I made sure to junk the fenders as soon as I put my new Cranbrook together. The metal is so thin I could bend it together with my hands!
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If you bolt something that vibrates really badly onto something that was never designed to accept continuous vibration, parts will fall off. Metal will disintegrate. Just ask old Harley guys...
And those bikes were designed for vibration. Not well, the new ones are much better I am told.
Another reason I went electric. Zero vibration. No parts fall off. I don't fall off either -
Yeah Baby!
You think electric is too expensive? Consider the cost of hospital time.
Heal up 2 door, the newbies need you.
And those bikes were designed for vibration. Not well, the new ones are much better I am told.
Another reason I went electric. Zero vibration. No parts fall off. I don't fall off either -
Yeah Baby! You think electric is too expensive? Consider the cost of hospital time.
Heal up 2 door, the newbies need you.
("You think electric is too expensive? Consider the cost of hospital time".)
Yeah Mike, I kinda gotta agree with ya. Electric is better in a lot of way's. But the one big thing, And to me it's a deal breaker, Is distance. Sometimes I go on rides of 40 or 50 miles. This 4th of july a few of us have a ride going in San Jose thats gonna be a short one in comparison, 25 to 35 miles. MOST electrics have a range of 30 miles at best, with the last third of that loosing power. You COULD carry extra batteries, But those things, the good ones anyway, Are REAL expensive.
And yer REAL RIGHT about hospital time, (If ya live through the crash.) But I NEVER WILL trust a factory fender mount again as long as I live. On my front fender, NO struts, Just a STEEL BRACKET going through the fender with a grade 8 bolt to cinch it up. If THAT gives way then the fender simply falls off and won't swing under my wheel and get stuck. On my rear fender there are two STEEL BRACKETS, Going through the fender and cinched with grade 8. I'm thinking about adding a third steel bracket to the rear after hearing about 2door's debacle.
But electric just wouldn't work for me right now. Perhaps when I get too old to ride 60 miles in a day and just want to ride to the store and back. Till then, I'm a gasser all the way.
fatdaddy.
And, OH YEAH. I do a safety check before EVERY ride. I have a list,(don't have to look at it anymore, got it memorized,) And checking the fenders and mounts are included.
Yeah Mike, I kinda gotta agree with ya. Electric is better in a lot of way's. But the one big thing, And to me it's a deal breaker, Is distance. Sometimes I go on rides of 40 or 50 miles. This 4th of july a few of us have a ride going in San Jose thats gonna be a short one in comparison, 25 to 35 miles. MOST electrics have a range of 30 miles at best, with the last third of that loosing power. You COULD carry extra batteries, But those things, the good ones anyway, Are REAL expensive.
And yer REAL RIGHT about hospital time, (If ya live through the crash.) But I NEVER WILL trust a factory fender mount again as long as I live. On my front fender, NO struts, Just a STEEL BRACKET going through the fender with a grade 8 bolt to cinch it up. If THAT gives way then the fender simply falls off and won't swing under my wheel and get stuck. On my rear fender there are two STEEL BRACKETS, Going through the fender and cinched with grade 8. I'm thinking about adding a third steel bracket to the rear after hearing about 2door's debacle.
But electric just wouldn't work for me right now. Perhaps when I get too old to ride 60 miles in a day and just want to ride to the store and back. Till then, I'm a gasser all the way.
fatdaddy.
And, OH YEAH. I do a safety check before EVERY ride. I have a list,(don't have to look at it anymore, got it memorized,) And checking the fenders and mounts are included.
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Tom , I'm very sorry to hear about your crash. Hope you heal up alright , this is so true about getting hurt in your older years.
Best wishes
Joe
Best wishes
Joe
Wow, that's a real drag Tom. I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you.
You telling us about this is hopefully going to help a great many people in the future, because we all have so much respect for your motorized bicycle fabricating skill, and advise. Your warning should carry the weight of a thousand noobs.
Lessons we've hopefully learned from your experience,
20 mph is plenty fast enough to get hurt.
Fenders are very tricky to make dependable.
Wear protective clothing.
Accidents happen when you least expect them.
Even without fenders there's a thousand other ways to get in trouble on a motor bicycle.
