My uncle made this chopper in the early 80's. He is now in a wheel chair for the rest of his life.

I know im dreaming, but i had a thought of how nice it would be to build this and ride to his house. Plus it would be a badazz bike to own i bet haha!

I dont know much about being a wrench ... a couple months ago someone had to show me how to unbolt my seat lol, but I do have some friends that could/would help where needed. My concern is, I have no idea how much of this is bolt-on, and how much of it he had to have fabricated.

Would it be extremely expensive?

Where do i even begin? Again im only half serious at this point, just gathering thoughts.

Thanks

 

Define "ground up" a bit better.

A. You interested in buying chromoloy tubing and bending/welding rebuilding a new frame or something?
Or...
B. Taking this "donor" bike and further chopping it down to become what you envision?

If you just learned to unbolt a seat I would say you may have a long learning curve. Sure you can do it but plan to triple the amount of time you have set aside for a project. Read, read, read, read, nothing beats understanding the entire bike as you go forward into the project. It is nothing like you see on the television.

 

I built a bike similar to that one in the late 70's, but I had previous mecanical experience. I took an older bike and stripped it down, put it in a new frame, painted it and put it together over a winter, by myself with some technical advise from a few friends. It can be done.

 

thats an "amen" frame withe the "softail" rear suspension. it was very cool in the 70's-early 80's. had the hardtail look with spring suspension real. I would doubt you could even find one now. but there is a lot to know about building bikes, and especially building one that looks good when you're done, and its no cheap date either. better have a big handful of cash, its a lot more expensive than you think. but if you plan well, and keep it simple, could be done for around 20-25k, depending on what you really want. might want to wet your feet with a smaller project first, and work your way up to a ground up bike. just don't lose the passion to do it though, because you can, if you want to hard enough!!

 

It would be extremely mechanical and almost as expensive. I plan on building a chop some day, I'm saving up for it. I don't know if I have enogh experiance with bikes but I'm gonna try it in a year or two. I've seen similar choppers that guy's have had 20k invested others that had 12k invested. You could almost buy a new bike for what it would cost to mod a bike to that extreme.

 

It is not all together too hard, provided you have some tools and decent mechanical skills... but you need to account for the occasional problems that you would not think of normally.

 

The other option i considered is approaching HIM about it. He has a garage, he has money, he was a mechanic for 40yrs, and more importantly he has built this bike once lol.

I imagine if he bought the pieces, he can sit next to me and instruct, and help where needed.

But is it really 20-25k?? That would never fly, for either of us. I thought it be cheaper since its a much older (simpler) bike than current models.

Frame, Motor, Wheels, Fork, Suspension, Brakes, Pipes, Bars, etc ... seems like a few major pieces, then some minor stuff (speedy, intake, etc). I thought most of it would be rather cheap if shopped for used parts.

Or do used parts not go for less?

And again im left with the unknown factor, how much of that bike is fabricated, how much is purchased as is? that would be a huge factor, as i dont think either of us would be wanting to start fabricating stuff or searching for shops to do so.

 

I would suggest reading a lot of material about how a bike is designed. Rake, trail, and a bunch of other terms you may not know now will be crucial later. I see no point in building a bike just to look at. It needs to be safe, and ride-able.

Good luck. I wouldn't try it without an engineering degree!

 

Why not find an old Harley and restore it to original as a starter project.

 

that an amen savior frame. bad idea. rear wheel has a tendency to **** sideways. also you still need a lot of fender clearance. i build a 750 honda in a amen hardtail in the mid 70s, loved that bike! with used vintage parts a hardtail shouldn't be all that expensive. less engine i would think 5000 or so would do it. the hardest part is wiring or rather hiding the wiring. get some help from your uncle and go for it.