WW2 Harley - Suzuki Replica

[-Matt-]

Long story short - always wanted one of the old world war 2 american army harleys, but due to lack of funds and time its not going to be happening anytime soon.

So... Spent most of last winter in the garage tinkering about with a little Suzuki SB200 i got to try make it look at least half similar. I'll let you all judge how well it turned out

Started off like this
https://i43.tinypic.com/9k0xvn.jpg

Ended up as this
https://i43.tinypic.com/2mmdeki.jpg

Got a ton more pictures if anyone wants to see also

Haven't got round to riding the bloody thing yet unfortunantely as needs a few mechanical bits fiddling with to get it finished off and haven't had the time after working on my other bike/riding/work so far this year

[youngbiker22]

Looks great

How much did this cost start to finish? I would really like a cheap(ish) project, something fun like this! but I lack knowledge and imagination .....
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1st: Suzuki Marauder GZ125 > Now: Suzuki Bandit GSF600 - also gettin a 1994 virago on the road

[Rigga]

Great job bud, really like that

[-Matt-]

£20 ammo box
£10 helmet
£50 stencils
£20 paint
£10 bags
£10 metal sheet to cut for seat-frame to hold all the stuff on the bike
£10 spade
£20 bottle
£10 number plate
£10 ammo bags
£30 manuals
£30 sealants/odd nuts and bolts/cable ties/odd bits and pieces

Most is ex-surplass/modern camping equivalent re-worked to look ww2 era.

Then of course the bike cost which in my case i really overpaid to be honest as i went for a bike from a shop that was £800 to get one that was in better condition, as at the time i started i hadnt done much mechanically on bikes before so wanted something that wasn't going to give me much trouble - in heinsight i could of saved a lot having got an old private-sold bike and just fixed it up a bit, as i've since got into mechanical stuff a lot more and even entirely serviced my main bike so having got a knocked up older bike would of probably been wiser

Whacked it on a multi-bike policy with my main bike - extra £80 a year insurance, £30 tax, £30 mot.

I'd think all up probably about a tad over a grand or something like that, so not majorly cheap but was good fun and filled a lot of time over winter when i wasnt riding my main bike much

[Blau Zedong]

You paid £800 for that SB200?

Jesus Christ
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[-Matt-]

Yeah i know Lesson learned on that one

Worth it overall still but definately made it more costly than it should of been

[Ollie1995]

[Blau Zedong]

[Ichy]

Did the MOT bloke say anything about the number plate on the front mudguard?
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https://www.metacafe.com/watch/1972097/how_to_behave_on_a_forum/

[-Matt-]

No, although hes quite a helpful chap

Legality wise with that i got a friend to ask his bike-cop friend and he said the chances of getting pulled are very minimal, and i could probably just about get away with trying to claim it was a 'sign' that therefore has no rules surrounding it, as it represents no real-world registration colours/format.

But if i get an unhappy copper on a bad day of course ... Time shall tell

[Ollie1995]

[Blau Zedong]

[Ollie1995]

[TheManWithThe...]

Where did you get your paint from?

I'm thinking of making a soviet styled bike out of my er (once its working again )
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MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[Ollie1995]

Many WW2 bikes were painted in Land Rover green.
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XR 125, DT125 LC, Greeves Scottish, RS200, XS400, GPX600r

Theory Passed - 18/7/13 MOD1 Booked - 24/9/13

[-Matt-]

I'll find out for you matt cant remember at the moment but it was a proper military paint supplier wanted it to be legit. Not sure if they stocked soviet paint only recall US and euro but should have something similar either way

[TheManWithThe...]

Thanks.

I was looking into something like NATO green roller paint.

Found a few suppliers with prices ranging from £20-30 for a 2L tin, but am not sure about the finish of each.
____________________
MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[-Matt-]

Mine was about 18 quid for 500ml brush on tin. Used brush on for a rough natural hand effect as many of the bikes had as they were just churning them out and sploshing paint on by hand most of the war. If you want to make an authentic one ifound a lot of collector club/museums were very helpful when contacted for advice. If you want a ural sort of soviet bike to maybe copy have a look at the classified ads on www.milweb.net sometimes see some soviet bikes on there

[-Matt-]

Thats the one mate
https://www.militaryvehiclepaint.co.uk/index.php

Check the pdf colour chart

500ml doesnt sound much but was enough for my bike. 2 jerry cans 2 ammo boxes and 2 water bottles (cocked up 1st attempt and had to strip each once )

[TheManWithThe...]

I had a look on that site before and thought they were a bit expensive.

I was planning on rolling/brushing too for the "quick off the line" look.

Was gonna start off by just a paint job, then maybe either modifying it more to fit the aesthetics of a dnepr or ural bike later, or just doing a few custom mods.


https://www.rataplan-ratbikeclub.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=528&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

Looks like someone had a similar idea to me.
Although it looks good, i can't help but think it just looks ridiculous at the same time, like its just an er5 trying too hard to be an old bike
____________________
MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[-Matt-]

Think they look really good personally, i mean theres always going to be someone wants to mock it but i think most people will at the least be intrigued by it if not likeit. And the main thing is if it gives you an extra hobby and bike to enjoy id say go for it. Only problem you might find using roller paint is as many areas require fine brushing and rebrushing over a base primer coat it might take differently (or not take at all) to the surface. I didnt lacquer or overcoat mine to keep it looking legit but the problen then is without a good application itll flake/chip very easily.

[TheManWithThe...]

I know what you mean, and i appreciate the imagination he used to customise it (like an old cake tin for the headlight cover ).

I was thinking of using the roller just to cover more area quicker than just brushing, then also using a brush for the more niggly bits, or for toughing up details on the final layers.

Really, i'm gonna use it as an experiment to see what mix of factors gets the best results.
____________________
MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[-Matt-]

That was how mine started out really just a trial to see what i could achieve on a budget, by my standards at least it turned out fairly well overall. Like with the cake tin headlight the little things were probably funnest doing up the suzuki. Making the frame to hold all the sh-t on the back. And using a banana net with an £8 toy helmet to make the paratrooper helmet

[TheManWithThe...]

[-Matt-]

Haha love it.

You may already know it but you'll probably like a lot of this site, worth trawling through them lots of nice ideas

https://www.ratbike.org/readersrides.php