So it begins. A quest to build a BTR.
The Motivation: Don't own a Car, Quick & Efficient Transportation, the awesome history these bikes have, and a drive to build something that has speed and style!
The Inspiration: A Passion for Engineering, the satisfaction of setting out to build something and then looking at the finished product when completed, and the feeling of going 100mph on a Motorcycle (Yes, I am shooting for a top end of 100mph)
The Budget: $2000.00
My Resources: My College Apartment (the workshop), Internet, Adobe & Autodesk Software, AutoCAD Lab, 3D Printer, and a 44" Plotter.
Experience: No Motorcycle Experience, Jr. in undergraduate Engineering Degree, No Fabricating Experience.
Where I currently sit in my journey to the BTR.....
The physical inspiration for my build comes from two BTRs and a Flat Track racer. The first is the Flying Merkel from Joseph Merkel's 'Merkel-Light Motorcycle Company'. The key elements I wanted to take from this bike was the style and rigidity of the front end along with the interesting contour of the gas tank with a sharp angle in the center of it. The second bike is the Rudge 'Bitsa' Bike built by french artist Jean-Claude Barrois. The bike is a take off a french brand called Soyer from the 1920s. The 'Bitsa' bike has smooth lines on the upper half of the frame and seems to transition well from the frame to the wheels. I really wanted to take the seemingly proportional frame-wheel figure the 'Bitsa' bike had to keep the bike on the smaller side. In other words, I wanted a bike that would sit very low and racer like. The third bike is actually a bike that user: Lurker: built called the Cobra Cycles Flat Track Racer. I really liked the way he built his bike in terms of how tight everything seemed to be from the front fork through the engine and rear wheel.
So after figuring where my inspiration was coming from I printed out as many different pictures as I could of these bikes and stuck them all over my apartment. Whenever I was home I stared at the features that I like the most in these bikes and thought of a way to incorporate them into one bike. I then began putting things together.
After about 2.5 months I had my final 2D drawing finished in illustrator. I scaled everything up using a wheelbase of 52" and a Wheel size of 28" and printed it on a plotter to-scale. I pasted that on my wall.
Where I am now: I am almost done with a 3D render of my bike using Autodesk 3Ds Max Design Software. I am currently stuck on making the seat...I had to teach myself the software and its getting harder to find videos on youtube. However, once I am done I hope to mask all the pieces together and take advantage of one of the 3D printers that is open to the public on campus an print my bike in 3D to observe proportionality and precision thus far in my design.
I have also begun to develop a parts list for my bike and even purchased the first part for my build! A Puch Peugeot Rear Hub w/sealed bearings 36H. The ETB(Estimated time of Build) is July 2013, so between now and then I hope to acquire parts here and there.
Engine: I want to use a modded GX200 (or Clone) package from NR racing. I calculated the theoretical top-speed and energy lost to friction and found that if I tune the engine to around 18+ HP (Roughly 7500 RPM output) I could reach 100mph, sacrificing torque a little bit. I am still hoping to find an original V-Twin though...barn find? Long shot...
Wheels: This is were I need some input. I am definitely going with Coker Firestone Tires 28 OD x 2.5 Cross Section (Speed Rated), and I know I am going to take a hit on price, thats why I'm considering a Unicycle Double Walled 42mm x 622 mm Rim...(still contemplating speed factors : ) ) which are roughly $75.00...I have done a lot of the tire size-wheel calculations and it might work...just wondering about speed.......
I will post as much information as I go along, I will probably be making a blog to cover the build as well, once I actually begin to obtain a lot more parts/go into fabrication.
The Motivation: Don't own a Car, Quick & Efficient Transportation, the awesome history these bikes have, and a drive to build something that has speed and style!
The Inspiration: A Passion for Engineering, the satisfaction of setting out to build something and then looking at the finished product when completed, and the feeling of going 100mph on a Motorcycle (Yes, I am shooting for a top end of 100mph)
The Budget: $2000.00
My Resources: My College Apartment (the workshop), Internet, Adobe & Autodesk Software, AutoCAD Lab, 3D Printer, and a 44" Plotter.
Experience: No Motorcycle Experience, Jr. in undergraduate Engineering Degree, No Fabricating Experience.
Where I currently sit in my journey to the BTR.....
The physical inspiration for my build comes from two BTRs and a Flat Track racer. The first is the Flying Merkel from Joseph Merkel's 'Merkel-Light Motorcycle Company'. The key elements I wanted to take from this bike was the style and rigidity of the front end along with the interesting contour of the gas tank with a sharp angle in the center of it. The second bike is the Rudge 'Bitsa' Bike built by french artist Jean-Claude Barrois. The bike is a take off a french brand called Soyer from the 1920s. The 'Bitsa' bike has smooth lines on the upper half of the frame and seems to transition well from the frame to the wheels. I really wanted to take the seemingly proportional frame-wheel figure the 'Bitsa' bike had to keep the bike on the smaller side. In other words, I wanted a bike that would sit very low and racer like. The third bike is actually a bike that user: Lurker: built called the Cobra Cycles Flat Track Racer. I really liked the way he built his bike in terms of how tight everything seemed to be from the front fork through the engine and rear wheel.
So after figuring where my inspiration was coming from I printed out as many different pictures as I could of these bikes and stuck them all over my apartment. Whenever I was home I stared at the features that I like the most in these bikes and thought of a way to incorporate them into one bike. I then began putting things together.
After about 2.5 months I had my final 2D drawing finished in illustrator. I scaled everything up using a wheelbase of 52" and a Wheel size of 28" and printed it on a plotter to-scale. I pasted that on my wall.
Where I am now: I am almost done with a 3D render of my bike using Autodesk 3Ds Max Design Software. I am currently stuck on making the seat...I had to teach myself the software and its getting harder to find videos on youtube. However, once I am done I hope to mask all the pieces together and take advantage of one of the 3D printers that is open to the public on campus an print my bike in 3D to observe proportionality and precision thus far in my design.
I have also begun to develop a parts list for my bike and even purchased the first part for my build! A Puch Peugeot Rear Hub w/sealed bearings 36H. The ETB(Estimated time of Build) is July 2013, so between now and then I hope to acquire parts here and there.
Engine: I want to use a modded GX200 (or Clone) package from NR racing. I calculated the theoretical top-speed and energy lost to friction and found that if I tune the engine to around 18+ HP (Roughly 7500 RPM output) I could reach 100mph, sacrificing torque a little bit. I am still hoping to find an original V-Twin though...barn find? Long shot...
Wheels: This is were I need some input. I am definitely going with Coker Firestone Tires 28 OD x 2.5 Cross Section (Speed Rated), and I know I am going to take a hit on price, thats why I'm considering a Unicycle Double Walled 42mm x 622 mm Rim...(still contemplating speed factors : ) ) which are roughly $75.00...I have done a lot of the tire size-wheel calculations and it might work...just wondering about speed.......
I will post as much information as I go along, I will probably be making a blog to cover the build as well, once I actually begin to obtain a lot more parts/go into fabrication.
Last edited:
Good luck