My last motorbike....
The glass in the speedometer had shattered, so I placed the plastic lid from some 'Johnsons cotton buds' over it, and wrapped electrical tape around it. Job done, and lasted 2 years before I finally fixed it properly prior to selling the bike.
The same bike also had a piece of wiring from the AC lead of a kettle in the ignition system for almost the same length of time, due to the original wire splitting. This too was fixed properly due to being sold.
The current bike is well on it's way to being called a 'rat' bike, it was a cheap £400 from ebay that needed work..and all the work so far has been bodges. Mechanically sound, but it looks like a heap of shite. The only new parts were the handlebars (existing ones were bent due to an accident, which was why I got it so cheaply :P) and a new battery (the old one died last week due to the cold)
Actually with the new battery it's running better than at any point since I have owned it..so the old one had obviously been under par for some time!
I've finally sourced a side panel to cover the side that's been missing one since I got it too...alas a different colour, I think I'll just spray it black and do the same with the existing one to make them match...
(Asharin Stabby stab stab, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 20:56, 6 replies)

3 cheers
for rat bikes.
well done sir, a noble and very British tradition
(Stopitnowplease, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 21:52, closed)

All rats
have to be sprayed matte black. It's the law, or something.
(Barry Chuckle's Moustache, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 22:46, closed)

Not all
Rust, road grime, oil and the remains of whatever paint it had are perfectly acceptable. I like rats, but I'm too much of a perfectionist to do it properly.
( Greenbat, Thu 10 Mar 2011, 23:13, closed)

Most Matte Black "RAT" bikes
are fakes, proper rat bikes are whatever colour the bits you put on happen to be. I do like Matte Black as a colour (or lack of)though, nothing looks bad in it.
(M61A1 CUPID- STUNTS, Fri 11 Mar 2011, 5:39, closed)

Either matt black
or better still, grey primer. (For that "I'm going to flat that down and get a superb airbrushed graphic on it. One day....When I get round to it"- look) After a few weeks of grubby hands all over it, it'll be proper black.
(Rsoles, Fri 11 Mar 2011, 10:44, closed)

Go the rats!
My first mini-bike became a rat bike because I kept fixing it with whatever I could find. The best one was solderind the sparkplug lead directly to the top of the sparkplug because it kept popping off if I ever did a jump. Made changing teh plugs harder, but it never conked out after a bump.
( difficultchild, Fri 11 Mar 2011, 3:37, closed)