Rotten Orange build - Gary Fisher Aquila shifter buildup!

So, I'm moving my build thread over from the other site, since Im no longer going to post over there. So, here goes!

07-06-2008:
Today's $200 Craigslist score. This is a Gary Fisher Aquila MTB. This will be the bike that I'll be installing Ghost0's jackshaft kit on. It is a 27 speed from the start, so this thing is going to have just a wicked range of gearing available. It'll be running a 48cc boygofast slanthead engine, which will be painted flat black with some orange tribal flames to match the rest of the bike.

Ghost0s kit will also be color matched to the bike. I can't wait to start getting this bike together!!!! So, Ghost0, if you are reading this, lemme know when orders need to be in and I'd like to have one of the first ones out the door for this puppy.

Here are the pics:

Overview of the stance of the bike:

http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher_13.jpg

Kenda Kinetic Kevlar tires (Had to ditch one due to damage, but wil be looking for a replacement kevlar equivalent):
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher_02.jpg

Iron cross pedals.. pretty pimp:
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher_03.jpg

The headset lock says it all:
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher_05.jpg

This sticker will totally fit the bike once the engine is installed:


Deore LX derailleurs:
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher_07.jpg
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher_08.jpg

Count them.. NINE gears out back.. yeah baby!
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher_09.jpg


Mavic wheels.. These run nice and true.


linear pull brakes front and rear. Stop this puppy on a dime!
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher_12.jpg

07-06-2008:
Oh, I almost forgot.. the original wheels/tires had presta valve tubes installed. I hate presta valves, so I stripped the wheels down to the rims and drilled the valve hole large enough for the shraeder valve to fit through. THen, I installed a brand new set of heavy duty slime tubes in the tires and put it all back together.

I dunno why, but I just really dont like presta valves.

07-08-2008
Picked up a new wide Gel seat yesterday from walmart, since those narrow seats and I just dont agree. I'll get that installed sometime today when I feel like it.

Also, I stripped down the HT motor to check it out and pull out all the hardware to replace it with high grade stuff from ACE.

Next thing on the list will be to order up a double kickstand, rear rack, and a few other goodies that I just love on my other bike. SInce I am giving my ENTIRE other bike to my disabled friend, I have to pick up a second of everything I put on that bike for this one.

I'll also be ordering up a set of new shifters for the handlebars; The ones on this bike are pretty beat up and sicne I'll be going with the jackshaft drive, I need to know exactly what gear Im in at all times.

07-16-2008
Here are some updated photos of the bike build. I have all the old components stripped off, including handlebars and front deraileur (wont be needing it). Also added a suspension seatpost, 25.4 to 27.2 seatpost adapter for the new post, and a really nice rear rack:

First off, here are my two supervisors, making sure I put this bike together correctly:


Removed derailer:
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher20.jpg

New headlight arrangement: Nice and out of the way:


Rear rack.. This sucker is extremely heavy duty. Easy install as wel:
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher22.jpg


The whole bike as it sits right now.. kinda naked looking without an engine on it!
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher24.jpg

Gettng close to the handlebar height that I need. I think I am going to see if I can find a steeper angle stem to raise the bars up another inch or so and bring them just a bit closer to me.


Squishy Gel seat will have to do until I can save up for a nice Brooks saddle:
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher29.jpg


07-16-2008
I have decided to do a stealthy cylindrical behind the seat tank. At this point, I had ordered all the required parts to build two half-gallon tanks that will fit behind the seat

I can't wait to get all the parts for the gas tanks. THAT is going to be a fun addition to the bikes. I calculated out the volume I can get based on the scrap steel I have available. We'll have our choice of between 0.43 gal minimum up to 0.54 gal maximum.

The .43 gal tank would be 8" wide x 4" diameter.

The .54 gal tank would be 10" wide x 4" diameter.

These tanks would have mounting brackets welded as needed, wherever needed. Then coated with motorcycle tank sealer internally and painted.

I was also thinking.. If I wanted to go with a real "tactical" style on this bike, I could build a custom triangular tank fit exactly to the underside of the top tube and run partway down the down tube . Th fill cap would be a steel elbow coming out one side of it at the highest point. I have enough steel to do either style (and then some). Probably enough for 4-5 custom tanks at least. Might be fun to brainstorm some custom designs for your bike, since your carb has a reed valve lift pump built into it.

Either way, the cylindrical tanks will be built. If I dont use mine, I'll put it up for sale here.

07-16-2008
I found a 135mm 125 degree stem on Bikeparts.com today and got that ordered. That will let me use my RockShox Judy DH '96 fork that I scored off craigslist since the steer tube on that one is a little shorter... The Judy DH should be MUCH much superior to the SL fork that is on the Gary Fisher right now. Built much stronger too.

