Looking to embrace your inner grease monkey with a new project to get your hands dirty? Maybe you just don’t like paying three digits a month for public transit, or even more for gas and parking. Both of these dilemmas have the same solution… building your own motorcycle.
Now, given that I just spent four hours building a desk and a bookshelf (with instructions), I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m not the most capable person with my hands. But after finding out that plenty of the things I’d need to build my own motorcycle are just laying around the house, I’m thinking a little differently.
Taber Nash of Nash Motorcycle Company has made a living from building custom bikes from scratch. While it may take some patience and knowledge – or a willingness to learn – building a bike out of some of these supplies is definitely doable.
A Bicycle
The frame is already there. All that needs to be added is a motor. Then again, if you have the money to throw around, you could skip this step entirely and just buy some bike parts. But that’s not what this list is for.
Washing Machine Motor
Now, we’re not suggesting you force whoever washes the clothes at home to blow the dust off the family washboard, but if you can get your hands on a washing machine that isn’t being used anymore, that motor can go a long way – literally.
Steel Pipes For Handlebars
Besides the paint job, one of the first things people notice when they look at a bike is the handlebar, which is why a lot of people go out of their way to customize theirs. If you want to make some one-of-a-kind handlebars, all you need is some steel pipe and the right set of tools to bend it and cut off any extra.
Seats From Couch Cushions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4glKz2dbv0
Having a comfortable seat isn’t as easy as throwing a pillow down and riding off into the sunset. You also have to make sure it’s the right size and can handle your body weight. A good place to find the right kind of material to fill up a seat would be a couch. After opening up a couch cushion, you’ll probably be traveling through unseen lands, but fight the urge to eat it. Take as much as you need and fill up something that’s strong enough to keep it secure over time.
Wireless Speakers
If this article was written five years ago, we’d tell you that you have to go through a complicated process of finding a small radio and wiring it up if you wanted to listen to music while you ride. Thanks to technology, there are now bike radios that you can just attach to the handlebars and enjoy all of your favorite songs and podcasts.
But if you wanted to make things a bit more challenging, you’ll easily be able to find the parts to build a stereo system from scratch for your motorcycle, or newly motorized bicycle.
Jackpot: An Old Car
Be honest, that old car sitting in the driveway isn’t going anywhere for a while. Fortunately, you can take what would probably be a piece of junk and make it into something useful. You’ve got everything you need to make a motorcycle right there… wheels, an engine, seats, etc. Hell, if someone could do it in a desert, you can do it in your driveway.