Everyone knows a motorcycle can be dangerous, but a lot of people think that because it's just a little motor bicycle it's more safe. That's dead wrong. A motor bicycle is just as dangerous as any other motorized cycle. Possibly more so depending on the skill of the builder. So many with little experience are obsessed to do 40, and even 50 mph, without any thought about their bicycle not being designed for that kind of speed.
If this can happen to Tom, it can happen to anybody. I hope you heal quickly Tom.
You telling us about this is hopefully going to help a great many people in the future, because we all have so much respect for your motorized bicycle fabricating skill, and advise. Your warning should carry the weight of a thousand noobs.
Lessons we've hopefully learned from your experience,
20 mph is plenty fast enough to get hurt.
Fenders are very tricky to make dependable.
Wear protective clothing.
Accidents happen when you least expect them.
Even without fenders there's a thousand other ways to get in trouble on a motor bicycle.
Everyone knows a motorcycle can be dangerous, but a lot of people think that because it's just a little motor bicycle it's more safe. That's dead wrong. A motor bicycle is just as dangerous as any other motorized cycle. Possibly more so depending on the skill of the builder. So many with little experience are obsessed to do 40, and even 50 mph, without any thought about their bicycle not being designed for that kind of speed.
If this can happen to Tom, it can happen to anybody. I hope you heal quickly Tom.
I think a motor bicycle is 2-3x more dangerous than a motorcycle, it presents all these awkawrd moments with cars and mechanical failure that don't happen with normal motorcycles that are regularly maintained.
Before somebody sez "My bike is reliable as a Rolex", better go out to the garage and nut and bolt it and while you're at it solidly knock on some wood, you're in uncharted territory.
Before somebody sez "My bike is reliable as a Rolex", better go out to the garage and nut and bolt it and while you're at it solidly knock on some wood, you're in uncharted territory.
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Agreed, bicycles arent designed to maintain the speeds these motors are capable of, sure it may last thousands of miles but without proper care and maintenance it's only an accident waiting to happen. Sure there are many ways to increase the length of time before something goes wrong: use a sprocket hub adapter, solid mounting techniques, vibration reduction, etc. But in the end, it's still not designed for constant high speeds. Sure you may be able to hit 100kph (With a good motor, idk if a china girl will ever do that) but what that does to your bike in the unseen or hard-to-detect world, such as bearing wear, frame stress, vibration failures, can end badly. But... in the end, the best thing you can do is brush it off, prepare more carefully and do everything you can to ensure your own (and possibly others) safety. After all, I think the worst mistake a newbie can make is getting on one of these and never expecting anything bad to happen, I imagine everyone on this forum expects it one day, even if it turns out to be minor. If I were to have a crash at 50-60kph, yeah I'd be sketchy, but I dont think that would ever stop my need for speed.
My best advice. On the front fender get rid of the strut/brace that attaches to the axle. This thing, when the top bracket gives loose, allows the fender to spin under the tire and HOLDS it there TIGHT. This is the front fender ski trip that is trying to kill us. All I have on my front fender is the top bracket that I remade out of heavy steel. I don't think it will break. But if it does all thats gonna happen is my fender falls off. it WONT get stuck under my tire.
A long time ago I noticed my rear fender tabs, ( their not really BRACKETS, are they,) Were starting to crack through. I also remade those out of real steel and am thinking about adding a third steel bracket after hearing about 2door's wreck. REAL STEEL and REAL BOLTS I think is the answer.
fatdaddy.
A long time ago I noticed my rear fender tabs, ( their not really BRACKETS, are they,) Were starting to crack through. I also remade those out of real steel and am thinking about adding a third steel bracket after hearing about 2door's wreck. REAL STEEL and REAL BOLTS I think is the answer.
fatdaddy.
Good news. No surgery, but I will be wearing this stupid leg brace for a few weeks.
Thanks for the concern and kind words guys. It could easily have been much worse so I'm lucky in many respects.
My neighbor pointed out a funny irony yesterday. I have a sign in my garage that says, "If hot rods were meant to have fenders, you wouldn't have to bolt them on"
I prefer fenderless cars. Guess I should have applied that maxim to my bikes as well.
Have fun and please, ride safe.
Tom
Thanks for the concern and kind words guys. It could easily have been much worse so I'm lucky in many respects.
