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I'm not in favor of rat bikes!

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I bought a rough X-53 from Geech34 here awhile back... too rough to restore, Rat thing is kinda played out in my mind, think Im gonna break out the chopsaw on it just to see what I can come up with :cool:

might piss a few people off, but oh well... wouldnt be the first time!! :p
 
as long as theres folks restoring them to perfect you will have others cutting them up , the way I see it . my first bike meant FREEDOM to explore an travel , an I express that with my builds be it a perfect resto or a clean preserved machine or a hacked to bits full blown custom , we should all respect one anothers interpretation of that freedom, we all experienced on our first ride or the pride of riding that perfect resto an also the pride of riding that rat because we as individuals built it an enjoy the fruits of our labors . each an every one of us can identify with that an that makes us all brothers , with differing opinions , but at the core still brothers.
Gary
 
I picked up this 62 Higgins Spaceliner for almost nothing, the chrome was not to bad but i had done a complete resto on a 60 Higgins Flightliner a year ago, it was my first bike restore and i tell yea it was tuff to do, had to have chrome work done, nice paint, new nuts and bolts everyware, it came out great and i enjoyed doing it but when i picked up this bike i didnt want to go through a complete restore job. I like the Rat Bike look and i like the board trackers so i built a Rat Tracker of sort. I did take the time to do it wright but i dont feel i have to treat it with kit cloves, i don,t not have a lot of $ in it but i think i like it better than my correctly restored one, hey there all fun to ride and to look at, make it your own and hope others like it to. Sulley

1962 Spaceliner
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1960 Flightliner
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at first, I wasn't going to add any text as the photo speaks for itself. not all rat rods are "not beautiful" in their own right. I took a bike that had been made into a tandem many years ago and then left broken in half in my uncles shed for years. the front half is an unknown year CWC of some sort, the rear is a ladies Colson again of an unknown year. by the op's definition these bikes would never have been ridden again. but, due to the modern technology of "Rat Rodding", both have been not only saved but made into something of grace and beauty, with a hint of rebelliousness.
vbulletin
 
If you dont like rat rods you will probably despise fixed gear bikes.I like rat rods but cringe when I see classic road bikes get their cable guides ground off,Campy components trashed ,brakes removed,etc.I saw an old Paramount completely trashed because the young rider wanted a "fixie".
 
I don't mind Rats, but some guys are so crazy about rust, its sickening! Thats my only itch with some guys who do it. They want to keep all the rust and tear on a bike. Heck, just sand it and buy a $3 can of black spray paint at Wal-Mart. Even that would do. Rust is rust, its a form of decay.

I've seen some very nice, beautifully done Rats, but, I have also seen some ugly ducklings too.
 
i picked up this 62 higgins spaceliner for almost nothing, the chrome was not to bad but i had done a complete resto on a 60 higgins flightliner a year ago, it was my first bike restore and i tell yea it was tuff to do, had to have chrome work done, nice paint, new nuts and bolts everyware, it came out great and i enjoyed doing it but when i picked up this bike i didnt want to go through a complete restore job. I like the rat bike look and i like the board trackers so i built a rat tracker of sort. I did take the time to do it wright but i dont feel i have to treat it with kit cloves, i don,t not have a lot of $ in it but i think i like it better than my correctly restored one, hey there all fun to ride and to look at, make it your own and hope others like it to. Sulley

1962 spaceliner
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this is what i mean by a nicely done rat^
 
Money.....

or lack thereof is usually the factor. Some of us dont have the funds to make a classic nice again,so it gets put together rough.Some of us are just too cheap and cant stand the thought of tying up the cost of a used car in a bike.I have a friend that has nothing nice,all of his toys are "rats" .To each his own.
 
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To Rat or not???

I think that if your want to rat a bike because it is too far gone then do what needs to be done to make the ride a head turner. Thats what rats are, head turners right. Everyone has visions of the perfect bike and then there are those visions of what if I did that..."dang that looks cool" is usually the final result.
We are all artists of some sort. Some are better at it than others.

I have a Western Flyer Sabre Flyer that I can't afford to strip and repaint to original. I too have plans to rat the bike, "why not", I say.
It's your artistic impression being expressed.

Sulley and Scott, great looking bikes. I'd bet they would bring a pretty penny to the right person if they went on the market.
I love the Flightliner and wouldn't think twice of adding that to my herd but, don't send me a PM to see if I want it. I want my own creation and will ride it proudly.

Just saying
JD
 
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