bradtx

Hi All, Waiting on parts to finish the '89 3.0 and for the yard to dry from all of the rain from the tropical storm I decided to work a bit on the 'Queen Mother of my Fleet'.

I bought this bike new in '81 and it had been ridden from the beach to off road, from touring toting my younger two in a now unsafe baby seat and a few pub crawls, but in general a great memory maker It sat neglected for awhile as I rode the other bikes, I felt guilty about that and sometime around 2000 I decided to actually make the bike fit better, replace the rusty rims, mount a bottle lamp and generally spiff 'er up a little.

This is also the bike that I had my worst two wheeled crash, bicycle or motorcycle, ever. The Raleigh isn't a prestine resto, just still going strong all these years later.





Brad

devinfan

Well done! That's a very nice, understated build. I'm not positive about the kick-stand, though.

bradtx

devinfan, Yeah, I get a few comments about the kick stand. It was important though when putting the kids into the child seat... no, never as a primary support, more like a third hand.

Brad

devinfan

Okay - gotcha - I have two kids myself and that makes perfect sense. I particularly like the way that saddle looks with that bike. The paint looks like it's in amazing shape for a bike that was ridden so much.

bradtx

I have to confess that I screwed up on my RRA's year of manufacture... it's a 1980.

The paint just passes the five yard test, devinfan. I'm not sure I can match the color, but will try naval jelly applied with a Q-Tip and shoot some clear to protect. The decals started to break up after the last wash and I used clear lacquer to protect what's left of them.

Brad

jacksbike

Beautiful bike ! Nicely put together.

cudak888 

What were the circumstances of your accident? I'm looking everywhere in those photos for crash damage or repair, and it looks perfect. Must have been a wild one

-Kurt