Pipeburn is one of the sites that any custom bike fan should be visiting regularly. This moped was built by one of Pipeburn’s frequent commenter's called “Revdub” a.k.a. Jeremy Dubish, and it’s awesome, with a fit and finish that looks factory! Here’s what he said about the build…
It was shortly after moving to a new place, while driving around one afternoon that I saw a group of people on what looked like miniature motorbikes. I didn’t know what they were riding, but they seemed to be having a heck of a lot of fun. I went home and started searching the internet. It turned out they were members of a (not so) rough and tough moped club.
“Moped” wasn’t even a term I knew the meaning of, but I wanted in. A few weeks later, and many hours spent looking at classifieds, I bought a bike and started showing up to their meet-ups. Riding was as fun as it looked, even if the speeds were mostly slow. Fast forward several years later and here I am: putting together some bikes for myself and still obsessively into mopeds, motorcycles, and just about anything with two wheels.
I had just sold a bike and regretted it, something I’m sure many can understand. So, what else could I do but start another? I don’t consider myself a custom builder, yet. I just know what I like and I try to make it. For this bike, I wanted it to be clean and stripped to the bare minimum. I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t been influenced by a lot of what I see on the pages of Pipeburn. I bought an old frame and began cutting. No one would guess it, but I have dozens of hours into the frame alone.
The tank is N.O.S. from a General moped. The only problems with it were the large dents on the left side and the lack of a gas cap, which was surprisingly difficult to find. I decided early on that I wanted a clear coated bare metal look for it, so filling and painting were out of the question. After gathering parts over the winter, I rebuilt the engine, had everything powder coated (including the gas tank), and began putting it all together. The seat is a piece of oak with shaped closed-cell foam and a cover made by my friend Nate. I know it’s thin, but it’s surprisingly comfortable. I have named this bike, “General Mayhem”, which I’m fully aware is an oxymoron. Because, seriously, how much mayhem can be caused on a moped?
In the world of small bikes, there are many real builders that are creating things that might surprise some people. These builders are who I look up to, people like the guys at Indigan, Motomatic Mopeds, Motion Left Mopeds, HNRZ in Chicago, the Weekends in Florida, and many more. We won’t break any speed records, or ride on the highway, but damn if it isn’t a lot of fun riding at low speeds with good friends!
The whole point of building custom motorcycles is to have fun, and Jeemy’s doing just that!
Source: Pipeburn
0 comments:
Post a Comment