# 81 western flyer



## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 9, 2021)

Here are some pics of my western flyer. First is complete minus the seat.


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 9, 2021)

Next scattered all over the front yard. Now comes the elbow work. Sand, steel wool sand some more. I was going to repaint it the original color but decided on semi gloss hunter green and gloss almond on the fenders and chain guardwith black pin stripes. The aluminum fender braces will be green halfway down then transition to almond before they get to the frame. Not sure how yet. And may just shine them up and clear coat them. Hope to get handlebars shined up and clear them with the crank and sprocket. As of now I'm under$20 in the project. The bike itself I found in the trash. I was riding it until this morning. Glad I tore it down this morning. When looking for the master link, I found it and the locker clip was gone. So 1masterlink $1.59, super glue, to put the front reflector back in its bracket $5.99, semi gloss paint and primer$4.59 4 bolts and lock nuts$2.00, pinstripe $2.99. the tubes hold air so they won't be replaced until they don't. It does need new tires and handlebar grips. I found some grips on this site some where. When I get paid I will order them. Am hunting a 26inch kickstand. The seat is a person's. I like it,it's comfortable and rather large. I don't know if they are sought after or not but it's in excellent condition just needs a mild cleaning. Hope to find the white wall tires before these blowout. Also hunting white pedals with intact reflectors. But will go with black tires and pedals if necessary. As I stated the ones I have are still serviceable but who knows how long. This will be a daily rider and my state requires head and tail lights so I have a set of harley davidson fog lights I want to mount on. Not sure how yet or if I want one or two up front. Maybe one up front and the other in the back, or two and find another for the tail. Originally I was going to do a complete restoration. Now it's more of a modify and restoration. Changing the factory colors, adding the lights and a small battery from an old car jump box. Well I will keep the group updated time to grind out some rivets and sand.


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 9, 2021)

Also I remember as a kid I had a set of blinkers and taillight all in one. Whish I could find another


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 9, 2021)

Update: all cleaned, sanded to bare metal mostly and primed. The crank and front sprocket cleaned up surprisingly well. Just needs clear coat. Will try to attach a picture. A before shot of the handlebars.


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## bloo (Jan 9, 2021)

Welcome! Looks like a fun project. 

From the picture it looks like the frame is bent. Are you gonna have a go at straightening it or run it as-is?

I see those blinker/taillight things on ebay from time to time. I think you can probably come up with one without too much trouble if you keep an eye out.


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## Freqman1 (Jan 9, 2021)

Once you clean the chrome there is no need to clear coat it. If you are worried about rust-don't unless you let it sit outside. Clear coat will just cause you problems down the road with flaking/peeling and will serve no real purpose. V/r Shawn


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

It's going to live outside. I haven't noticed any bends. It rides remarkably well. The handlebars ain't cleaning up like I hoped they would. But I'm going to get them as shiney as possible and use them until I find another one. May go with ape hangers when I swap them out.


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

Here are some pics of the fenders and chain guard. It's my first time trying to do pinstripes. Not as clean as I had hoped but it'll do for now. Hope to finish the fork and frame paint today. So reassembly will start tomorrow. After that it's touch up paint time.


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## Freqman1 (Jan 10, 2021)

Grumpy Grampy said:


> Here are some pics of the fenders and chain guard. It's my first time trying to do pinstripes. Not as clean as I had hoped but it'll do for now. Hope to finish the fork and frame paint today. So reassembly will start tomorrow. After that it's touch up paint time.
> 
> View attachment 1336155
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> View attachment 1336157



If that's just tape why not pull it and try again. Looks like your trying to work it too slowly. Best to secure the fender, cut a piece the length you need it and just pull it around the fender, guard, etc... instead of trying to work it by section. Kinda hard to explain but with practice you'll be able to lay it on perfectly. V/r Shawn


