Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Rake and Trail

I don't know if anybody else has been through this, but the thing I hesitated most about taking the plunge into bike building was getting the rake and trail right.  For those who have never built a bike before it can be confusing - not the concept but, the ordering of parts. Getting a clear picture of how all the parts go together is not all that certain. So while I was excited to get my new parts I was still worried that it would be right. 




But it seems I did my home work. Everything worked out as planed. I figured that I would have between 4 to 5" of trail and I got 4 1/2".

Now I'm excited - MAN THIS THING LOOKS COOL!
Time to build the handle bars.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Taking the Plunge into bike building


Okay - decided to build my own chopper. I sold my motorcycle a while back when I was in the military because I never had time to ride it. But now that I am out, I want to ride again. I have looked at Harley's but none of them is quite what I want for the money. So after a bit of research I started to buy parts and hopefully I can get what I want for the same money.

This is the frame I got from SAT Motorsports
It is 2 up (in the uptube) , 7 out (in the backbone), and 39 degree neck.



Here are the wheels, tires and fenders I got from Jireh Cycles.

And finlay the forks from Mean Street Products

The trees have a 6 degree rake so will end up with a total 45 degree rake on my ride.



Next...I put what I got together and decide what to get next.