FEATURE BUILDER INTERVIEW - Angus Ransfield

Sitting around waiting for things to happen is not the attitude of this seventeen year old bike builder from New Zealand's mean streets of South Auckland. Lo-Fi Rides Ezine talks to Angus Ransfield from Rattlers Old School Bobbers NZ about his latest project.

LFR-ezine: Tell us a little about yourself....how long have you been into bikes?

Angus: I started drawing bikes about four years ago as a bit of a hobby. It kinda kept me out of trouble because I was hanging out with some local kids who were wagging school and stealing stuff. I got to build a mini chopper as part of an alternative education scheme and my design came first at the 2007 City of Cycles Show. I won a trophy and a bunch of motorcycle stuff with no bike to use it on, but I was just happy to win. Before that I was into trucks and machinery.

I live in Otara with my family who are right into me doing what I'm doing now, building bikes. I want to have my own (custom fab) shop as a long term goal. Gotta start at the bottom, so I'm earning money as a part time caterer at MIT and do a bit of security work. I spend most of my spare time at the shed cutting, welding, bashing stuff...and I'm helping out with bits and pieces for other people's bikes.

My first bike was a GN250, which I bobbed as well as I could, but I got sick of the way it looked. I decided to build my own frame and throw everything from the GN into it. We didn't have the gear to do it, but that wasn't going to stop me. We borrowed a pipe bender off our mate Jesse at Boost Performance and bought twenty nine bucks worth of mild steel tube. Can't afford chrome molly, yet. We knocked up a wooden jig and started bending a frame. I welded it myself and was pretty stoked with how it turned out, but I plan on taking a TIG welding course to get better skills. It is finished as a going bike, but is stripped for paint at the moment. Hope to have that back together for the Rattlers Nite (May 2nd).

LFR-ezine: Your latest build-in-progress is a true junkyard dog. How did this come about?

Angus: Yeah, my brother in law got me the Honda NV400 from a scrap metal yard. Not too sure of the condition of the motor, haven't had it running, but I'm not worried. The build budget for this is nada, so I've done a poor man's hardtail on it; chopped off the back end, keeping the swing arm, added some struts and supports. I've replaced the back bone and mocked up a few things on it. I reckon the NV400s make a nice chop just looking at the stance and length. Thinking of having a sportster tank, but making it narrower. This bike is going to be road legal, so not going to do a suicide shift like the last bike. I'll do all the paint, probably brush paint the frame, and rattle can the tins.

LFR-ezine: So where to next? What's your ultimate build?

Angus: I want to build and sell a few more bikes to work my way up to having a panhead bobber, or a some old vintage Harley motor. 

Wanna thank Sully Paea and Jo-Anne for letting me hang out at the shed whenever I want and trusting me, even after cutting up some of their good stuff!

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