what did you do to your motorized bicycle today?

GoldenMotor.com

fatdaddy

New Member
May 4, 2011
1,516
4
0
San Jose, Ca.
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

just an idea...

why dont you use an 12V alternator from a small car/motorbike....fab up a chain drive...and bing.....some wires.....lots of juice for lights, sirens, and a phone charger or stereo.
They don't really make em small enough to use on a bicycle. I guess you could use a small motor and reverse the polarity. But I don't know if that is even possible.
fatdaddy.
 

jimmymc2286

New Member
Nov 26, 2012
124
0
0
Indiana
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

just an idea...

why dont you use an 12V alternator from a small car/motorbike....fab up a chain drive...and bing.....some wires.....lots of juice for lights, sirens, and a phone charger or stereo.
You can use a brushless motor like used on RC airplanes and make the converter to dc and that will charge a small battery. They are using this setup on RC helicopters. Do a Google on it.
 

Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2009
1,501
55
48
Jacksonville, Florida
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Absolutely nothing!

Rode the ole Peugeot out to coffee and then some- seven miles or so- peddlin all the way- almost 59- used to be a warm up before a race, but keeps me goin now

Jacksonville- sunny and low 70's- Far Out!
 

fatdaddy

New Member
May 4, 2011
1,516
4
0
San Jose, Ca.
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Thanks for the weather report Kat, now I'm really depressed.
Worked on a customer build all day,:-||
No time for the coffee shop,
and it's been cool and overcast all day long in San Jose.
fatdaddy.
 

moonerdizzle

New Member
Jun 28, 2009
874
0
0
Cheese head capitol
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

since its no longer riding season ive been making videos of my bike, hoping to have one more warmish day to do a ride along video with a better camera. and by warmish i mean 31 or over. also got around to making a oil catch can write up and video, its in the four stroke section if any one is interested.
 

MEASURE TWICE

Well-Known Member
Jul 13, 2010
2,741
1,211
113
CA
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

You can use a brushless motor like used on RC airplanes and make the converter to dc and that will charge a small battery. They are using this setup on RC helicopters. Do a Google on it.
I have an extra alternator from a pickup truck that I got 230 thousand miles on and subsequently have sold. There was just one brush that was cracked, but working enough to run real noisily just after about 30 thousand miles and no warranty for the work. If I had known first, I would have just removed the broken piece and taken a Dremel to form a new round edge on 2/3 of the remaining brush.

I bought a new alternator and regulator with integral brushes built in. The brushes cannot be bought without the voltage regulator unless you try spot welding some brushes that you might find somewhere to fit.

I kept the old alternator and got extra voltage regulator and extra pulley and had kept in truck for long trips to swap in place doing the work myself on the road if necessary.

Now with my motor bike and a piece of a jack shaft is left long enough sticking out if I remove a cover, I can put a pulley on it to match the old alternator pulley.

I do need a battery as an alternator needs the 12 volt field current, but my old electric troll motor AGM battery will do at 12 volt 30 ampere hour.

Now I plan to make a cover to this setup for just stationary use by popping off the belt to rear drive wheel and find a way to make a custom carbon arc lamp to use with it.

With the 60 amps when running this hair brain scheme, I hope there is a possibility of a 720 watt arc lamp.

I have to research maybe 12 volts direct current needs to be up higher for arc lamps so an inverter to get higher voltage and using alternating current might do.

Hacking the alternator and using the AC out put before the full wave bridge to get the higher voltage might be an option that would omit the inverter.

What’s that beam up in da sky?

MT

A carbon arc lamp using lantern battery (link):

http://www.instructables.com/id/Carbon-Arc-Lights/?ALLSTEPS
 
Last edited:

GearNut

Active Member
Aug 19, 2009
5,104
11
38
San Diego, Kaliforgnia
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Now I plan to make a cover to this setup for just stationary use by popping off the belt to rear drive wheel and find a way to make a custom carbon arc lamp to use with it.MT
I used to make carbon arc lamps when I was a kid.
I took the center carbon rods out of old Rayovac size D batteries.
The rest of the lamp details I will not bore you with.
I never did come up with a device to accommodate the erosion of the carbon rods though.

They were lots of fun!
 

Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
12,765
115
48
58
Moosylvania
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Dunno if their still used but the old tugs and tow boats down south used to use arc spot lights. They created an unbelievable amount of light. Truly amazing stuff MT. Hope you do a thread. Would love to see this.
 

Wickedest1

Member
Oct 31, 2012
688
7
18
41
connecticut
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

stopped off at wally world today after being stuck out in the middle of nowhere while i fixed my wobbly gas tank, and my wife told me to stop and get a springer seat from there. ive been looking to get one and she told me it would be an xmas gift from her...put it on in the parking lot and floated all the way home...diggin the new seat...also building a rear tail lamp to run off my gen when i cruise at night...pics later when im done...probably going back out too...its supposed to be 42 degrees here and sunny...not many days left like that i think...why wait? im goin outdance1
 

fatdaddy

New Member
May 4, 2011
1,516
4
0
San Jose, Ca.
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

stopped off at wally world today after being stuck out in the middle of nowhere while i fixed my wobbly gas tank, and my wife told me to stop and get a springer seat from there. ive been looking to get one and she told me it would be an xmas gift from her...put it on in the parking lot and floated all the way home...diggin the new seat...also building a rear tail lamp to run off my gen when i cruise at night...pics later when im done...probably going back out too...its supposed to be 42 degrees here and sunny...not many days left like that i think...why wait? im goin outdance1
42 degrees and SUNNY? Are you kidding me? I was out yesterday working on a bike and it was in the mid 50's. All I could think about was I don't wanna be out in all this cold. Yer a much tougher man than I am, 42 degrees and yer going RIDING? I think I like California just a little more now.
fatdaddy.
 

Wickedest1

Member
Oct 31, 2012
688
7
18
41
connecticut
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

42 degrees and SUNNY? Are you kidding me? I was out yesterday working on a bike and it was in the mid 50's. All I could think about was I don't wanna be out in all this cold. Yer a much tougher man than I am, 42 degrees and yer going RIDING? I think I like California just a little more now.
fatdaddy.
I love the new england weather...42 is warm here...only wore ahoodie...i love going out when its colder out...bike seems to run better in the cold once I warm her up...
 

tooljunkie

Member
Apr 4, 2012
663
5
16
Manitoba,Canada
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I used to make carbon arc lamps when I was a kid.
I took the center carbon rods out of old Rayovac size D batteries.
The rest of the lamp details I will not bore you with.
I never did come up with a device to accommodate the erosion of the carbon rods though.

They were lots of fun!
i used to work in a movie theater (theatre) where the projector used carbon arc rods.it was cool,i had to keep calibrating the projector as the rods burned.
was a fun job.

no winter riding for me,the last precipatation was freezing rain,i can barely walk on the road in front of my house,nevermind riding the mb.guess i will get back to finishing the #2 bike this winter.
 

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Filled the Pig with gas and rode it empty! Wet and miserable! (Still had more fun than should be allowed)
http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab318/maniac573/newpipe006-1.jpg
Also got one of the new Cranbrooks done. New pics coming soon.
http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab318/maniac573/Miscfall2012203.jpg
I swapped the stock fork on the other Cranbrook for a sprung fork off the Next hanging in the bicycle tree....
http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab318/maniac573/cranbrooks006-1.jpg
 

fatdaddy

New Member
May 4, 2011
1,516
4
0
San Jose, Ca.
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

Finally found a set of suspension forks for the Cranny. There cheap ones, Rebound I think, But there 1' threaded, 26' and should fit perfect. Ocho ninja and I rode almost 30 miles(round trip) to pick them up. I've been looking at new forks and they just want more than I have in my account. The guy let me have em for $15 so I'm putting them on first chance I get. Right now I have 3 customer bikes in the shop so gotta get them out first.
fatdaddy.
 

CTripps

Active Member
Aug 22, 2011
1,310
1
38
Vancouver, B.C.
Re: what did you do to your motor bike today?

I went to put a final coat of paint on a tank today. While adusting the position of it so I could get the right angles for the final passes, it fell off the paint hook, bounced down two steps, and landed in the mud. I wiped off the worst of the wet muck, but now it's back to square one there. I was going to finish a small touch-up on the frame, then found that while the spray can seems to have paint left, it has no propellant left. Now I need to go get another can of paint.... *sigh*...