Rebuilding The Man and The Machine.

truckd said:

Looks like you truley do have a year for Thanks Giving and especially to God, thanks! for not leaving God out of it.
Bike looks good and I really like the forks.

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Thanks the forks took some doing I had to cut the cup that holds the bearings off another frame and invert it so I could use the stock fork with the springer.the old one had a little bit longer stear tube.

I have 46 years I'me truley thankful for, this one maybe a bit more than others.

jbcruisin said:

Glad to hear how good you're doing. Hope you have a good Thanksgiving today. May the Good Lord continue to bless you & Lisa. Anxious to see you both here in August at the rally.
Jay

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Jay, Thanks Giving was great hope yours was too. Lisa says hello Thanks for the well wishes, It will be good to see you at the rally.

RusticoRay said:

Happy Thanksgiving, bike looks good. Your a positive example of being down but climbing back out. Lots of prayers for you and Lisa Peace Ray

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Thanks the prayers and kind words Ray, had a great thanks giving. hope yours was too.

dracothered said:

Keep praising God and he will keep healing you.

Even if he decides to stop healing me I'll Praise him..

Have a question about this picture.

Your copper exhaust, what way did you put it all together and did you do it with your last build the same way? How well does it hold up to the heat and vibration?

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Check my next post it will have the details on the exhaust. short answer is it held up well after 800 miles before the accident and it was the same setup. the long flex pipe is soldered to a straight pipe and then to the horn end. at the engine the copper goes over a short section of the stock pipe and is held on with a silicone sleeve and clamps

LabRat said:

Trax: Had a friend that had a rod in his femor when it was removed he had it drilled and he now uses it as a stainless steel piece pipe.
Putting that thing on your bike seems like a great idea!

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I still have my rod, I don't smoke but you got me thinking about what I might do with it if I ever have it out. I'm Going to post lost of updates soon see if you can spot the plate from my leg in the pictures......

Rebuilding The Exhaust -
The copper exhaust is made of 6 parts
1. The manifold is a 2 (aprox) inch section from the stock muffler
2. That is fitted into the flare(?name) at the end of a flexible copper pipe (used for hot water heaters)
3. A section of silicone tubing with a clamp on each end holds the section together and prevents any leakage.
4. A straight piece of copper tube is soldered to the other end of the flex-pipe and is secured to the frame
5. A brass horn (Old Christmas decoration) end is soldered to the end of the straight pipe the horn end has a threaded copper fitting in the end that lets me screw in a silencer or run it open
6. The silencer is made from the neck of a brass vase soldered to a threaded copper 3/4 to 1/2 coupler (the old silencer was just the reducer with an endcap attached with hole drilled in it but I like the way this one looks and sounds better.)
The old pipe - It held up well it had over 800 miles on it and had no leaks at the joints. the flex pipe bent around the frame during the impact so I had to unbend it to remove it(see pic). the horn end was squashed on one side so I had to hammer it out, I think it came out pretty good (IIMSSM).


The new pipe – soldered and ready for final fit.

The new pipe on the bike.

The new silencer.

Rebuilding The Gas Tank -
The new tank is all soldered up the new brass bung and cap look nice. I needed a way to attach it to the bike. The old one was attached with leather straps that were screwed into the frame. I didn't want to do it that way again because it was too hard to take it off if I needed too. What I came up with are these hold downs with the bottom part made of copper and leather straps on top that could be tightened or loosened to remove the tank. The old tank was salvaged to make parts for the tail pipe hangers and he parts I needed for the new tank hold downs. When it came to the straps , I didn't have any leather belts that were thin enough, Lisa had given me the one I used on the old tank and was not going to part with any more lol. So, after a bit of digging through the odds and ends box I found these (nylon?)straps. They were from a portable DVD player that you could strap to the headrest of a car so the kids could watch while you drove. we never used the straps so they were new in the box.
Here are the cut parts and strap that will make up the tank holder.

The strap is attached to the copper by rivets and the two parts of the holder are riveted too. The bottom loop is fasten with small bolts/nuts/washers I'm going to put a piece of rubber on the inside of metal parts so they don’t scratch the bike or that tank. This is a test of one of the straps on my old frame

The tank test fit with both holders/straps it's solid and I think it looks good.

More Work on the Machine - Putting it all together - Test Run
Well been busy building, I have the motor mounted and the crab installed (still working on a more permanent fix for the air cleaner right now I'm using a piece of heavy gutter drain screen over a rubber grommet). The new wheels and fork and disc break and handle bars are on the sprocket adapter and drive chain were next. Then the clutch cable and new throttle. The tailpipe is secure. new head/tail light (no directionals but they do both have a blink mode). I added an air horn this time because I had seen one at a rally and thought it was cool. need to tweak a few things still (I don't like the look of the air horn bottle, need to take it apart for paint and finish fitting, but I wanted to get it ready for a test run before it snows.
Test Run- the weather is not cooperating I don't want to run in the thick fog we are having right now but the snow did melt and today it's 50 out so... I filled the tank and it started right up (still need to put the filter and stopcock inline) . It was running all kinds of stupid till I figured out I had forgotten the gasket on the intake causing an air leak. After I put the gasket in it runs just like it used too, felt like old times. The sound with the new silencer is different but (sorry) just as loud. I was going up and down the driveway and around the lawn for about 15 min. I think I'm going to order a new rear sprocket it pulled fine on the flats but when i went up a hill on my lawn it bogged more then I'd like I don't mind pedaling but also don't want to kill the motor. I had been used to the shift kit starting off in 1st going to 3 for cursing and 7th for flats. before I had the shift kit I had the stock sprocket (42T) and it was just a bit to big for wot this one is a bit too small for hills (38T) going to try a 40T and or loose the 40lbs I put on during my downtime. Here are some pictures of the almost finished Rebuild

