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@bt24 Hi bt24......i built everything on the bike.....frame, frontend, rear hardtail, seat, handle bars, leatherwork for the seat and grips for the jockey shift and hard grips...you get the point. my inspiration was my daughters old schwinnn bicycle. WRMDOVR
@wrmdovr
You did a Great job and congratulations on building everything on your own. obviously you are a very good welder and I am not but I do like that front end. Does anyone make one similar to that or do you sell them? Thanks for your reply and your bike looks Great!
Bryan
HI bt24.....again thank you...i am still learning how to weld, but my grinding is awesome! i haven't had a weld break yet....knock on wood. .i am not aware of anyone selling an off the shelf banana girder......the challenge is that you have to know a number of measurements....neck height top to bottom, bottom of neck relative to the axel position, rake/trail, shock to be used, width of tire, etc. an analogy that i would use is going to buy a suit from a store and it will fit.....versus having a suit made for just for you by a tailer. there is a reason that my tag line is "it it were easy everyone would do it". if you lived near seattle i would be more than happy to help. i bought the metal and had it my garage for two months before i got the balls with the aid of a couple shots of jack daniels to grad a stick and start bending! even though i had made some templates i screwed up the first attempt because my bender is a not very good. my recommendation is find someone close to you with some experience and find a style of frontend that you like, as there is a general look however how they are contructed in many ways. the hardest part for me was understanding how to secure the neck bolt, which btw i used a xs650 rear axel. try to mock it up in some material that is easy to work with and go for it. i had never seen a banana girder in person, only in magazines and i studied everyone one i saw in magazines and online for over a year preparing and it was still a bitch. now that i know how to do it the next one will be much easier. good luck and if i can be of any help feel free to message me. i am online every night.
next in line is a trike.....one wheel in front and two in the back.....with certain "motorcycles" being on the road i now feel as i need to define my version of a trike. there will come a day when riding on two wheels will no longer be an option and i want to have a transition plan in place when that occurs. i want it to be similiar to my black bike with skinny tires on the rear. i have a donor frame in sitting in the shop with a engine ready to go. wont happen this winter but maybe next year