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

I'm going to redo it when I get paid. Need to get more pinstripe. I really wanted to get some in a green and some in beige but all my local autozone only had black and red. I want green on the fenders and beige for the chain guard. Does anyone have a good trick for removing the handlebar grips? Don't want to destroy the old ones until I get replacements. Since I know at some point I'm changing the handlebars I'm going to paint this set metallic nickel. I tried to clean the ones I have but the chrome has flaked off in spots. I may just try to tape off the grips and spray away. I don't want the handlebars to look like they were painted by a juvenile delinquent while the rest of the bike looks almost pristine. After this cup of coffee it's time to start on the rims. Hope they shine up. They don't look too bad so my hopes are high. 4ought steel wool and WD40 time. I will report back soon


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

Before pics of the front wheel


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

Front wheel after the steel wool and WD40.


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

Before pics of the back tire and rim. Great time for more steel wool work.


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

I have figured out what my next build will be. I want to do a muscle bike style bike with a, for lack of a better term, tactical theme. Camouflage paint scheme with a satin or flat finish. Would love to have a genuine military bike for that build but any cool frame that's older than me will do. I intend to put fishing rod holders on that one. I already am sketching tool boxes to store a survival kit, tools, patch kit and fishing tackle. Would like to put one on the project I'm doing now but haven't come up with anything I like yet.


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

I decided to go ahead with the assembly instead of working on the back tire. It is by no means finished but I had to ride to the store.(ran out of tasty adult beverages). Since they don't let me drive anymore because of my seizures this is my only transport. I'm just not happy with the paint job. I knew better than to paint when it's this cold. But I have no patience. I'll go with the same paint scheme when I redo it but will wait for warmer weather. Hopefully I will be working on the tactical bike by then. Going to search the bay now for parts. Naturally I will check this site first. Would rather keep the money in the family so to speak.


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

Grumpy Grampy said:


> I decided to go ahead with the assembly instead of working on the back tire. It is by no means finished but I had to ride to the store.(ran out of tasty adult beverages). Since they don't let me drive anymore because of my seizures this is my only transport. I'm just not happy with the paint job. I knew better than to paint when it's this cold. But I have no patience. I'll go with the same paint scheme when I redo it but will wait for warmer weather. Hopefully I will be working on the tactical bike by then. Going to search the bay now for parts. Naturally I will check this site first. Would rather keep the money in the family so to speak.
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> View attachment 1336389
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> ...



The string on the frame holds the kickstand up while riding. I can fix almost anything, but not a bicycle kickstand. The thing won't stay in the up position. I still have to put the lights on it. I wanted to use the Harley Davidson lights but can't. I haven't figured out how or where to mount the battery. Just something else to shop for lights, head and tail. I want to mount a speedometer, not really to check speed but keep up with miles ridden. I want blinkers in the back because I don't want to get hit by a car again.


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## GTs58 (Jan 10, 2021)

Grumpy Grampy said:


> The string on the frame holds the kickstand up while riding. I can fix almost anything, but not a bicycle kickstand. The thing won't stay in the up position. I still have to put the lights on it. I wanted to use the Harley Davidson lights but can't. I haven't figured out how or where to mount the battery. Just something else to shop for lights, head and tail. I want to mount a speedometer, not really to check speed but keep up with miles ridden. I want blinkers in the back because I don't want to get hit by a car again.





I only mess with Schwinns and have little experience with the bolted on stands. I saw a thread were someone asked for help with this falling down stand problem and the fix is to bend the tab outward with an adjustable wrench just enough to keep the stand up. Clean and lube the stand pivoting points and then maybe a tiny amount of white lithium grease on that tab.


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 10, 2021)

GTs58 said:


> I only mess with Schwinns and have little experience with the bolted on stands. I saw a thread were someone asked for help with this falling down stand problem and the fix is to bend the tab outward with an adjustable wrench just enough to keep the stand up. Clean and lube the stand pivoting points and then maybe a tiny amount of white lithium grease on that tab.
> 
> View attachment 1336410



Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a shot.


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