Worksmen 1911 cruiser build

I am about to start on a 1970's Worksman

I take it that that is an unmolested frame?

What front fork are you running?

What carb??

Any special issues with the engine mounting??

Front hub??

I'm planning on rotating my rear fender back down the tire and gutting less of it off

Nice job on your bike. That's a real tight fit getting the engine in there, isn't it? I had to use an offset intake manifold on mine, else the throttle cable ran into the crossbar. Pat's tank is perfect. Sweet looking ride...
SB

Metrolcp said:

I have been working on this project on and off all summer. I keep finding things to change so I'm holding off on the final color. The rear fender needs to be longer and the stock worksmen tires have to go. I was thinking about building a motor bike for some time but always hated the stock tank look. Sportscarpat took care of that and a few other things. I like the look so much now I want a real 1911motorbike.

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Very nice bike. My only suggestion for greater satisfaction would be an angled seatpost to move the seat backward a bit. It will look even better as a tribute bike and add to your sastisfaction...more of the illusion of riding a true motorcycle. All white tires also add greatly to the ilusion of a 1911ish bike. Black tires did not become common till later in the teens. The white tires are cheap and somewhat authentic.

I have been following the break in rules on my first bike and the power is increasing. It is already going faster than I want to go and I am still using the break in fuel mix.

Enjoy and show it off. Wearing period type duds (even if not completely accurate) adds to the fun and satisfaction. If you are in Texas let me know we have a small event in which I am trying to get as many of these together as I can.

Excellent build! That's the look I wanted but ended up using what I had on hand and trying to keep the costs to a minimum. Post more pics and let us know what parts and vendors you used.

Nice build!! Pat's tanks are the best!

Venice Motor Bikes said:

Nice build!! Pat's tanks are the best!

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agreed,,,
on both counts !!!

Very nice job on the worksman. I noticed it looks like you went to a sprocket chain tightener. Is is spring loaded? I did that on my first build and haven't touched it in 2 years. Is there a pic of that side of the bike? Once again, nice!! Dan

Chris,
Nice cruiser build and it looks to be assembled perfectly! You did it right by working out the bugs first before final paint. If you ever want to loop that frame and run a bigger engine give me a shout, although if you find an original 1911 motorcycle then this Worksman build may just about be done. Have you decided on a final color, yet?
Pat

Metrolcp said:

Here's a few more pictures. The frame is a new worksmen with sportscarpat's basic mods. Joabthebugman you can't go wrong with anything Pat makes but i have a 1980 Worksmen and his tank will not fit that frame. If anyone is looking for cloth spark plug wire and vintage wire ends try RSC Cheap prices and some small stuff for a period correct look. I'm thinking that early Harley gray with a blue pinstripe on the fenders and around the tank for the final color. I want to save dark red for my next build. I think a Indian board tracker replica.

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Well, EVERYONE ought to have an Indian in every garage. I built my fiirst bike experimentally with a Husky frame before it was as easy as it is now (and this was less than a YEAR ago), but I've now made a loop frame (acutally watched my cuz do it for me) and longer for my Indian (gotta have a red Indian), kind of going back and forth as to whether I should boardtrack it because this new dog is a real dachshund...low and lean and sort of mean. I just don't like the idea of nearly laying down on a 30 mph motorcycle with every bump putting the frame in my face, besides my gut won't let me lean over anyways so I think I will sort of compromise and make it like a home made boardtracker wannabe. My friend has made one like yours and he is going with yellow to ease the paint work and he is going to put Cyclone markings on it.... My first bike is a sort of a 7/8th harley with the Monarch forks. So we will have black, red, and yellow, probably the next one ought to be Exclesior lime green but I need to make a "Werner Voss Wanderer" to go with our Fokker triplane. It's got a dark green frame with french gray tank and fenders. These things are worse than lays potato chips.

Metrolcp said:

Here's a few more pictures. The frame is a new worksmen with sportscarpat's basic mods. Joabthebugman you can't go wrong with anything Pat makes but i have a 1980 Worksmen and his tank will not fit that frame. If anyone is looking for cloth spark plug wire and vintage wire ends try RSC Cheap prices and some small stuff for a period correct look. I'm thinking that early Harley gray with a blue pinstripe on the fenders and around the tank for the final color. I want to save dark red for my next build. I think a Indian board tracker replica.

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I like the idea of the cloth spark plug wire....thanks!

