well, i wasn't going to join the forum to address rampant speculation on my own builds but i can't help myself any more. ok starting at the top, plain and simple this bike is not meant to pedal other than start up. that should be pretty evident from the build in general, but i do understand that there are people on the opposite end of the spectrum from me, who feel that these should retain the function of a pedal bicycle as well as work under motor power, i am not one of them. that being said, at six one i would sit to pedal start it without trouble or discomfort. did run out of gas once, had to pedal for a bit(sat the whole time), it wasn't my idea of a great time, but it wasn't atrocious either. when riding under motor power it was very comfortable. so to answer atombikes on how short would ones legs need to be for this to be comfortable..... not very short.
on handling, the wheel base was 57 inches, it wasn't supposed to be nimble (the wheelbase on a honda cb750 is 57.3 inches for reference). i build more towards form than function, to me function is worthless without form, but form alone can be pretty cool for short trips. that being said i didn't build this expecting it to handle well. it surprised me the first time i rode it, a little unruly under 5mph (startup speed) but handled quite well under motor power. after riding it a couple times, i either adapted or it magically fixed itself, as i didn't notice this anymore. at speed it was very steady and stable, more of a leaner than a steerer. it had a very firm, planted feeling. a pleasure to ride.
on rake, the simplest solution is usually the best solution, instead of messing with cutting and welding the frame, it would be far easier to move the wheel backwards, inbetween the two forks reducing the negative trail. since handling wasn't an issue, i had no need to do either.
bbb, thank you, but i would have to disagree on using the chinagirl, they are easy to work on and have readily available replacement parts at very reasonable prices. when set up correctly, they are pretty trouble free with routine maintence. they get a bad rap because people who don't know what they are doing use them to turn a bicycle into a motorcycle, and then blame the kit for their own incompetence. yeah the magnetos will sometimes burn up, and the sparkplug caps are super cheap, but i would say per dollar they can't be beat. comparing them to more expensive engines isn't fair, its like comparing sugar ray to ali, would ali beat the crap out of sugar ray? sure, but that doesn't mean he is the superior fighter.
gearnut, you are the one that got me here, by far the best, least presumptious critique on the post. high five. it was a bit brief, but i presume you are talking about increased force on the factory dropouts due to the leverage caused by my dropout extensions. great observation. what you can't see in the pic is that the extensions are welded to the dropouts, giving a total thickness of 5/16, (stock dropout is 1/8) those dropouts aren't going anywhere without the rest of the frame.
here is my other model of fork, and superior in my opinion, better ride and handling, and before anyone says anything about pedaling, look at the front sprocket, you're not pedaling anywhere other than to startup. also this bike isn't finished, need to switch out the cranks to 3 inch and pedals, finish the exhaust, and the angle of the tank is off. oh and before we get to trail and rake again, the wheel can be put anywhere in front a vertical line from the connecting point of the shock forward.
IMGP0677 by
Thunderchief Cycles, on Flickr
