81 western flyer

[Grumpy Grampy]

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

 

[Grumpy Grampy]

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.

 

[Grumpy Grampy]

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

 

[Grumpy Grampy]

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.

 

[bloo]

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.

 

[Freqman1]

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

 

[Grumpy Grampy]

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.

 

[Grumpy Grampy]

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.

 

[Freqman1]

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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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

 

[Grumpy Grampy]

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