketbikeplanet.com), reed stop shaved down so reeds can open further, gas tank hardmounted to frame with gas cap breather mod, Briggs & Stratton gas filter on 1/4" fuel lines, 7/68 gearing, windshield mounted "streetfighter" style to handlebars, handlebars shaved 1", meathooks. Color is Krylon Purple Metalflake.

http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...pleBeast03.jpg
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...withTheRat.jpg
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...withTheRat.jpg
http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/p...rdmountedt.jpg

TyD · #6 (**permalink**) 11-09-2009, 09:46 PM

mate, need to post pics of the go peds!

SpyGuy · #7 (**permalink**) 12-09-2009, 03:52 PM

Okay, soon as i get some pictures of them. Both are pretty much in stock condition, and one is currently not running - need to do some work on it. One is a Blade Z Moby, the other I believe is a Bigfoot. (Blade Z's the one that's down at the moment....)

rover · #8 (**permalink**) 12-09-2009, 06:19 PM

Hi SpyGuy
Looks like your are a regular McGyver..with some of the mods you have done...I would welcome your input into another thread we have on here, we have the Genius of the month on thread . Hints and tips.

I will bump it up so you can see it.

SpyGuy · #9 (**permalink**) 13-09-2009, 02:31 PM

Thanks, Rover. Like I said in the beginning, this bike was built for fun, not serious racing. If I wanted to race, that's what the purple bike is for. (And actually, what my next bike is getting fixed up for - FF Cag).

Tell ya what, people notice this bike when I take it to the track. (I help out with a group of kids who don't have fathers, and help teach them real life lessons through pocketbike racing, such asworking as a team, learning to use tools, learning to work on small engines ... all skills that will be valuable later on in life. Mostly, I'm pit wrench and kid wrangler ....

) ANYONE who's been on the sites I go to sees that bike and immediately knows I'm somewhere in the area. They all get a kick out of seeing the crazy things I've done to it, and I seem to always find something else to tweak, another part that can be built ... I guess I just can't leave well enough alone!. I just find it more fun to do something off-the-wall that no one has seen before, and more importantly, that no one else has.

I've already been offered an almost-brand-new Cag, not even broken in yet, in trade for The Rat ... turned the guy down flat. The Rat is one of a kind, and I've put too much work into it to get rid of it now .....

SpyGuy · #10 (**permalink**) 24-10-2009, 02:43 PM

Been a while since posting .... someone wanted a couple of shots of my gopeds when i finally got picutres of them. here's the first - figured out it was a Kragen Zooma, not a Bigfoot:

Here's the Blade Z, still not running (okay, be honest: still haven't worked on it yet):

My Zooma posing with my custom-built Re-Cycle, made all from scrap metal. Can you believe those are the same size wheels?

And for those of you who are interested, The Re-Cycle:
-Frame and forks made from tire irons filled with - what else - car lugnuts, frame spacers are bicycle kickstands, head tube is pipe with car lugnuts on either end. Front end triple trees are 1/4" plate, engine plate is 1/8".
-Front and rear wheel brackets are trainging wheel brackets.
-Footpegs are ends from a fireplace set, screwed into bolts with jam nuts, bolts welded to frame.
-Rollers are 4" goped wheels.
-Engine is stock 47cc with CVT, #25 25th gear, stubby exhaust pipe with goped can.
-Brake lever from Cag/Daytona on left, throttle lever (originally a brake lever) from goped on right.

How small is it? These next two pictures should give you an idea. That's a full-sized Cag/Daytona, and the license plate is twelve inches long.

The Rat - SpyGuy's Redneck-Style Cagllari/Daytona

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