Marbles Motors

Kikker - Hardknock Bobber

Rat Fink Bike

This is an educational web page that shows how I take a stock Hardknock Kit and customize it to my taste. That's the really neat thing about this bike is that it is easy to add your own style.

Clicking on any of the pictures will enlarge them.....enjoy!

My tribute to Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and Rat Fink.

Following on with the Maltese Cross theme on the seat and air cleaner, I added this mirror.

I prefer the sound of the upturned pipe.

Rest In Peace, Big Daddy

Master Toggle switch for grounding the magneto to shut off the engine. Also a close up of the skeleton jockey shift knob.

L.E.D. Taillight and Stoplight

Pictured below is how the wiring comes with the kit. If you assemble it this way it is very easy, but you have a big bundle of wires up under the tank and I don't prefer that. Also, all the wiring comes with a metal coiled sheathing that I take off and put in the trash.

This is the stock shifter with the dice knob.

My own addition of a skull with jeweled eyes

This is the 'popsicle' kick start rubber that comes in the kit.

If you cut off the white popsicle, remove the clip, this is what you have left.

Cut off the wings and prepare to shorten it. The rubber is from a 1971 Honda SL350.

Finished product.

To begin the process of hiding the wires inside the frame, I drill two holes..........

And make one large slot. This is on the down-tube at the back of the motor, just below the wiring canister. The canister must be removed before doing this and that will necessitate un-looming all of the wiring. This is a time consuming and tedious job, but it is worth it in the end.

On the top tube, near where the brace comes in, I drilled and slotted another hole. This is where the wires will exit the frame for the headlight, speedometer light, horn, hi-lo beam switch.

The kit comes with two bicycle type switches on the handlebars that control the starter button, horn, turn signals & kill switch. I don't like those switches, so here is what happens. I buy a simple toggle switch and a replacement key switch with an Off/On/Start circuit. The chrome wiring can is modified to accept the toggle switch by drilling a 1/2" hole as shown below.

For consistency's sake, I turn all the motor mount bolts where the heads are on the side away from the kick stand.

This bottom engine mount bolt must be modified so that it doesn't interfere with the chain.

Just cut it off with a cut off wheel.

This is the nearly finished wiring improvement for the front of the bike.

This is a shot of the kick start arm installed.

And here is a shot of the wiring on the kick stand side. This will all be hidden by the tank.

These are now all the wires that need to go to the front of the bike. Speedometer light, Headlight and Front Brake Switch. I modify the wiring circuit so that the headlight and taillight are powered on when the key switch is turned to on. This allows you to have lights when the engine is not running. The stock wiring connects the lighting circuit to the magneto on the engine and this produces a pulsing to the lights at low RPM's.

This is a simple horn button purchased from the auto parts store. It is the replacement for the switch on the handlebars. All this switch does is complete a ground circuit when pressed. It will be tucked up under the tank and you simply reach your hand under the tank to honk.

This is a shot of an internal throttle mechanism where the cable will run through the handlebars. The goal here is to remove as much clutter as possible from the handlebars. The only things on the bars will be the front brake assembly, a dummy black grip on the left side and a black throttle grip covering this throttle assembly.

The cable is pulled by the bar in the slot. The outside cylinder has a corresponding bar in it that moves the slide toward the outside of the bar.

Once together, this is all you have. I'd like to find a shorter brake lever and move it closer to the grip.

It is always a good idea to install a battery tender on these bikes.

Here is a finished shot of the new key switch with the 'start' function built into it.

This is the Ignition cutoff switch for the bike. The magneto needs to be grounded for the bike to shut off. I installed this nifty Carbon Fibre look flip switch.

When open, it exposes the toggle switch. Flipping the cover up shuts off the bike.

Another nifty idea is to install a circuit breaker instead of a fuse just in case you have any wiring problems down the road.

Here's that cool skeleton shifter. I don't install the foot shifter just as a matter of preference.

Shot of how clean it is above the carburetor and the frame neck.

I put the wiring on the LH side of the bike so that even though it is mostly hidden by the tank, when it is on the side stand, it is even more out of sight. Jury is still out on the grey cable. It really blends in with the front suspension, but stands out against the frame. May end up with a partial black cable.

Now just waiting on the painted tank and fender.

More to come............................