Ok, you finally got your R2 or R2L. This is what the crate should look like when you get it although the R2L might come in a cardboard box filled with packing peanuts. With the wood and steel crate you must first remove all the front screws but not the pop-rivets. Look for a red mark or arrow. On the sides of crate you will see eight larger screws again with a red mark or arrow that must also be removed. These screws are near the center of each side. Two on each side. Front of crate can then slide out forwardly. It would be better to have a friend help you with the assembly. The crate is re-usable so don't throw it away. Most of the nuts and bolts on our bike are custom made. They are beautiful but you will not find a replacement. You will have to have them custom made or order from me. So please do not over tighten them. Please take care of them. All of our bearings have rubber seals. This will cause a very slight drag for the first ten hours of riding.

This is how it will look after you open the wood and steel crate. First untie the large parts bag and then carefully remove the wheel. Then untie and unbolt the front fork unit (save the leather washers). Lastly untie the backbone and unbolt the seat bracket from the metal cross bar. Carefully, without scratching anything remove plastic film and foam wrapping from all parts. Save the foam wrapping for the future.

Attach one side of the forks to one bearing. The opposite side must naturally lie flat against the bearing holder and show that without any pressure from the wheel or the forks that it naturally wants to find center with no push or pull from any direction. Better to do this with the wheel standing up and the forks upright as well. If no problem then reverse the bolt and check the other side. If it does not want to center then it bent slightly during shipping. You will have to bend the end of the forks slightly to fix it. If it must be forced to find center to get the bolt in then it will put pressure on the bearings causing a drag and pre-mature wear to the bearings. Not good and not safe! Do this before you attach the backbone as the backbone will just add more weight and make it harder to "feel" the center. Remember that the small thumb screw on the large Rudge style bearing goes forward and the larger pinch bolt points towards the rear of the bike. Now remove the wheel from the forks for the next operation.

Remove the large top screw from the top of the fork head. Clean it and the lower bearing as well. Place a small amount of grease in the lower bearing and slide the pivot end of backbone up into the fork head as shown. Be careful not to scratch the powder coat with the lower bearing cone as you slide it in. Now add some grease to the top bearing screw and carefully screw it down till it snug's up against the pivot. PLEASE USE a 6 point wrench or socket to avoid any damage to the small 11mm top. DO NOT tighten! Just snug it up till you feel the forks bind when you slowly turn the forks right and left. Now imagine the top of the bearing screw has a clock around it. Just turn it back 1 position of the clock. In other words if your wrench it at the 2 o'clock position then move it counter-clockwise to the 1 o'clock position and lock the large 22mm nut down but not too much. Move the forks right and left to make sure there is no binding. Then grab the forks and backbone and try to feel how much shake there is when moving it forward and backwards. It should have a little movement but only a very little to allow the grease to do its job and not to have any binding that would hinder safe steering. Too much shake would cause pre-mature wear, noise and unsafe steering. Now you can lock the large nut down but do not over tighten. Test it again to be sure.

Now it's time for the seat. I took this photo of a seat spring without the leather cover so you can see it better. The seat bar must rest ON TOP of the springs, NOT IN the springs. I would start with mounting the seat at the middle position of the seat bar and bracket. Front seat spring bolt is not that strong so please do not over tighten it, Rear springs have a leather washer between the springs and the mounting bracket to protect against scratching. Place the sliding nut up into the slot before you screw down the custom bolt into it. Do not over tighten. Make sure the mounting bracket is horizontal. If not it moved during shipping. If you have to adjust it but be careful not to scratch the powder coat and again do not over tighten the small custom 8mm bolts.

You can now turn the forks and backbone over and rest it on something soft to protect it. Add the pant guard / brake assembly with the brake return spring on top of it. It's a tight fit for the two screws with only four or five threads in the fork head so please do not over tighten them. If you strip out the threads it will not be easy to fix. The front of the pant guard will follow the curve of the backbone but the end of it should be close to the tire, about a 1/4" air space. Add the spoon brake itself afterwards so the spring will be flat with no pressure during this operation. Now add the spoon brake. Tighten the small bolt until it seems tight but brake still returns by itself. If too loose it will make noise when riding the bike. A little oil will help a lot. (The R2L fork head is shown in the main part of the photo)

Now add the fork and backbone assembly to the "Wheel". Remember that the small thumb screw on the Rudge style bearing points towards the front and the larger pinch bolt on the same bearing points towards the rear of the bike. The Spade Grips should already be attached but you might want to adjust them to your liking. Spade Grip shown is set at 22 degrees. Only thing left are the pedals. Set them at the middle of the crank slot to start with. The R2L will require more steps below. Go over the whole bike to make sure all nuts and bolts are snug (Do Not over tighten) and anything else that needs attention like the seat. Some experienced riders like a "Slippery Seat" to make it easy to mount and dismount. I hope the rear step height is correct for you. If not it can be moved but will require a drilled and tapped hole. I guess that's it and I hope you are happy with the bike. Remember to take it easy learning how to ride it.
Take it slow... Put your safety first !

Take a close look at this photo. It is moving. After you set the lower bearing on the front rod you will have to check the top bearing for movement. It must have some movement at every position of the front wheel. Imagine the front wheel is a clock. Turn it to every 12 positions and check the rod movement. At times it will have a lot and other times just a little but it CAN NOT Bind! Just get a wrench on it when it binds and move it a bit (Just a little!). Now move the wheel around and check it again. This is why a Spherical bearing is used here. It has both side and up and down movement. Well that's about it but go over the bike again just to be sure. Remember to take it easy learning how to ride the bike.
Take it slow... Put your safety first !