With the new stem, even with the shorter steer tube, It'll raise my bars another 1" or so.. I;ll be able to put the handlebars exactly at the right level I need for my back. Lookin forward to riding regularly again.. especially with some gears..

I want to get out and do some offroading!

07-11-2008
One thing I REALLY wanted for this build was a high-end throttle. The HT twist grip throttles are so sloppy and shoddy, its not even funny.. Here is the post outlining some online billet aluminum throttle finds

This is another gripe I've had with these HT kits. The twist throttles are just shoddy. Sloppy action, etc. yeah, they work, but I want to have a nice smooth action and feel on my bike that I can really enjoy while riding..

So, I found a couple of affordable billet aluminum twist throttles that will work on a 7/8" handlebar:

This one is a red anodized billet aluminum 1/4 twist throttle. $30 from this place:
Overstock Distributing*|*Power Sports*|*Dirt Bike Parts and Accessories*|*Generic Dirt Bike Parts and Accessories*|*Bodywork*|*1/4 Twist Throttle - Billet Aluminum - Red | OverstockDistributing.com - Official Website

Same place also has a gold anodized billet 1/4 twist throttle for $22:
Overstock Distributing*|*Power Sports*|*Dirt Bike Parts and Accessories*|*Generic Dirt Bike Parts and Accessories*|*Bodywork*|*1/4 Twist Throttle - Billet Aluminum - Gold | OverstockDistributing.com - Official Website

07-21-2008
Here are some photo of the twist throttle:




One other thing about thes throttles. The portion that the handgrip slips onto is also machined aluminum. With a little grease between the handlbebrs and the twist grip shaft, it should be an almost frictionless operation.

Now, the downside.. these wont work with rapid fire shifters on my bike without sme modificatin to the shifters to clear the throttle.

I have been doing some research into the rapid fire shifters.. It looks like I should be able to swap the ratchet mechanism between the right and left hand shifters. So this would allow me to put the Rapid-fire shift controls on the left hand side of the handlebar. I think with the brake and throttle being on the right side, using my left hand to clutch and shift should be a perfect setup. Another possibility is installing a foot peg to allow a foot clutch to be used if needed in addition to the hand clutch.

07-22-2008

Today, I got quite a bit done on the bike. Since I'm still healing up from my back injury 3 weeks ago, I am taking things slowly. Today's goal was to get my Judy DH '96 craigslist score fork installed along with the 125 degree 135mm Dimension stem that arrived in the mail the other day.

Got the old Rockshox SL fork removed from the bike. Here is sits:


Here is the "new" 1996 Judy Downhill fork installed. It has been camouflaged using semi-flat black engine block paint. I figured this would look much nicer than the original bright red. I put on about 8 coats of paint and then let it bake in the sun for a good 2-3 hours. The paint is very hard and should be pretty durable:

http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher35.jpg

Since the Judy DH fork was a craigslist find, the steer tube had already been cut down for the old owner's bike. Luckily, it left me enough tube to clamp my new Dimension high angle stem to. BTW, I took the opportunity to clean and re-grease all the steer bearings while I had the forks out:
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher36.jpg

The next step was to retrofit the linear pull brakes to the Judy DH fork. Lucky for me, it was a direct bolt-in! No drama here at all. while I had the brakes out, I greased up the pivot points and internal spring tensioners to smooth the action as much as possible.
http://www.piratepathy.com/misc/garyfisher37.jpg

So, here is the new stance with the 125 degree 135mm stem along with my 5" rise handlebars. Sitting on the bike to test it out, I think this setup is going to be absolutely perfect for me. I'll have a perfectly upright seating position with a bike that has suspension on the frontend, the seat, and the seatpost.


Here is a nice closeup shot of all the new stuff that went on today. I really love how it turned out!!!


Next up, getting ready for some WICKED engine upgrades...

Spunout said:

WOW! this all looks like a very interesting build.

BTW- the throttle links didnt work

lemme ask a 'newbie'-type question...i read about ghosto's jackshaft set-up before, but is top-speed going to be higher than without it?

Click to expand...

Yes... if your engine has the power, top speed should run around 45-50mph with the jack shaft shift kit. You also have the ability to change drive sprockets on the jack shaft to proportionally change the gear range. Its essentially like being able to swap out final drive sprockets with the click of a shifter. You can go from crawling over stuff slow to mild grocery store-getting mode, to wild balls-out speed freeak just by adjusting the rear derailleur.

My gary fisher is originally a 27 speed bike, so it has 9 sprockets in the rear. The smallest sprockets on the rear are TINY.. If the engine has the power (which is what Im working on next), this bike should absolutely haul a$$. On the other end of the spectrum, another nice thing is that it'll also have granny gears for trials-style dirt riding, hillclimbs, and other offroading. My guess with this bike is that it will simply run out of power at around 35mph and will mabye hit 40 going downhill. I'm using a 48cc HT engine to start out with, but can swap in my 70cc if the 48 just doesnt have the grunt needed.