My neighbor pointed out a funny irony yesterday. I have a sign in my garage that says, "If hot rods were meant to have fenders, you wouldn't have to bolt them on"
I prefer fenderless cars. Guess I should have applied that maxim to my bikes as well.
Have fun and please, ride safe.
Tom
I decided to remove the fenders from the Whizzer. I must say though the nuts and bolts I had threadlocked were a pain to remove. Now they are hanging on my workshop wall.
If nothing else at least I can refinish them before (if I ever do) reinstall them.
If nothing else at least I can refinish them before (if I ever do) reinstall them.
Thanks again guys for the kind words and support.
I'm mending but not as fast as I'd like. I'm done with that uncomfortable leg brace and just using a knee supporter. I go in tomorrow for another CT scan to make sure everything is healing and still lined up like its supposed to be.
Haven't touched the bike except to remove the clutch lever that broke my knee. Too bad I'm mising all this great riding weather. Winter is coming all too fast and it will be another long one I'm sure.
Everyone ride safe and check those fasteners often. Just don't over tighten them
Tom
I'm mending but not as fast as I'd like. I'm done with that uncomfortable leg brace and just using a knee supporter. I go in tomorrow for another CT scan to make sure everything is healing and still lined up like its supposed to be.
Haven't touched the bike except to remove the clutch lever that broke my knee. Too bad I'm mising all this great riding weather. Winter is coming all too fast and it will be another long one I'm sure.
Everyone ride safe and check those fasteners often. Just don't over tighten them
Tom
Thanks again guys for the kind words and support.
I'm mending but not as fast as I'd like. I'm done with that uncomfortable leg brace and just using a knee supporter. I go in tomorrow for another CT scan to make sure everything is healing and still lined up like its supposed to be.
Haven't touched the bike except to remove the clutch lever that broke my knee. Too bad I'm mising all this great riding weather. Winter is coming all too fast and it will be another long one I'm sure.
Everyone ride safe and check those fasteners often. Just don't over tighten them
Tom
Good to hear that things are moving along. You haven't been missing too many big cruises. I managed to recruit my friend Mark, my brother, and his friend and got them in to motorized bicycles. Will moved to Seattle. So just the four of us have been riding lately. Pretty fun, but I sure do miss riding when there is 10 or more.
Keep in touch
Frank
Im a little late but I hope your knee healed well!
Cosmetically speaking I started my bike build based on having fenders. I was going to re-enforce them but Im not sure its worth the risk. Today I took a little different route and wound up in a construction zone next to a bridge. I was doing a pretty good clip but there was a truck behind me that couldn't pass because the road was so tight and Im thinking man I sure hope my bike doesn't rattle apart right now, if I go down that driver probably drives right over me!
Take care,
Dan.
Cosmetically speaking I started my bike build based on having fenders. I was going to re-enforce them but Im not sure its worth the risk. Today I took a little different route and wound up in a construction zone next to a bridge. I was doing a pretty good clip but there was a truck behind me that couldn't pass because the road was so tight and Im thinking man I sure hope my bike doesn't rattle apart right now, if I go down that driver probably drives right over me!
Take care,
Dan.
Just got home from visit with the bone doctor. Xray shows the fracture is healing, but slow. That's due in part to my age but at least it's healing. 12 weeks since the crash and I still haven't ridden a bike. The doc says I can but he warned me that any hard twist of my knee wouldn't be good. I don't need that but I do want to make the Sept.29motorcycle rally that saw over 3000 bikes last year.
I've been doing normal stuff like taking my dogs for walks and mowing the lawn with no pain or problems. I'm not limping either so that's a plus. Even my wife is encouraging me to ride again and maybe I'll give it go this weekend. I'll be taking it real easy though, at least until I feel comfortable on a bike again. Wish me luck.
Tom
I've been doing normal stuff like taking my dogs for walks and mowing the lawn with no pain or problems. I'm not limping either so that's a plus. Even my wife is encouraging me to ride again and maybe I'll give it go this weekend. I'll be taking it real easy though, at least until I feel comfortable on a bike again. Wish me luck.
Tom
good luck tom!
i've been putting my moped around the neighborhood but haven't taken my bike at all. mostly 'cause i don't like the bike...
i've been putting my moped around the neighborhood but haven't taken my bike at all. mostly 'cause i don't like the bike...
