More Details on Ratty

I've ridden Ratty a few more times, and it seems to be getting better and better. That said, 've had to modify a few things to work better, including relocating the footpegs, lengthen the shift lever, change the rear brake arm to a longer one, and fab up a simple speedo.

It isn't pretty, but I think I got the shift lever length and position figured out. Now to add some "speedholes" and clean up the welds:


The little toolbox got dressed up with some safety stickers I earned lately, thanks to confined space and excavation training courses i sat through. They gives these out to slap on your hardhat, but my hardhat has a perfect layer of grime thanks to five years of use. I didn't want to have to clean it, just to slap on stickers.


A Schwinn speedo, meant for a pedal bike. I had to fab a simple bracket to hold the display unit, and a bracket to mount the trigger. Yep, a max speed of 34.7mph, which was half throttle, maybe 4,000rpm in 3rd. I think I might have the bike geared up too tall. Except that both 2nd and 3rd seem perfect for bombing around town.


The bracket for the front trigger. I used an old piece of scrap shelf bracket, gave it a twist in the vice, and mounted it to the stock brake cable mounting boss on the front hub. The magnetic trigger mounted perfectly to the wheel spoke.


The original speedo packaging, complete with instructions in English, spanish, and french.

A little more wiring to figure out the rear taillight mechanism, and I'm getting closer to getting it road worthy.

C'