Rat Bikes Are No-Nonsense.
Motorcycles? Sure - they use less fuel than cars, and motorcycles are easier to maneuver, park etc. But, deep down, the True Secret is: Motorcycles Are Fun. That's it! That's why we ride them, all the rest is just so much rationalizing. Triumph Bonneville And Ratbikes are the ultimate distilled evolution of motorcycling: No Bullsh*t involved. Just do the minimum to keep them healthy and Ride. Let your bike wear it's visual history with pride. No time consuming cleaning, washing, polishing, adding shiny parts that do nothing. None of that, forget about it!
Embrace The Pure and Essential Essence of Riding - Ride A Ratbike!
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clearcoat over bare metal Strip your metal parts bare, then sand/polish to whatever degree of shine or satin you find appealing. Then clear-coat right over the bare metal with something that does NOT resist petrol. And don't wipe the parts down with alcohol before spraying - the odd thumbprint will look cool in a few weeks. As the clearcoat chips and gets eaten by petrol splash, you'll be treated to multiple generations of rusty spots, looking like your ride has the pox after 6 months, and looking abandoned after 12. You'll be amazed how rusty a tank can get before it starts to leak... Eric - USA
Faux Granite over Stock Paint I always leave whatever ugly stock paint is on as an undercoat and just poof over it. If it flakes/chips/scratches I poof it some more. I like Flat Black Krylon (or FB whatever) and that faux granite stuff can be cool too, though spendy. When you get tired of the rock just poof over it flat B and you get some serious ugly texture. Some of my bikes have gained 5 pounds. Haven't tried the high temp stuff, I kinda like SOME chrome to make the black look more blacker. Tord RC - USA
Rat bikes are motorcycles that have fallen apart over time but been kept on the road and maintained for at little or no cost by employing kludge fixes. A kludge (or kluge) is a workaround, a quick and dirty solution, a clumsy or inelegant, yet effective, solution to a problem, typically using parts that are cobbled together. This term is diversely used in fields such as computer science, aerospace engineering, Internet slang and evolutionary neuroscience.
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| Ratbike engineering: how to make a sound joint between sections of exhaust pipe when you don't have welding equipment. |
In recent times there has been a trend of deliberately customizing bikes into rats. These bikes are sometimes referred to as fake rats.
Survival bikes are bikes that may appear to be rat bikes, but are not. Survival bikes look similar to but are different in purpose from rat bikes — they are modified for stylistic reasons.
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| Ratbike Milo Visit Milo's website to see where he will be next.... |
The concept of keeping a motorcycle in at least minimally operational condition without consideration for appearance has probably characterized motorcycle ownership since its earliest days. The essence of a rat bike is keeping a motorbike on the road for the maximum amount of time while spending as little as possible on it. This calls for adaptation of parts that were not designed to fit the model of bike in question. While the origin on the term ratbike is unclear, it may attributed to custom motorbike magazines, and retrospectively applied. Most Rat bikes are painted matte black but this is not a requirement.
Survival Rat Bike - How to build a killer rat bike.
1964 HD Rat Bike
The Rat's Hole will be putting on it's World Famous Show on Thursday August 11th at the Legendary Buffalo Chip. Come out for the FUN! The 23rd Annual Rat's Hole show will be one of the Best events you can go to in Sturgis. Read More
Want to see more pics of Ratbikes not featured on my blog? Visit 51 Rat Motorcycle Blog
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