Electra Super Deluxe w/briggs flathead.

Hello, First off I I've been a member for awhile now but don't get on here hardly ever, mainly because I lean more toward Minibikes rather than motorized bicycles. My 1970 Rupp is what started the madness. But now I'm facing the new challenge of shoving a 206cc briggs in a Electra Super deluxe frame using the rat/bobber theme as a guideline.

The Bike:
I actually worked the bike off at a hobby shop last year, and it served as a nice rider for awhile, but lately it's been more a pain in my rear end than anything. So I've decided it's time for her to be rebuilt and motorized, Because my BMX leaf blower moped isn't the most reliable thing in the world.

The engine:
206cc Flathead, trimmed her eyebrows, cleaned up the ports, adding a 'custom' straight pipe, a Tecumseh h50 carb, and of course a billet rod for ease of mind. I just brought the block home from automotive class after a good thorough cleaning in the solvent tank to flush out the sludge and metal powder and when my new parts come in I'll start piecing her back together.



Drive:
Two direct drive pulleys (engine to jackshaft) with a suicide lever for increasing and decreasing belt tension (drive and neutral). Then the jackshaft can drive one of those whizzer belt style setups I see on a lotta bikes. YES I understand a centrifugal clutch is the easier way to do it and all, but I prefer to try new things.

Where I need help:
The main thing I need from you guys is to point me in the direction of parts. If you've ever had experience running the 206cc briggs you know that they can be pretty torquey. I have no problem riding something that's labeled as dangerous but if there's areas where improvement can be made I'd like to make it happen.

The main area I'm worried about is the forks, I'd really like to go with either the chopper triple tree or the springer front end for the overall look of it, but I've read stories of those springer falling apart after hitting a bump and I really don't know about the triple tree. I know you racing guys use mountain bike forks which are probably a lot more comfortable as well. However as much as I want the bike to be (somewhat) safe, I'd also like it to be as friendly to my wallet as possible.

Next thing I worry about is the wheels. currently I have a coaster break hub on the rear with a stripped out axle. Personally I absolutely hate coaster break hubs, I'm more of a fan of freewheel. But then there's also the bearings, how well do the original ones hold up? would I be better off running wheels that have the sealed bearings? and if so were could I find them without having to trade one of my limbs to have them?

Then there's the drive pulley that connects to the wheel, I've searched for a short while and I can't find them anywhere, is there a specific place that sells them?

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After all that is said and done I can finally start working on putting it together. thanks for putting up with the long read from a new member, I really look forward to this project.

and without further interruption here she is with the small powerhouse mocked up.

wow, that bike you built is absolutely beautiful! thanks a lot for pointing me in the right direction. Those whizzer forks would look awesome on the bike but they are a little too pricey for my liking. The Monark ones are more feasible I think. The sheave is pretty pricey too which makes sense since it's vintage. But I wonder.. I've seen people strap a 20" bicycle rim to their wheels and use that and I guess it works okay. It would be a little more convenient to me that way because I have a few 20" rims available to me. then I guess I gotta worry about finding the correct belt based on how it all ends up coming together. Also the tire thickness is a good point to bring up, I LOVE the look of thick tires but I don't have much room to be going any thicker than the electra originals which were 2.25 I think. I'm not too great at metal work so I'll go with a thinner tire before I build the frame around it but I'll see what I can get away with first. This build may be a little slow but I'm really set on getting it done, so stay tuned, I'll be roaring down the streets in no time.

ah I see what you mean, I've been having a great deal of trouble just trying to get the spokes out of the thing let alone mount it. I DID have a junk trike with 24"s that I could have used but my stepdad took it upon himself to put it out by the side of the road. So either way it looks like I'm gonna be buying something.

I've been going through my junk pile today and found a pulley that I can use as a driver, which means I just need to buy a few bits and pieces to make a functional jack-shaft, and the suicide shifter will come after that.. I'll have to do a little more homework before it becomes set in stone though.