You have no idea how much I'm anticipating this shifter kit showing up. The engine and shifter kit will get dressed up a bit.. all in semi-flat engine block paint, with some vinyl orange tribal flames to spice things up a bit.

Hold on a sec.. I'll get the links fixed for the throttles.

Oh cool... I'll go back and tag all those images then. Got yelled at on the other board about using img tags.

Tonight's task is finding a usable Mikuni carburetor or even a Keihin off a Honda that I can design an intake plenum for. I'm aiming to improve efficiency by improving the breathing of the engine. The Mikuni carbs look nice, but the Keihin carbs have the advantage that a lot of them have a built in fuel pump AND fuel shutoff valve!. I'm doing a lot of research to see what is available.

I'll also be looking into a tuned pipe exhaust with expansion chamber and all that stuff.. I don't want the bike to be loud, but if I could somehow muffle the exhaust after tuned pipe, mabye I could make some gains without increasing the noise.

Also having some mad hatter ideas about electronic fuel injection. Anyone ever though of it? I know someone coudl easily drop a megasquirt on one of our engines and make it work, but all the sensors you'd need would really add a lot of complexity.

Man.. I am completely obsessive compulsive when it comes down to this stuff. have to look at every possible angle.

Ok.. Ive gone through just about every carb manufacturer, small motorbike manufacturer, and all the aftermarket carbs I could find over about 8 hours of online research and found/ordered the carb I'll be using for the Rotten Orange build.

The carburetor is a Dellorto 16.16 SHA 16mm:


These carburetors are available in 14, 15, 16, and a number of other sizes. See this site (where I purchased the carb above):
http://www.dellortodirect.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=12_7

Other reasons I picked up this carb over other similar small engine carbs:

1) This carb does not use a sliding cylinder an needle to meter air and fuel simultaneously. It's got a small lightweight flat slide that meters the air instead and separate jets to meter fuel.
2) This carb is jetted, and all manner of sizes of jets are available for proper tuning to my bike's build configuration.
3) Every single part for the carb is available from the dellorto direct site above and prices are VERY reasonable.. about as cheap as HT carb parts!
4) This carb is a 2 stroke carburetor by design.
5) Dellorto has a comprehensive tuning guide (which I picked up as well with my order)... I'll let you all know how it helps with the tuning.
6) All throttle (and clutch cable feeds) into the carb are replaceable with 40, 50, 70, and 90 degree elbows, all from the above site. This solves problems with top bar clearances in some HT installs (like my last one).
7) This carb uses a 19mm manifold clamp and so is a DIRECT BOLT IN for 48cc HT motors (ccording to my measurements)

The parts breakdown:


SHA Carburetor Parts [SHA Parts] - $0.00 : Dellorto Carburetors, And parts for you.

This particular carburetor is available in both cable choke and lever choke for the same price (about $63). I ordered the cable choke, so I can actuate the choke from the handlebars using a spare shimano thumb shifter with the ratchet mechanism removed, thus keeping my hands on the w"heel" so to speak.

I will be fabricating a custom intake manifold for this carb to let me put the carb exactly where I want it, and will allow me to portmatch both ends of the manifold EXACTLY to match the carb and the HT engine. One interesting thing to note is that the Dellorto 16.16 SHA uses a 19mm manifold clamp. The intake manifold from my 48cc slanthead HT kit measures exactly 18.89mm, so this Dellorto carb is a DIRECT BOLT ON for at least the 48cc HT engines.

I also get a cool sticker for my MAB that not many others are going to have:


Like I said.. I am obsessive compulsive about this stuff..

Next up is the exhaust, but I think that can wait for tommorrow (or later today if you notice the time of this post)

Pablo said:

Your kit has shipped so.......let's hope you see it today or tomorrow. I'll love to see the brackets that color - that will be great!

Nice looking bike. Man now you have me wanting to do another mountain bike.......

Click to expand...

Pablo, lemme tell ya man.. its like Christmas eve over here for me. i cant wait to get my hands on that kit and start putting the puzzle together.

This bike is going to be just as much rolling artwork as it will be a mode of transportation for me.

Pablo,

I got the shifter kit in the mail today... I tore into it and had everything out inspecting all the parts within 5 minutes of seeing the box. I am *very* impressed.. you guys did a really nice job putting this kit together. The design is excellent, packing is top notch, and the parts all arrived in perfect shape. I will need to make a few modifications to it to fit my aluminum frame bike and also due to the tighter wheel to seatpost clearances on my bike I'll have to make some special design alterations, but, overall it wont be too bad. I'm headed to the sickbikeparts.com site to get the installation instructions printed out so I can start working on the design modifications I need to make.

Here are some fresh photos of the shifter kit and all its contents:





Thats all for now. Now I've got to work on gettign the engine & shifter kit installed!