trials and tribulations of first build

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daydrifter

Member
Apr 14, 2013
32
0
6
banning, ca
Hello everyone , just wanted to drop in and meet other enthusiast of motorized bicycles. I built a micargi puma motorbike, with 144 spoke rims, I kinda went a little overboard on this project as I do with most of my projects. I wanted to inlay leds into the sides of the tank with an emblem. So I decided to make my own tank out of fiberglass. It took quite a bit of time and the end result was great. I made sure to line the tank with kbs systems liner so the gas wouldn't eat the fiberglass. However, my gas cap didn't vent correctly and ended up seeping through the liner from the pressure. I was pissed and had to scrap the tank. Ended up going with a sportster tank such I am actually pretty happy with. I ran all the wiring through the frame for the lights and horn, almost blew myself up when the hot grounded to the frame under the gas tank. So I changed that and ran it outside with heatshrink. The frame and wheels are a whole other story. Widened the frame for chain clearance. Mounting the sprocket was a pain, but after many trials and thanks too a little determination, lots of welding, loctite, jb weld and zipties, I fiinally got it dialed in. I have attached pics of some of my progress and the final result. Thanks for looking
 

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daydrifter

Member
Apr 14, 2013
32
0
6
banning, ca
Dealing with the 144 spoke rims was fun, but I had just enough clearance to get some holes drilled through the hub flange. I used a disc brake rotor adapter and drilled my own holes in the kit sprocket. However the flange broke so I had to take off all the spokes and weld it back on. Here are some pics with the fiberglass tank on it with the inlayed leds.
 

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daydrifter

Member
Apr 14, 2013
32
0
6
banning, ca
And this is the final result with the sportster tank. Kinda bummed the gas cap did'nt vent because the leds were badass. But I'm still happy with the sportster tank, and now I don't have to worry. Still the new tank looked funny with the cruiser bars so I made some Z apes that turned out awesome and put in a honda goldwing headlight to match. Everything is all good. I have ridden this thing about 50 or 60 miles so far and no major problems lately. All dialed in. Thanks for looking.
 

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2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
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Littleton, Colorado
Welcome aboard. Nice looking bike. Thanks for joining us and sharing your build.

I did a glass tank but I glassed over foam that housed a steel tank and carved the foam to shape before the glass. That way I didn't have to worry about the ability of the glass to hold fuel.
Too bad yours leaked. It would have looked good but the Sportster tank looks right at home.

Tom