I did not know that a 1980 Worksman frame was different in any way from one made today. How is it different? I wonder if other changes came along the way. For an old company there sure isn't much information about the actual bikes through that long history. I've never been able to find a database for the serial numbers and Worksman doesn't seem interested in answering questions about old ones... just in selling you a new one.
Hoodoo, I'm curious about your assessment of the Husky frame. I've wondered why people are not using it... just Worksman. From having worked with one Worksman NB I think the most impressive thing about Worksman is the wheels. I'm as impressed with my 50 Schwinn Panther frame as I am with the quality of the Worksman. Seems like a certain amount of hype creating a kind of aura around "Worksman". I have both a Worksman wheel and a Husky wheel. For the money that Husky wheel is very nice. What do you think of the Husky frame?
SB

Hoodoo, I'm curious about your assessment of the Husky frame. I've wondered why people are not using it... just Worksman. From having worked with one Worksman NB I think the most impressive thing about Worksman is the wheels. I'm as impressed with my 50 Schwinn Panther frame as I am with the quality of the Worksman. Seems like a certain amount of hype creating a kind of aura around "Worksman". I have both a Worksman wheel and a Husky wheel. For the money that Husky wheel is very nice. What do you think of the Husky frame?
SB[/QUOTE]

The Worksman is more popular I think because it's rear frame is more similar in profile to the older motorcycles than the Husky. The seat post appears to be set back further, I built a new post for my Husky and set it way back, with the worksman I only feel the need to put in a setback post to move the seat further rearward, however I have not compared the Husky and Worksman side by side, by the time I had received the worksman I had already built my Husky. Now, admittedly at the time I built the Husky I was using the straight up plug and that force me to do major frame mods. It is quite possible I would not have had to do that had I been using a slant fire engine.
It is clear that the cottage industry making these bikes prefers the worksman and most aftermarket stuff is now gravitating to the worksman...as there is no clear superiority of the husky, why bother? The price differential is insufficient for a Husky to be a "bargain".

Hoodoo,
Thanks for your response. Now I know. Without them sitting side by side, to my untrained eye they looked very similar. The aftermarket cottage industry you mention is a compelling reason in itself.
SB

That is the new platform I would like to start off with. I'll have to hook up with Pat once I scrape some funds together for a tank.

Guys,
I have personally had my hands on over 20 newer Worksman frames and only one of the older ones. What I have found and seen from pictures is the biggest difference is in the shape of the down tube. The older frames had more bend radius at the two bend areas on the down tube. What I do know is that the center tube where I mount the tank is not jig located by Worksman so I do see some of my tanks fit tighter than others on the different frames. I have also found that the upper horizontal frame tube curves are sometimes more forward or back relative to the head tube and seat post tube. The one frame I used for my first tank for the INB frame was thankfully a fairly accurate one in the center tube placement. I have now seen my tanks on enough frames to tell the loose fits verses the tight fits. On the Schwinn straightbar frames every tank I have made has fit exactly the same leading me to believe there was strick quality control on center tube placement back in the day. As for Husky verses Worksman I have continued with Worksman for a couple good reasons. The Husky frame is not lugged, the Worksman is fully lugged. Lugged frames are stronger and are also how vintage motorcycle frames were made before welding was more common place, giving Worksman a better vintage look. Finally, there is nothing better, in my opinion, than a set of current Worksman wheels. Nothing special about the older or vintage Worksman wheels from what I see in pictures. The currently available Worksman wheels are the only ones I am familiar with and have used. I have a set of the Husky wheels on one of my builds and they will eventually be replaced with Worksman. Oh, I forgot to add one thing. Chris, your frame was one of the better ones by far as to gas tank fitment. It has very consistant gaps with the rear being just a slight bit looser than the front. As for your vintage frame I could shave an 1/8" off a tank to get it to fit or just replace the middle tube alltogether. That older frame is also a good candidate for a stretch and loop for your Indian BTR your thinking about.
Pat

Some more thoughts on tank fitment. On my newer stretch frames I am in charge of quality control on the frames so I carefully locate the top tubes curve in the correct location front to rear between head tube and seat post tube. From there I use a proper center frame tube locating jig, basically a piece of 12 gauge sheet laser cut to the O.D. shape of the tank plus 1/8" to account for lug thickness. This assures the best and most consistant fit possible on the gas tank. Let's just say that getting all three of the frame front triangle tubes lined up three dimensionally while maintaining the gas tank opening tolerance is a bit of a challenge. The beauty of the lugs is that they give an additional amount of freedom to work the tubes into position before brazing. This entire process could not be done accurately without a proper frame jig and gas tank jig. If a "perfect" gas tank fit is desired on one of my non-stretch Flyers where I retain the Worksman located center tube, like the standard Flyer or Flyer Deluxe, I can jig up the frame, remove the center tube, and then replace the tube accurately. This is added cost and generally not needed as the same result can be achieved by adding or subtracting the rubber shim pads I place between the gas tank and frame tube for vibration purposes.
Pat

Hey Pat,

I just checked out the latest photos of your Sportsman Flyer Deluxe on your flickr page, very nice work!