Above: Killer Swan, due to the 24" frame size is more compact than a typical cruiser, good for cramped urban quarters, but it delivers a stable, comfortable ride, thanks to the suspension fork and the oversized rear tire. Its owner  claims to be very happy with it. Public reaction is interesting. She gets frequent compliments on the bike; but most people make two assumptions. (1) It's a new, expensive, Japanese import no one's seen before (2) It's some sort of electro-bike. To address these misconceptions, I'm considering a more radical paint-job, to make it appear more obviously "kustom"
Killer Swan began as this 24" Monark Rocket (left), a typical early '50s girl's bike. I obtained it from Gordon T. Bradbury, about five years ago. I stripped it down to the bare frame, which I then painted with Dupli-Color Metalflake Blue, and set it aside for several years. My daughter Stephanie was due to graduate from high school this year, so about six months ago, I decided that this would be a good time to finish the project.

I began by watching for parts on eBay. It had worn the name Killer Swan since I'd painted the frame, as it was sort of swan-like. I envisioned it as being fitted out with extremely-macho BMX and MTB components, to contrast with the girliness of the basic frame. As it was planned as an urban cruiser, a 1-speed Bendix coaster hub was chosen.
Killer Swan began as this 24" Monark Rocket (left), a typical early '50s girl's bike. I obtained it from Gordon T. Bradbury, about five years ago. I stripped it down to the bare frame, which I then painted with Dupli-Color Metalflake Blue, and set it aside for several years. My daughter Stephanie was due to graduate from high school this year, so about six months ago, I decided that this would be a good time to finish the project.

I began by watching for parts on eBay. It had worn the name Killer Swan since I'd painted the frame, as it was sort of swan-like. I envisioned it as being fitted out with extremely-macho BMX and MTB components, to contrast with the girliness of the basic frame. As it was planned as an urban cruiser, a 1-speed Bendix coaster hub was chosen.
Aside from the Bendix rear, most of the driveline components and the front alloy wheel are by Mongoose. An early acquisition was an SR 7500 suspension fork. I later added a Shimano Nexave V-brake for fitting to the front fork. I had originally planned for it to just have the painted naked frame; however, I soon started seeing it with a full-frame spandex/epoxy composite fairings, one of my "trademark" design elements. After the fairing was finished, I discovered that this made it impossible for the V-brake to be used, so I set it aside for use on another project. As the bike's usage was to be leisurely cruising, I decided that the rear coaster would be adequate to the bike's braking needs. The use of a 24" X 3" Nirve "Fatass Slick", a gift from Aaron Bethlenfalvy, on the rear necessitated  the fabrication of 1/4" aluminum-plate dropout extensions, to provide clearance  for the tire within the cramped rear stay and bridge structure. As the dropout extensions were "bolt-ons" they gave lots of opportunity for the use of big chrome-plated acorn nuts, a favorite detail element of mine, along with plated countersink finishing washers. These elements function as "jewelry" on a mechanical construction; which also
explains their popularity among hot-rod car builders.
As it was entirely probable that the bike would be used frequently at night, I planned for it to be fitted with some very serious lighting gear, for safety reasons. It also adds nice special effects to a kustombike. The
streamlined rear side running lights are commonly used on trucks, and are a long-time favorite lighting detail element. These are from the JC Whitney catalog. I bought a set of five of them for a previous  small-vehicle project, and  had this pair still on hand. The rear drop stand was found on eBay, and is the greatest stand there is. Anyone who puts as much work into paint and bodywork as I do, doesn't want to have the bike falling over because of a typical one-legged kickstand. This nice chrome-plated stand required some modification, and was fairly expensive, but is well worth  it. I have no idea what it was originally designed to fit, maybe a Whizzer or a moped. 
The faired headlight is something I've worked into almost every bike concept sketch I've ever done. I just love the look of them. It's hardly necessary on a bike designed to go maybe 20 mph, but so what? The frame fairing is hardly necessary either, for the same reason. Obviously, I thought it was worth the effort. The photo above center shows the spandex/epoxy-over-sculpted-foam plug used for thermoforming the clear rigid vinyl panels and the spandex outer shell. The headlight reflector is a modified reflector from an old battery lantern, cut back to deliver a very wide beam, for better visibility to cars. The lamp in it is a 6-volt high-intensity halogen unit with electronic voltage control circuitry to enable it to work from the bike's 12-volt electrical system. The red light below it is a Radio Shack strap-on forehead light, which I gave its own spandex/epoxy fairing, for looks and durability, and another high-intensity halogen lamp. Its reflector gives the
"driving light" a much tighter, longer throw than the headlight. It steers with the front fork.
Rear Lighting  is by a 12-volt auto tail-light lamp behind a 3.5"-round section of a larger plastic hemisphere, painted red and backed by a multi-lensatic clear panel salvaged from a trashed composite auto tail-light unit. The lozenge-shaped light below it is a two-lamped clearance light for a truck, modified as a turn/brake signal. The electrical current to it is flashed by a magnetic sensor driving a pair of relays. Unlike a normal turn-signal flasher, this setup draws very little current, and is less complicated than an electronic oscillator circuit. There is a dual switch unit on either side of the handlebars, made by sculpting epoxy putty over a pair of Radio Shack  push-button switches. The black buttons are for the turn signals; the red ones are for the warning sounder: an amplified recording of the opening  bars of an '80s pop song- "Turning Japanese"  by The Vapors. The speaker is behind a round louver panel beneath the headlight fairing.
Lighting is controlled by a small spandex/epoxy console housing three electrical switches. The master switch is key activated. One rocker switch  controls the headlight and tail-light, the other controls the driving light and the running lights. The directional/brake lights and warning sounder are on as soon as the master switch is activated. Another key
unlocks the glove box, which is behind an aluminum panel on the right side, and is large enough to hold a pair of gloves and some compact tools. The matching panel on the other side of the "tank area" covers a 12-volt NiCd rechargeable battery pack. Charging current enters via an electrical jack inside the glove box.
Graphics for the tank panels and other areas of the bike were designed in Photoshop
and color laser-printed onto special paper, then clear-coated to make decals.
The seat is an aftermarket Pyramid banana saddle with matching leather-covered  backrest padding on a tall sissy bar. The rear package carrier is upholstered to match. The cantilevered carrier frame is made from a tubular chrome bracket which came with the rear fender, a Motobecane moped unit ,which was radically bobbed. This is the only fender which is the right width to cover the Nirve "Fatass Slick" tire. .Security  is provided by a heavy-duty U-lock secured under the seat, augmented by a 60" cable lock with a 100 dB electronic siren module at the center. The U-lock goes through a kevlar-jacketed steel eye-bolt fixed to the frame in the former kickstand-mounting location to engage bike racks, sign posts, etc. on the street.
Above: Killer Swan, due to the 24" frame size is more compact than a typical cruiser, good for cramped urban quarters, but it delivers a stable, comfortable ride, thanks to the suspension fork and the oversized rear tire. Its owner  claims to be very happy with it. Public reaction is interesting. She gets frequent compliments on the bike; but most people make two assumptions. (1) It's a new, expensive, Japanese import no one's seen before (2) It's some sort of electro-bike. To address these misconceptions, I'm considering a more radical paint-job, to make it appear more obviously "kustom"
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New from Wizard Bros.
Designed by Jim Wilson
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PHOTOGRAPHED BY ROBERT CALDERONE, AT LEXPARK STUDIO NYC, PHOTOS BELOW BY GORDON T. BRADBURY, JIM WILSON