SpyGuy's Redneck Ride

Okay, I know I posted this on Dave's thread, but m ight as well make it an official entry, according to the rules ....The Rat, my October entry:

For those of you who haven't seen this before (which I seriously doubt), this is The Rat, a 47cc NF "No Fairing" Cagllari/Daytona. This bike was rebuilt "redneck style" from a sorely-used junker, and is fully functional and ready to ride. I built it for fun and for laughs, not as a serious race bike. Some of The Rat's more prominent features include the DuPont spraycan exhaust pipe, the signature Altoids can air cleaner, dremel wrench killswitch cover, Volkswagon gas fliter, BMX Mongoose footpegs, and a custom seat made from a piece of sheet steel and part of a cut-down office keyboard track.




For full details on the bike itself and my other rides, here's the link to my thread:
The Rat - SpyGuy's Redneck-Style Cagllari/Daytona

Love it....If I saw it at the track I'd know it was yours Spy. You DO have a certain style. Good job.

Thanks, Maico. I wanted to make the bike instantly recognizable to anyone who saw it. When we had that grand opening for On Any Moto, a bunch of guys from Phoenix came down, and everyone was like, "Okay, SpyGuy's here - there's his bike." It's fun when people know you by your work .....

When the weather here cools down a little more (it's like triple digits outside, been that way for a couple weeks), I'll be redoing some of the brackets and the chainguard. Since I've gotten decent at welding small stuff together, I'll be making some custom pieces to replace those parts. Stay tuned!

As may of you may (or may not) know, I've been learning how to weld with a little MIG fluxcore wirefeed machine. Today I decided to put some of that knowledge to use, and did some welding on a new chain guard. The chain guard itself is made from three old "flat-bar" wrenches, welded together into one strong, solid piece. Another one of those wrenches, after a little drilling, is also serving as a bracket for my rear brake caliper.





You can't really tell in the first picture too well, but the wrench on top is tilted in towards the engine, covering that section of the chain. That's a 19mm/22mm wrench from a Yamaha motorcycle kit, by the way.

That's excellent! Definitely something i can identify with.

It was something I figured I could do fairly easily, and it's not like I didn't have the pieces to do it with. Honestly, the hardest part about the build was getting the angle cut for the bottom support and getting all the welds ground down and cleaned up afterwards. I wanted to make a very distinctive piece for the bike, and a new chain guard was my first idea.

All it's missing is a sticker of "Rat Fink" somewhere on there.

Excellent work SpyGuy!

Soon as I find one, Finkie's going on the front of the pullstart.

the pipe is my favorite part

So I was out in the garage, doing some more welding, and came up with another custom piece for The Rat. How many of you guys have a set of brass knuckles for a fender?





Okay, so I lied - they're not really brass. The "finger holes" from left to right are the box-ends from a 5/8", 11/16", 5/8", and 9/16" wrenches. The crossbar on the bottom is the handle from the 9/16" wrench, and the two supports between the "knuckles" and the crossbar are busted Allen wrenches sawn down to size. Oh, and the brackets that bolt onto the forks used to be a gate hinge.

OMG SpyGUY! that is freaking awesome hahahaha

I can't wait to show this to a good friend of mine that is building a 1948 Chevy truck retro-mod/rat rod.
I bet he is definitely gonna incorporate his brass knuckles into his project somehow now for sure!

dude, your bike rocks man... nothing like a little personal style and flare to set that off.

I am going to find you a Rat Fink sticker myself and mail that to you... I know my buddy must have one somewhere!!

Hey, Mech, tell your friend to use the brass knuckles for his shifter. I know that there's a company that makes them - hang on, let me check a magazine here .....

Okay, try a couple of these sites:
ckdeluxe.com
olskoolrodz.com
rodandcustommagazine.com
rebelrodzmag.com
One of those guys has probably got a link to shift knobs somewhere in their links section. Be sure to check out all the sites, as they deal with '40's through early '60's, plus rat-rods and kool kustoms. Some pretty women on those sites, too ...

Some other cool shifters I've seen or collected have been:
-A WWII saber (I think it was on a Ed Roth design)
-Grenade
-.44 magnum cylinder
-Pool cue
-Pogo stick (no, I'm not kidding!)
-Tiki
-Shrunken head
-Beer tap (got several: Budweiser, Pabst, Miller)
-Chrome skull (got one - mine has red ruby eyes)
-Traditional 8 ball (got one)
-Moon Eyes logo (got one)
-Chrome piston (got one)
-Transparent dice with the 'one' drilled out for the shifter (got one)
-Maltese / Iron Cross (got one, currently on the car)
-Pewter Rat Fink inside transparent acrylic bubble (got one)

If he DOES decide to build his own set, go to a thrift shop - he can pick up old wrenches, pliers, etc. for maybe a buck apiece. Definitely a lot better than running down to Sears and cutting up four brand-new Craftsman wrenches ...... Wrenches or pliers can also be used as window cranks and inside door handles - those truck doors had a lever you pushed down to open them, if I remember right, so you just weld on a nut with a set screw .... Another "old's kool" trick is to use piston rods for tailpipe hangers off the rear end - they look great when chromed and/or pinstriped.

Now I have to figure out what else I can do to the bike externally ... kinda running out of ideas. I WAS thinking of a hard-point mount off the left side for my .38 - talk about "eliminating the competition!" - but decided that might not be a real good idea ....

i gotta show my mechanic this, he is a brass knuckle freak
very good job
i have a few piston gas caps and i have a few conrods that im saving for something, like foot pegs