how i made an extended front motor mount

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bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
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living the dream in southern california
on a lot of cruiser frames, the front mount needs to be extended, and i've been trying to figure out a cheap, simple way to do it, and i did.

(caution! the use of a seatpost is involved. ;))

the pics pretty much explain it all. the first one was my first, lousy idea that i rigged up just so i could get the rest of the bike put together. the studs were bending before i even had the bike together. if i woulda left it like this, there'd be a motor by the side of the road somewhere.

so, here's what i made with basic hand tools.

the materials are:

(picture 2)
regular motor mount and bracket

old seatpost

3/8 stainless allthread, 2 nuts, and a lockwasher

2 "large frame adapters" (if you don't have two of these, any piece of steel will work, but you gotta do some more cutting and drilling.)

(pic3)

first, drill out the center hole in the adapter plates so the 3/8 allthread fits.

(pic 4)

grind out enough room in the stock motor mount so the nut fits. ( note: a lock washer and nut won't fit inside, so it's just getting a nut.) be careful, these mounts grind easy. you don't want to take out anymore than you need.

measure how long you need to make yours, and then measure it again. if you get two different measurements, measure again...

see next post...
 

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bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
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living the dream in southern california
when measuring, be sure to take into account the width of the two plates and the motor mount.

(pics 5 and 6)

this is how it looks all put together.

i use grade 8 allen head socket cap bolts, and this will help your installation, because depending on how short your mount is, it's gonna be tough to fit the bolts in.
picture 6 shows how i did mine.

pic 7 is done, mounted, and plenty strong.
 

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2door

2door

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Sep 15, 2008
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Bairdco,
Very slick. I like it. Thanks for sharing.
Okay, now for the critisizing...Ya just gotta do sumpin' with that shiney motor. Maybe go to a gun shop and pick up some antiquing material for steel. They call it 'Browning' not the brand name but for what it does to gun metal. It stains it a nice old brown color so the metal looks old. It is applied with a brush or cloth, left a few minutes then wiped off. Something like wood stain but made for metal and is very durable. It lasts forever. That would give the aluminum engine a nice patina that would match the bike and look like it was supposed to have a motor. But...that's just my opinion. The bike is still an awsome build even with a shiney engine.

Tom
 
BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

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Jul 21, 2009
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ZOMFG bairdco - it's a chunk of handlebar! It's gonna bend :p

Seriously tho, as usual you've come up with a great solution with some stuff ya just had kickin' about - lookin' good man!


2door said:
...Ya just gotta do sumpin' with that shiney motor. Maybe go to a gun shop and pick up some antiquing material for steel. They call it 'Browning' not the brand name but for what it does to gun metal...
Tom
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o.o

oic... ya give this awesome tip to bairdco and here I've been wonderin' how in heck I'm gonna "age" my motor *shakes fist* i r stealin' it trufax :D Hmm... now that ya got me actually thinkin' - I wonder how that fake gun bluing stuff would look o_O I will hafta experiment, thanks Tom ;)
 
Norman

Norman

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Jan 16, 2008
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STOP the seat post/handle bar abuse send me $5000.00 to help stop the abuse the next handle bar or seat post could be yours.laff
looks good to me.
 
Dan

Dan

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May 25, 2008
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Purty awesome Baird.

Tom, gonna try that. What was the oven cleaner one? To alter the surface
 
E

exavid

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Dec 12, 2009
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I had to extend the front mount on my bike too, I used the extra motor mount section which added about an inch and a quarter or so. I double nutted the front mounting studs and removed them and replaced them with a piece of 6mm all thread I purchased at Ace Hardware. Just double nut them and screw them in. I used a die grinder (could have been a hacksaw) to cut off the excess length. I've replaced all the nuts on the installation with elastic stop nuts except for areas that get hot such as the exhaust and intake manifold.
 
bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
they usually come with the kit. you could ask some members here if they have any extras, or call piston bikes, venice, or any other vendor and they'd probably sell you a couple for cheap.

or make your own. it's just a couple chunks of steel with some holes drilled in it.
 
bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
not sure what exactly your plan is, but that steel is stronger than the cheap stock mounts so if you do it right it should be fine.

a note on my original mount. that worked on my bike for 3+ yeard, even after flipping it over at 45mph. i sold the bike and still have the mount.
 
E

[email protected]

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May 9, 2015
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Great info on that. Thanks! I have a 1965 Schwinn Cruiser with a a lot of V- room space and hopefully that will help. What do you think about using the JNM vibration motor mounts in lue of?
I have a matter of the hub width in the old 1965 Schwinn - such as the plates for the rear sprocket mount assembly is to small to fit around the hub, due to in hub gears - making the hub larger. Can I jig saw the plates to make them fit around the hub and be okay? Thanks, Capt. Rog
 
2door

2door

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Sep 15, 2008
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[email protected] said:
Great info on that. Thanks! I have a 1965 Schwinn Cruiser with a a lot of V- room space and hopefully that will help. What do you think about using the JNM vibration motor mounts in lue of?
I have a matter of the hub width in the old 1965 Schwinn - such as the plates for the rear sprocket mount assembly is to small to fit around the hub, due to in hub gears - making the hub larger. Can I jig saw the plates to make them fit around the hub and be okay? Thanks, Capt. Rog
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum. I've sent you a private message regarding your username.

Don't use rubber! This old subject has been hashed over here too many times to mention. Use our search feature and see what others have said about mounting an engine with rubber or resilient material. It doesn't work! Mount the engine as solid to the frame as possible.

Tom
 
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