Villiers beach cruiser

I like the brackets.

G'day mate,
(I'm learning Aussie.) I'm with Mike. I also like the bent brackets. Stainless can be quite stiff, I am told. What gauge do you think? Your "guillo and bender" would be our sheer and brake, I believe... something to make clean cuts and then something else to make tight and accurate bends. Yes, simple enough with the right tools. I would suppose that the resistance to twist under torque would depend on gauge and how many. Nine sounds right. Bolts would need to be like a spoke nipple in being flat and not rubbing and damaging the belt. The other thing I was thinking about the torque is that I suspect there is a bit of belt slip possible where with gear and chain arrangements that is not the case. Twisting the brackets might not be the problem one would imagine.
Others have solved this in the past, so we need to see what the pioneers of motor bicycling did. And it is nice to know that if it is too complicated for me, I can order a Whizzer sheave. I always have more time than money, however, so am reluctant to hand over my pitiful social security funds. Besides, making something out of nothing is great fun, akin to skipping school as a boy.
So, a little over 20 pounds for your engine. Not so bad. Is that including the gas tank and muffler? i don't know about you, but I have no plans for the pedals other than as foot rests and a way to be legal. Somewhat legal. Legal looking.
I was just about to throw away a couple of rims from moped wheels I robbed the hubs from in building new 26" rims for my project bike. I think now I'll hang on to them as possible sheaves. Quite stout. My wheels have 12 gauge spokes and drum brakes front and rear. Rims are 50's Schwinn. I wonder what the optimum diameter of a sheave should be. Anyone know? What diameter are Whizzer sheaves?
SB

What diameter are Whizzer sheaves?
SB
Hey SB. Whizzer pulleys are 15" or so.

msrfan said:

What diameter are Whizzer sheaves?
SB
Hey SB. Whizzer pulleys are 15" or so.

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Thank you. The moped rims I have are 16", so they might work for sheaves. Are you familiar with these Villiers engines?
SB

Hey Harry. I've used v belts on my bikes. Always wanted to use a flat leather belt for a vintage look. The 9 brackets holding the 20" wheel should be more than sufficient. I would definitely use 2 bolts per bracket. 26" wheels have at least 1 1/2" between spokes. I think brackets allowing 2 bolts each on 1" centers would be adequate. That way no twisting and plenty of strength. You weaken the rim if you countersink for flush head bolts. I would use dome head philips screws. Small bolts are plenty strong for this application. You might even consider Pop Rivets. They don't come loose and are available in many sizes and configurations. In any case, you're on the right track. Use heavy enough guage metal and try not to have them reach out too far. silverbear always has some great ideas.

Thank you. The moped rims I have are 16", so they might work for sheaves. Are you familiar with these Villiers engines?
SB
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16" would be a good size as you can always adjust your ratios with the other pulleys. I'm not familiar with Villiers engines. I just started looking at them because of this thread. They look awsome. Reminds me of the upright Maytag motors.

I've also had two blowouts this winter, both with vintage tires which looked great... like new. But they weren't new. As with cars, the tires age just sitting there even filled with air. No doubt they would have been fine for an old pedal cruiser creeping along at pedaling speeds, but not for a motorbike. Both times it was the rear tire which makes for a royal pain to switch out. No more old tires for me, cheap as I am. I have Fat Franks on one bike back home and two have new cream colored Electras purchased reasonably from Amazon. And I think from now on I'll use the super thick tubes for the rear wheels. I do not like flats, either, especially when two chains are involved.
Regarding your sheave. It occurred to me that your 20" one may be a bicycle wheel using a 20" tire. If the tire is 20". then the rim (pulley size) would be more like 16". At least here in the states bicycle wheels are measured including the tire. Moped wheels are described by rim diameter so that a 16" moped wheel is very close in size to the rim of a 20" bicycle wheel. Might be worth measuring to be sure for your calculations.
SB

Good call on the rim sizes, silverbear. That makes his rim closer to a Whizzer size than we first thought.

Got an email from the person selling the non whizzer, whizzer parts in Hong Kong.
It will be $24.50 Canadian to send the rim to where I live in Canada. I'm two blocks from the Pacific Ocean so I'm sure it is cheaper than on the other end of the country.

While Harry has been talking about the bike wheels and clips I've been thinking more about that being the way to go. Looks original and a lot more fun.
Given the concern about the belt slipping I was wondering if a coating of truck bed liner on the inside of the rim would help.
Brushed or sprayed it would close up the width of the rim a little so the belt would track a straighter line and have grip on all sides. The rivets or bolt heads would at least be covered and level on the drive pulley.

My thoughts on a sunny spring day anyway.

Steve.

Harry if you are going that route I'd glue an inflated inner tube into the rim and when it dried I'd cut the sides even with the rim and that would save you a lot of work and give you a neat job. Maybe leaving a bit of the cut off air valve sticking out would help with preventing the tube turning on the rim.
A heavy tube would be a bonus for longevity.

Steve.