Although I do not have any much tools to start with, I managed to do it with sweat, effort, time and money and great brothers and sister from my Samirians Singapore (Mother Chapter).
Here's the pictures i've taken using my phone. I will take clear pictures one of this days for the final look. But meanwhile, enjoy this pictures and the days I go through in the making of my Honda TA200 Rat Bike.
1. This is the new front fender originated from Honda CM125. It comes with liscence plate bracket. It was chrome, so I spray painted undercoat andoverlay it with hunter green, than ivory and black to create the camouflage pattern. I did the template using A4 paper and cut a tiger stripes design on it and there it is.
2. This is the look before I change the tank. I was looking for a smaller and slimmer look so I was thinking of how to do it. My CM125 tank is totaly rusty on the inside and if i'm going to use that tank, it will cost me SGD$300+ or more to repair and fabricate the tank itself. So I was looking for a great deal on a new tank. I also tought of buying a second hand tank at the scrapyard but it will be too far and I am not sure if they have what I want. Than I came across a company that sells motorcycle parts. I called them to ask a few old school cafe racer style petrol tanks but it was not on sale anymore due to not much people buying them BUT there is one Suzuki GN125 tank that have a little scratch on it and they are selling it for SGD$50 and I was so happy that I get this great offer!!!
3. This is a Suzuki GN125 petrol tank. I bought it for SGD$50, bought a brand new petcock and the fuel tank cap with keys in total of SGD$78. I sand down the original paint but keeping the sticker lining of the side of the tank. I spray painted over the original paintwork which have a little scratch with Dull Black and I was so happy and cannot wait to mount it on my bike.
4. Here's the look after it is mounted and I was just using my old brackets I found in my toolbox. I bend the metal brackets with plyers to make the brackets sits in place. Bolts and nuts were use to make this thing fits nicely and it seems to sit nicely on my bike frame! Reuse, reduce and recycle!!!
5. Here's how it looks like from the front, clean and slim just like I always wanted.
6. As you can see from the previous photos, my tank got that dented thingy at the side to screw in the "SUZUKI" emblem on it. So I cover it up with epoxy filler and let it dry for one whole day and use a sanding sponge to smoothen it out and spray painted the Camouflage Pattern.
7. As for the decal on the side of the tank, I designed my own logo with bitmap paint and pass it to my friend's girlfriend as she is working as a Graphic Artist. So she help me clear the pixelated edges and it was nicely edited! So I was thinking of making a professional vinyl sticker but it cost my SGD$28 for it. So since I have black vinyl sticker at home, why not I do it D.I.Y? HAHA! So I did it. I bought a white vinyl tapefor $12 a roll (I can use it again in the future for other projects) and print out this sample and cut it using a pen-knife.
8. One side is done and I used Dull Lacquer to protect the decals.
9. I bought this pair of fork gaiters for SGD$24.00 at Bukit Merah industrial and it fits nicely on my TA200 fork. The previous fork gaiters was a little bit shorter than this and I went to fix it at night in a near by motorcycle bay in Eunos.
10. Here's the final look of Rat Bike. Almost done as I was thinking of doing a new seat pan with 2-inch padding and looking forward to achieve the Bratstyle Seat look that I have always wanted! and also to cover up the expose nuts and bolts to look clean and awesome!.It was a great experience because I did not use any large tools to do anything. I'm using basic tools like junior hack-saw and plyers but still I can do it without regret. Hope you enjoy this update and I will update more in the future. Sorry if my english sucks but I hope you'll understand what I am trying to say along the way. hahahhaa...
I will update more and now I have a new paintwork to do for a friend on a Honda Rebel tank. But the bike will be customise by Devil.L, one of my friend which have the passion of customising bikes. But I wonder why nobody comes to me to customise their bikes?!?! hehehe... no offence buddy!
So anyone interested in customising your TA200, you can also find me if you find this interesting and going for the street bobber/ Rat Bike/ Cafe Racer look and attitude. For more info, please contact me by email: nezumi1317@gmail.com
