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I’m in favor of rat bikes!

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This one was posted awhile back but I just saw a post from @Superman1984 on another thread that had a pic of a cool old bike done this way. I showed that pic to my son and 3 hours later this came out of the garage.
It is very cool looking, moreso than before I think. All it needs now is a headlight over the stem.
I rode it down to the park for these picks and wow is it squirrely with the stem behind the head and the long wheel base. I can see that it needs getting used to. It rides like a swing bike.
It also gathered a crowd at the park and a couple offers.... whooda thunk it.

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That rake makes it look so aggressive! I totally dig it! I want to do that someday with a '79 Schwinn Fair Lady trike I'm building.
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But for now, I'm going with a more... traditional setup, due to budget constraints.
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Tell your son to check out @Reallybigtim's bikes, especially on ratrodbikes.com. A lot of his bikes have that wild springer fork setup. In fact, he's actually the guy who inspired me to flip my springer that way.
 
That rake makes it look so aggressive! I totally dig it! I want to do that someday with a '79 Schwinn Fair Lady trike I'm building.
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But for now, I'm going with a more... traditional setup, due to budget constraints.
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Tell your son to check out @Reallybigtim's bikes, especially on ratrodbikes.com. A lot of his bikes have that wild springer fork setup. In fact, he's actually the guy who inspired me to flip my springer that way.
Hey Deadman, Really, Really COOOL A$$ED trike. Either way you decide to build this it looks SIICCK!!! RideOn. Razin.
 
Hey Deadman, Really, Really COOOL A$$ED trike. Either way you decide to build this it looks SIICCK!!! RideOn. Razin.
Thanks Raisin! You can check out the complete build thread for it here. I haven't made any progress since March due to Dad's sandblaster being out of commission. We're in the process of fixing it though, so I'll hopefully be able to get it powder coated soon.
 
That rake makes it look so aggressive! I totally dig it! I want to do that someday with a '79 Schwinn Fair Lady trike I'm building.
View attachment 1437772
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But for now, I'm going with a more... traditional setup, due to budget constraints.
View attachment 1437774
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Tell your son to check out @Reallybigtim's bikes, especially on ratrodbikes.com. A lot of his bikes have that wild springer fork setup. In fact, he's actually the guy who inspired me to flip my springer that way.
I dont know If I'd slam that trike, it looks excelllent with that upward rake. 👍
I had a freind with a Schwinn three speed trike that he put a 750watt electric motor on that would go through the gears. It would smoke the tires, had real bad torque steer and would do 40mph. It would go faster but it was unmanageable so he always backed off.
Honestly, I think Im going to go get a Raliegh close stem off a tourist model at the salvage and put the bar in front of the head on this one my boy built. It really cant be ridden safely with the stem behind the head. Its squirrelly as hell.
Also going to find a shorter arm crank so the pedals dont hit the pavement constantly.
 
I dont know If I'd slam that trike, it looks excelllent with that upward rake. 👍
I had a freind with a Schwinn three speed trike that he put a 750watt electric motor on that would go through the gears. It would smoke the tires, had real bad torque steer and would do 40mph. It would go faster but it was unmanageable so he always backed off.
Honestly, I think Im going to go get a Raliegh close stem off a tourist model at the salvage and put the bar in front of the head on this one my boy built. It really cant be ridden safely with the stem behind the head. Its squirrelly as hell.
Also going to find a shorter arm crank so the pedals dont hit the pavement constantly.
Thanks. I think it'll be fine with the upward rake, but from a design point-of-view, I really like the idea of the chain guard being level, and the chopper-like rake of the fork. I'm not going to put a motor on my trike, at least not right now. When I mocked up my flipped-fork idea, I put the handlebars ahead of the headset, not necessarily for ease of steering (I've never even tested something like this before,) but so the forks and handlebars wouldn't block the side view of my custom tank. Plus, if/when I slam this trike, I'm going to use a different rear axle, the kind with a built-in differential, so I can mount some Cragar SS wheels on the back.

I would definitely consider using shorter crank arms with the bike sitting that much lower.
 
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