My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

Check this thing out! This used to be a 79 vespa grande! We added a kawasaki gas tank (rust free on the inside, found in a scrapheap), a buddy seat and "bitch stick" (both found in a scrapheap as well), various bits of bent up and rusty expanded metal grating (bought brand new at a hardware store), ammo box storage units (built 'em myself), and a maltese cross taillight (from ebay). We tried to do a ramp variator mod to it, but it gets up to about 30mph and then the rollers get stuck and it goes into hyper top range, almost like shifting into overdrive. It'll do 35 downhill. Oh, we also drilled out the exhaust to make it sound mean.

Don't be offended by the destructive construction of this ped, it was pretty much in this condition when we got it, just not as accessorized.

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Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

back end shot

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Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

other side, slightly larger photo so you can see the deailing efforts that went into this bike. note my brother's signature on the gastank written with an angle grinder. (it says "kevin"

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Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

front shot

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Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

Looks like a refugee from "Mad Max"

Kinda sad, reminds me of the classic story "Black Beauty"

Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

Ahhh that brings back memories.... wait I was trying to block those ones.

Damn that's so ugly/cool I bet you will have no SUV's up your rear, for fear of something flying off.

Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

Oh, nothing's flying off of this bike. it's held together with bailing wire. strong, durable bailing wire.

Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

Spike Bachman /

That bike is the shiz-nit! Man, I'd love to cruze around on that thing in a sleeveless jean jacket with my bit@# hangin' off the back in her tube top. You could put that baby on its center stand at stop lights, rev the snot out of 'er then maybe get a little chirp when you took 'er down. I might finish it off by strapping a rolled-up sleeping bag to the forks.

Thanks for the entertainment, Spike

Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

damn... thats a hot ped. cross taillight is a very nice touch.you guys did a hell of a job!

the scooter guys we ride with around here want a grande frame to put a primavera 125 engine on and chop the front end...

WOULDA' thrown me in the slammer.....

............if the patrol had followed me ridin' THAT thing.(followup to a post about the `coffee can muffler'.LOL!!How in the world does your brother get by ridin' that thing without doin' jail time?

Re: WOULDA' thrown me in the slammer.....

Well, so far he's only had it on country roads. The headlight actually works, and pretty good, too, for being a lightbulb hanging inside a busted up headlight bezel. The taillight works, but there's no brake light. In south dakota, that's all you really need to be legal, although the headlight is questionable.

Oh.....South Dakota.

That explains much right there. Pretty rural where you live? We are infested in this state of Ohio with too many State Patrols that don't go after what they SHOULD BE going after, semi-trucks speeding and stop sign runners. I think you need a pic of that monster with the Jack-a-lope sittin' on it.Ha!

Re: Oh.....South Dakota.

hahaha, yeah it's all gravel roads where we live. I was gonna go into town with it today and meet my bro for lunch, but as soon as I got to the edge of town, I saw a cop sitting there with the lights flashing. of course, I made a dumb move and turned around and hightailed it. He didn't follow me though, i think the gravel road I was on was just out of his juristiction. the headlight works well, you can see great at night with it, but it is only a bulb hanging inside a bezel. it's what you'd call "marginally legal"

Re: Oh.....South Dakota.

I run knobby tires for gravel roads.My other `ped that's licensed has smoother regular Cheng Shins,and I don't trust it on sharp gravel. I take the knobby- tired one. When I go the back way over to Vinton ,OH and on to the Ohio River, I have to travel a few miles of gravel roads. I feel the thicker tread of the knobbies holds the tire up a bit from getting punched constantly by the sharp limestone they use here. But gravel roads are slowly going away down here, thankfully........ Yeah, Id have turned tail and run,too! That bike is choice for the `unsafe- LOOKING vehicle' award of the month! LOL!

Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

i dont see it as a destruction... i see it as a resurection

Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

You guys may not know it, but there is a whole group of "rat bikes" Ask Brandon for the link to the site.

Re: My bro's Vespa RatGrande (pics)

Oh yeah, it's http://www.ratbike.org. It's predominately motorcycles but there's a few chopped scooters ("Hardly Ridables"), and what looks like a flat black yamaha chappy with a nitrous bottle. They're all built on the same principle; ugly, beaten, but mechanically sound. My brother's bike has 2 out of 3 going for it :) It's actually not too bad of a bike, exept there's no brakelight or rear brakes, and the front brake sticks really bad.

Re: No excuse!

Brandon:

There's no good reason to be operating a bike with bad brakes! Or no brake lite for that matter.

Rat is fine, but mechanicaly defective bikes are dangerous for everyone on the road.

Have him fix the brakes and he'll enjoy it more.

Jim

Re: No excuse!

ehhhh, he doesn't use the brakes much anyway :)

But seriously, you're right Jim. We'll fix it really soon.

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