Hey Folks,
My name is Ron, and I'm new here from Richmond,VA. I dont yet have a bike, or license or any of that jazz... however, I do have the "fever". Last year I was in my last semester of getting degrees in Biology and Chemistry at VCU, and i had a girlfriend. Said girlfriend would absolutely swoon over a moped each time we passed one when we were out... So I thought "hey, ill get her one for Christmas, build it up real nice, and she'll be super amped about it!" You see, VCU has quite the "hipster" or "wanna be hipster" thing going on. So mopeds are hot.. theyre easy to ride around and you can chain em up anywhere... especially close to class... which is pretty cool. So, I found a 78' Puch Free Spirit, got it for 400 bucks, and set about tearing the sucker down and making it personalized for her. It was just a little 50cc two-stroke. It started first kick, every time, so i just left the engine and all that mess alone and worked on the cosmetics. Ive attached a few images of what I did. The only thing i wouldnt do again is to try and paint the chrome... I wanted the wheels to be red, and i heard that if you roughed chrome up a bit, and sprayed it with some self etching primer, you would be good to go... not so much... maybe i did it wrong.... i dont know. In any case, after working on that thing i have become obsessed will building my own cafe style bike. After looking around a lot... Ive somewhat settled on doing something like a honda CB... i know (sigh) However, they seem like some of the most commonly built bikes, and there seems to be a good amount of resources available for them.. Not to mention they also seem on the cheaper side. Which, for me, is absolutely essential. I couldnt get a decent job with the education i have, (thanks obama, lol) and have since decided to "re-rool" myself as a chemical engineer. So, basically, im a couple years, and a bunch of math classes away from being a glorified plummer with a ton of student loan debt.. YAY! So, If any of you guys have any suggestions, objections, or encouraging words to send my way i would greatly appreciate it. Ive only looked around this forum a little and have found a pretty good amount of stuff i couldnt find anywhere else. I would like to build a little honda nighthawk 250 first... for multiple reasons.. Theyre super cheap, super small and light, which is good, cause im used to riding a carbon framed triathlon bike... however.. they are NOT cool. Ive seen a few of them built, but a lot of what is done to them looks a little too involved for me. I dont know how to weld (yet) or have access to a lot of heavy duty tools. Also, if anyone that sees this is from Richmond, I'd love to meet you and glean some knowledge from you guys. "Every man is in someway my superior, and in that, I can learn from him." Thanks guys!
My name is Ron, and I'm new here from Richmond,VA. I dont yet have a bike, or license or any of that jazz... however, I do have the "fever". Last year I was in my last semester of getting degrees in Biology and Chemistry at VCU, and i had a girlfriend. Said girlfriend would absolutely swoon over a moped each time we passed one when we were out... So I thought "hey, ill get her one for Christmas, build it up real nice, and she'll be super amped about it!" You see, VCU has quite the "hipster" or "wanna be hipster" thing going on. So mopeds are hot.. theyre easy to ride around and you can chain em up anywhere... especially close to class... which is pretty cool. So, I found a 78' Puch Free Spirit, got it for 400 bucks, and set about tearing the sucker down and making it personalized for her. It was just a little 50cc two-stroke. It started first kick, every time, so i just left the engine and all that mess alone and worked on the cosmetics. Ive attached a few images of what I did. The only thing i wouldnt do again is to try and paint the chrome... I wanted the wheels to be red, and i heard that if you roughed chrome up a bit, and sprayed it with some self etching primer, you would be good to go... not so much... maybe i did it wrong.... i dont know. In any case, after working on that thing i have become obsessed will building my own cafe style bike. After looking around a lot... Ive somewhat settled on doing something like a honda CB... i know (sigh) However, they seem like some of the most commonly built bikes, and there seems to be a good amount of resources available for them.. Not to mention they also seem on the cheaper side. Which, for me, is absolutely essential. I couldnt get a decent job with the education i have, (thanks obama, lol) and have since decided to "re-rool" myself as a chemical engineer. So, basically, im a couple years, and a bunch of math classes away from being a glorified plummer with a ton of student loan debt.. YAY! So, If any of you guys have any suggestions, objections, or encouraging words to send my way i would greatly appreciate it. Ive only looked around this forum a little and have found a pretty good amount of stuff i couldnt find anywhere else. I would like to build a little honda nighthawk 250 first... for multiple reasons.. Theyre super cheap, super small and light, which is good, cause im used to riding a carbon framed triathlon bike... however.. they are NOT cool. Ive seen a few of them built, but a lot of what is done to them looks a little too involved for me. I dont know how to weld (yet) or have access to a lot of heavy duty tools. Also, if anyone that sees this is from Richmond, I'd love to meet you and glean some knowledge from you guys. "Every man is in someway my superior, and in that, I can learn from him." Thanks guys!
