I got to work on the seat first. What a nightmare that ended up being. After loosening up the carriage bolt that held it in place, I somehow managed to strip the square part on the carriage bolt so the bolt couldn't be tightened or loosened anymore. I ended up having to get out my Dremel and cut the bolt in half while it was on the bike in order to get it off of there. A quick trip to Home Depot had the required hardware back in hand and I was ready to go again. I got the seat on and adjusted and I think it looks great. Here it is on the bike.
You can't tell from that picture, and maybe I'll get another one at a later date, but the seat has the brand name, "Nirve" marked on the back in the same tool markings as the design on the seat itself. Ends up looking really cool.
Next up was the handlebars. Not nearly as difficult as the seat. They came off and were replaced in no time. Here's what the bike looks like with the new bars.
And here's another angle that shows a bit better picture of the grips that I got that match the seat. It also shows how much more rounded the bars are than the old ones, if you go back and compare the picture from the other day.
And here's one final picture of the entire bike from a little bit farther away.
A couple of things to note on the bike.
First of all, if you view the larger images, the chrome fenders don't have anything wrong with them. I took the picture while I had some chrome polish/rust remover on them just sitting. I've found with this stuff, the longer it sits the more shiny your parts end up, so it's just sitting there drying waiting to be buffed off. So there's nothing wrong with the fenders.
Second, the tires were actually able to be inflated and hold air, so I may not have to get new tires for it before I get to start riding it around. They still have a pretty nasty flat spot from where the bike sat for who knows how long, but it's not unrideable. If this were a road bike, I wouldn't want to ride with the tires the way they are, but just for cruising, it should be fine. I will probably still go for the new wheels and tires, but it's nice to know that I don't have to if I don't want to. I'll be cleaning the wheels up as best I can once it gets a bit warmer out, and then I'll decide whether or not I want to get the new wheels.
Last, I am really not sure what I'm going to do about the chain guard. I don't really like the way that "Murray" and "Westport" are printed on there. Right now I'm thinking about taking it off, sanding it down, painting it back up and putting a design similar to what's on the seat and handlebars on it. When I have it off, I'll see how the bike would look if it just weren't there at all, and if it looks good without it, I'll just leave it off. I don't know, the way the graphics look just seem really ugly to me. Again, the bike has awesome lines, but the graphics are blocky and don't match the way the bike looks. I think that "Westport" should have been written in a more swoopy font, almost like a signature. Oh well, that's something that can easily be dealt with later.
I had fun working on it. I'll get some more stuff for it soon, and get some more pictures up when that gets here.
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