I'm extremely excited about this project.

Got some more mockup pictures. the motor is sitting on template brackets I made up earlier today. I'm replacing the flimsy aluminum with some thicker steel for durability. The idea is simple, two L shaped beams with pipes between them to rest against the frame and studs going through the whole assembly with lock nuts to hold it all in place on each end. it should work out well theoretically.

The blue cover I originally got off of some briggs powered air blower thing.. I figure with some modification it would make a really cool chain guard. what do you guys think?

I have no idea what year it is... I'm pretty sure it's an older version of the electra super deluxe but I'm having trouble finding out what year. From what I did manage to dig up I'm pretty sure it's an early 2000's but I could be wrong.

here's some crappy weld photos. My camera is absolutely terrible so I tried to brighten them up a little better.





if the welds suck, couldn't I always go over them again and beef them up?

thanks guys, yeah I was considering just buying the sheave, crossing my fingers that it'll be the better option in the long run. I'm worried about the mounting of it though, I've been browsing through threads and someone on here didn't have much luck just simply bolting them to the spokes because after awhile it bends them up. so I probably have to figure out a way to weld it to the outside lip of the rim with some brackets. I've also come to realize that a sheave isn't going to directly fit my frame, I'm going to have to cut out the left rear of the frame and rework it to get the sheave to fit right.

as for the welds I think I'll just try it out as is, take 'er easy for awhile to see how everything works out. then if I encounter any problems I can worry about reworking everything then. I still may weld some extra plates in the frame for extra stability though, we'll see what happens.

I'm considering buying a cheap angle grinder today so I can work on getting the engine mounted. Then I'll work on getting a sheave put on my wheel, THEN get to work on a jackshaft to line everything up... tomorrow is the last day of school before break and that should give me a couple weeks to get some stuff done.

Spent most of the day today working on my mounting plate. I love my new angle grinder.

Plate is two L shaped steel plates with pipe in between them and the frame to act as a spacer, then two studs with lock nuts to hold it all together. I also put some cut outs of an old inner tube between each piece to help reduce some noise and vibration. total cost of the mounting plate was just above $10.

View of the bracket is from the bottom. The engine is squeezed so tightly in the frame that the whole assembly has to come off to get the engine out, and the engine has to be pulled to get the spark plug in or out. That's alright though, as long as she runs fine I'd prefer it to be compact and snug than have a lot of empty space.



and here it is in full view yet again with "template" engine mounted. This time with a fake tank from a Jesse James chopper bicycle. I plan to weld it shut and put a cap on it. the shape is almost exactly what I had in mind so it works out.



Next on the to do list is to get the drive system figured out. The added accessories are making my stock fork look pretty terrible.

headtrama said:

Are those bolts going through the frame ? You don't need rubber on your motor mounts , Make yourself a top motor mount as well and it wont vibrate.

Click to expand...

yes they are, and I figured I may as well just throw them on there for the heck of it. and thats a pretty good idea.

yeah, now that I think about it, that probably wasn't the best idea. I was more focused on keeping the motor still in the frame than frame stability at the time.

so there's no way of correcting it? Where is it that it would break from, somewhere along the edge of the hole in the frame? is it possible I could weld extra material on it to help prevent that? or is my frame totally and completely done for.

wish I woulda came across this before hand.
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=38354

been doing some research on the topic, it seems like the only possible way of getting away with the hole in the frame is to oversize it and weld a sleeve into it. But my motor is much bigger than the china kits so I assume that area needs to withstand a lot of abuse. I put a magnet to my frame and it stuck so I assume it's a steel frame. which makes welding easier because I don't have access to a TIG welder.

If I were to sleeve it, then add enough material to the area with the welding, would it be okay to run then? It's kind of a gamble because I have no way to stress test it besides riding it.

and if that's possible I may as well beef up all the welds while I'm at it.