BAD NEWS: My Twisted Take on a Western Flyer Newsboy Special

[vincev]

I have this one with lowered bars and a homemade springer.Rides good........

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I have this one with lowered bars and a homemade springer.Rides good........


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Nice setup. Love the leaf springer! Thing is, your bike rides as well as it does because you didn't change the steering geometry of the fork, at least from what I can tell. Mine has the wheel well ahead of the steerer tube, which looks cool, but doesn't steer that well. I could just use a more conventional fork setup, and it'd ride well enough, but I really love the look of the straight bars pointing at the front axle. I know it's not the most practical setup, but I would really like to be able to ride my bike without sacrificing the look I've got going on right now.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I have this one with lowered bars and a homemade springer.Rides good........


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I just noticed, is that a Flightliner-style bike?

 

[vincev]

Wards bike

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Wards bike

Got any pics of the full bike? I'd love to see it.

 

[vincev]

Home made chainguard,...........

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Home made chainguard,...........


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That's got to be one of the coolest custom chain guards I've ever seen! I dig it!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Great news! I'm finally getting the hang of riding this bike! @GeePig on ratrodbikes.com totally called it! Tightening down the head set dampened the steering, so I was able to keep this bike relatively under control! I managed to ride this bike around the cul-de-sac and the next more than once here in the past 30 minutes. It's far from perfect, it takes preparation and a decent amount of space to turn this bike around, but against all odds, this bike is still rideable. There's still a lot of room for improvement, but I think I can push forward with this wild design.

I did manage to scrape the pedals while I was learning how to steer, but I'm not too worried about that.

 

[razinhellcustomz]

I've been lightly tinkering with Bad News over the past few days, testing out a few suggested ideas here and there. I mocked up these baskets I had in storage, but they just busied up the look of the bike.
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I just got some washers and nuts this evening to try and adjust the springer fork so the straight bars point right at the front axle, and keep the fork from compressing too much while riding. I found a spare master link for my chain, so I slapped that back on so I could test ride the bike.
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What followed next was an absolute disaster. I just tried to pedal in a straight line down the driveway, but I could not for the life of me get this bike under control! I don't blame it on the bike, so much as I blame it on me. I have almost no experience riding lowrider bikes, which this bike is kind of built like. I'm used to steering with the handlebars, not... however I'm supposed to operate this contraption. And before anyone says anything, no, I don't really know how to ride a motorcycle either, so any knowledge on riding one of those won't help me figure out how to ride this.

Can anyone help me figure out how to ride this bike? I'd hate to go back to a stock-ish fork setup after coming up with this wild design, but I'd like to be able to ride this bike, even if it's just for short distances.

Hey Austin, For starters maybe try turning the goose neck around 180 and see if that makes a difference. If this doesn't work, you may have to change out the bars for a taller pair.. Good luck.. Looking good so far... Razin..

 

[razinhellcustomz]

Great news! I'm finally getting the hang of riding this bike! @GeePig on ratrodbikes.com totally called it! Tightening down the head set dampened the steering, so I was able to keep this bike relatively under control! I managed to ride this bike around the cul-de-sac and the next more than once here in the past 30 minutes. It's far from perfect, it takes preparation and a decent amount of space to turn this bike around, but against all odds, this bike is still rideable. There's still a lot of room for improvement, but I think I can push forward with this wild design.
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I did manage to scrape the pedals while I was learning how to steer, but I'm not too worried about that.
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It's only a little ROAD RASH.. Still works just the same.. RideOn... Razin...