Last Two - In these pictures I Just finished the test ride and when I went in the house My daughter said I should look at my back in the bathroom mirror. I had a stripe of mud starting at my seat going all the way up my back. Good times I'm not sure if I'm going to put the fenders on it I kinda like the look of it without them maybe a shortened one in the back bobber style?... I'd also like to move the seat back, I have some ideas about doing that. I'll have lots of time over the winter to tweak it. that's 1/2 the fun for me. This bike(the old one) was the one I would always be working on for fun. I built two others Lisa's cruiser and my tall three speed that I don't touch (except for maintenance) that way we always have a bike to ride whenever we get the itch. Next year, we plan on doing as much riding as we can find time for. I have to make up for the lost 2012 miles Hope to see you all at a rally or ride or meetup in 2013.


P.S. I flipped the tail light mount after taking these pictures so the light now points up and is visible over the rear tire

dracothered said:

Ok two questions,
1. What kind of solder did you use to put it together?
2. Is the silencer providing your back pressure since it isn't a good idea to run an wide open exhaust on a two stroke engine?

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Thanks for the feedback,

1. BernzOmatic MetalWork
2. Yes, the opening is about 5mm If I unscrew the silencer its wide open and loud. I don't run it that way(for any length of time), but I wanted to be able to make adjustments to the size of the opening without having to take it all apart.

TRAX

goog said:

Looks good and fast too at a standstill.You should patent that muffler and call it The Little Big Horn.Would be nice to hear it.

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Thanks goog, The little big horn! LOL. That's a great name! If I have time before it snows again, I hope to post a video of it running.

dracothered said:

Who is the maker of the silicone tubing and where did you get it from?

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Dracothered, Not sure who manufacturers it, but Sick Bike Parts sells it. I used the 7/8 ID version (they also sell an 1in ID version) . It comes in 6 in lengths. Here's a link.

http://www.sickbikeparts.com/catalo...ucts_id=149&osCsid=ed9799bd66g1hsggi8216m92r5

TRAX

Merry Christmas Everyone!

More work on the Man - Been working on my gate and strengthening my legs, trying to get rid of the last of the limp. I'm back up to a brisk walk and have been able to make it to a jog a few times. I cant maintain it yet but it's a very good feeling. Goal now is to work up-to a jog over the winter and a run by spring. still holding off on the hardware removal on the left for now it's not causing any issues.

More work on the Machine - Had some nice weather the other day so I took the bike for 1st real test run on a back woods country road. link to video below. Idle needs work but, not bad for a 1st run. The one in the driveway/lawn didn't count (see if you can spot the steel plate from my knee on the bike)

1st test run Video

GearNut said:

I am glad to hear that you are doing very well! I hope that you continue to improve at this rate with no further complications.

Thanks GearNut thats the plan

The plate is attached to the kickstand?

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Good eyes, The plate is indeed attached to the kickstand. I was thinking of making an chain tensioner out of it but have decided that most likely I wont use one, so i figured since it was bolted to the side of my leg it would be fitting to have it bolted (strapped for now) to the bikes leg err kickstand. when I tried it out, I liked the way the curved part fit around the joint of the kickstand kinda like it was on my knee. I still have to sort out a better way to attach it without weakening the kisktand

truckd said:

That is one cool looking bike and Glad to know we still have ya around fer another Christmas !
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

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Thanks Truckd It is very good to be here.

goog said:

And merry Christmas to you.That pipe plays a mean tune,sounds good.I'am sure you'll get those legs running as well as you did the bike.

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Thanks goog, Sounds like music to my ears lol. The bike and I are both in the final stages of rebuild lol. we both work Ok but still need some tweaking to be called done, or at least to be moved from rebuilt to maintenance status.

goog said:

Where is that plate? Part of the derailleur chain guide?

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(see my answer to GearNut above about the plate short answer, on the kickstand)

jbcruisin said:

Merry Christmas to you & Lisa. Glad you and the bike are doing so good.
Jay

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Thanks Jay, our best to you and Bonnie.

dracothered said:

I think GearNut is correct where the plate is on the bike...

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dracothered - Yup he got it.

I have finished my Bike rebuild and my legs are getting stronger everyday. I have made it back to a jog and I can do a short burst of run my knee may never be able to sustain a run but I am very happy to be as mobile as I am. been doing a lot of bike riding (no motor) for leg work. Lisa and I have taken a few rides (motored) this year but Last weekend we went to our first rally since the rebuild of man and machine. We motorized bicycle riders are a friendly bunch and, the crowed at Jays rally was great as usual. I was greeted with hand shakes and hugs from old friends , and met some great new ones too. I have not felt so "normal" in almost two years as when I was back on the bike, being part of a group of motorized bicycles going down the road for a long ride. I didn't take "many" pictures or any video just enjoyed the riding, bikes, and meeting people. I did take a few Pictures that I 'm posting in the Rally thread.

I have one last thing to do before I close this thread and that is finish the ride to the coffee shop that I was on when I was struck. I'm not sure when that will be but I'll post pictue's and or video when I do it. Till then I would like to thank you all the support you have given me during my rebuild. it's great to be back!