first crack at it, going for that btr style

zolson88 · Jul 14, 2013

really like the look of the early motorcycles and ive been creeping around on this site on collecting parts for a while now and now I finally have it all together. I don't have any welding experience or anything so I did the best I could without. all in all I like it and had fun building it and theres still more id like to do with it, different kickstand, rear fender and maybe later on make er a four stroke.

silverbear · Jul 14, 2013

Looks good, especially for a first build. Welcome to the forum!
SB

chainmaker · Jul 15, 2013

That bike looks great, like SB said especially for a 1st build. The tank is fantastic. What type of frame is that, is there a bar removed?

zolson88 · Jul 15, 2013

thanks. the frame is from a firestone cruiser, I got it at a flea market for $10 fork was bent, wheels bent, and one of the arching tubes that ran from the seat post towards the front was broken off from the front and bent so I just cut em both off. felt it really changed the look of the bike.

Tinsmith · Jul 15, 2013

Looks good, how does it run?
Dan

bigbutterbean · Jul 15, 2013

Yeah, it looks great! On the subject of switching to a 4 stroke, you will love it when you do. I recently went from a kit to a 98cc minibike engine, and I love my 4 stroke. Keep up the good work, though!

zolson88 · Jul 15, 2013

runs good but I did run into a snag with my engine mounts, engine moves and causes the chain to pop off and when I went to tighten it the thread just stripped out. I replaced all my bolts and fasteners but neglected the engine mount studs. so ill be doing that in the next few days

fasteddy · Jul 16, 2013

First rate looking bike Sir. Excellent build for a first attempt.

Steve.

hsvmick · Jul 16, 2013

i like how you have transformed your bike ,what kind of frame is that one and you better be careful if you live in OHIO,and leave it in your barn ,mike wolf will find that one .nice build and happy bicycling .wee.

Ron344 · Jul 16, 2013

Nice looking bike I really like the tank it looks like it belongs on it, keep up the good work.

chainmaker · Jul 16, 2013

hsvmick said:
i like how you have transformed your bike ,what kind of frame is that one and you better be careful if you live in OHIO,and leave it in your barn ,mike wolf will find that one .nice build and happy bicycling

Mike Wolf, that's funny! One of my Fav shows.

darkhawk22 · Jul 16, 2013

Nice work, I like it! Creative way to mount the tank, if you ever want to change it around and remove the wood piece, there are some hanger brackets at Home Depot that can be used to mount the tank. Also, I like that seat!

atombikes · Jul 18, 2013

Cool build.

Question: It looks like you used iron pipe for your layback seatpost? Is that correct? If so, genious! 3/4" IPS is about .050" over 1" dia, so do you have some odd seatpost size?

edit: I found 1/2" IPS that is 0.84" OD; that could be shimmed I suppose.

silverbear · Jul 18, 2013

atombikes said:
Cool build.

Question: It looks like you used iron pipe for your layback seatpost? Is that correct? If so, genious! 3/4" IPS is about .050" over 1" dia, so do you have some odd seatpost size?

edit: I found 1/2" IPS that is 0.84" OD; that could be shimmed I suppose.

Cast iron pipe, eh? I'll have give some thought to this. On my Indian Hiawatha build I used a Worksman frame and wanted to use a vintage L shaped post from the 1940's as a kind of "lay back" seat post. The problem was that the post was a smaller diameter than what the modern frame wanted. So I made shims out of copper water pipe slit vertically and used enough of them to make it tight when the seat post was clamped down tight. Perhaps the same thing could be done with the water pipe. I wonder how strong it is.
SB

zolson88 · Jul 18, 2013

I was proud of how cheaply I made that... I didnt bother measuring, I just found some old threaded gas pipe I had and a 90 degree elbow... it seems to hold tight. ill try to remember to measure it next time im tinkering on it

zolson88 · Jul 19, 2013

just measured the pipe it has a 7/8 od

atombikes · Jul 19, 2013

zolson88 said:
just measured the pipe it has a 7/8 od

OK, so that makes good sense- a 7/8" OD pipe will fit nicely inside a 1" tube that is.062" thickness.

So the question is: where did this pipe come from? What size is it specifically? And does it seem to flex at all? I suppose the iron pipe could have a super thick wall on it.

I am intrigued by what seems like a super-easy, yet overlooked way to make a layback seatpost.

zolson88 · Jul 24, 2013

well the pipe came in a bin with a bunch of other stuff we got from clearing out my grandpas house.... he used to do some plumbing and stuff so I just figured it was some kinda standard gas pipe. I haven't noticed any flex, the pipe and elbow are pretty heavy

zolson88 · Jul 24, 2013

did quick research and found the 3/4 steel pipe has an id of .75 and an od of .87 (7/8)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Mueller-...-Steel-Pipe-584-1200HC/100540481#.UfBxmIfD_IU

silverbear · Jul 24, 2013

zolson88 said:
well the pipe came in a bin with a bunch of other stuff we got from clearing out my grandpas house.... he used to do some plumbing and stuff so I just figured it was some kinda standard gas pipe. I haven't noticed any flex, the pipe and elbow are pretty heavy

Are we talking about cast iron water pipe? Sometimes it is also used for long or outdoor runs for propane.
SB

first crack at it, going for that btr style

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