Bonneville Flyer, chassis number four

[itchybird]

After a fine 80 mile ride, I end up in the truck back to camp. To say I was bummed was an understatement. I was running my race motor for the event, that's my big valve, large port head all chewed up. My pride was a bit chewed up too, but I'll get over that.

Pat's bike ran hard the whole ride, he made the entire 90 mile ride with zero trouble. Up until the dropped valve, my bike was doing great too. I had a loose bolt on my rear brake lever that I tightened up at the lunch stop, but otherwise the bike was doing fine. No hint of the trouble that was to come.

 

[JohnThomas Sorrels]

Bummer, but it looks like you still had a good time. Are the larger valves aftermarket or from a larger engine?

 

[itchybird]

We run aftermarket stainless valves in our motors. You can get them in every size from stock (24mm/25mm) up to the giant 32mm monsters that some folks run and all the big retailers sell them in large qty's.

I have built quite a few of these motors and normally we don't have any valve train problems at all. We run chromoly pushrods, after market rockers, automotive style retainers and keepers and good quality valve springs. The weak link in the highly modified motors is typically main bearing failure but even after impact, the bottom end spins free and easy.

There were no signs of excess heat, the keepers were still intact on the broken stem and even though we had run the bikes hard up to the lunch stop, we were not beating on the bikes at all. I never over-reved my motor and for most of the ride, I was rolling at around 45 mph or so, which is a cake walk for these motors.

I haven't torn down the bottom end yet, but bore still looked fresh, and the piston was free and had no signs of heat. The valve train was well oiled, and the broken valve stem slipped out of the guide smooth and easy. Nothing to suggest there were contributing factors to the failure.

 

[itchybird]

You guys do such nice work. I love the classy cruiser!
SB

Thanks! The bike was well received, everyone else liked the cruiser too and I got lots of compliments on the bike. The bike was super comfortable, even for such a long ride. I braced the fenders well and the bike was 100% rattle free. It felt well balanced and well sorted and was super smooth.

The tires we run inspire confidence and the upgraded front brakes worked great. Its nice to have a cruiser in the stable.

 

[sportscarpat]

Hey Rich,
Seeing how well you built that engine and the fact that you rode fairly conservative, I would guess that valve failure was just a fluke. Could be there was a very minor imperfection that over time weakened the valve till failure. I would guess as we push these GX engines further we will see other failures. At the least we should try a different brand valve on the rebuild. I need the tooth count on your rear sprocket so I can figure out your average engine rpm at 45 to 50 mph. Without a tach or speedo you really don't know what rpm your spinning. Also, at comparable speeds you were running a higher rpm than I was as my bike is geared taller. Think about it, you were 10 miles or less from the finish so even a slightly smaller sprocket would have carried you to the end. I hope I don't drop a valve in the next 10 miles!

 

[sportscarpat]

Now, from my perspective, field notes from our 90 mile ride at the Delta Whizz-in.

1. No matter how fast your bike is, save the engine. If it breaks your done.
2. Constantly check EVERYTHING every time you stop. That means at least look at all your fasteners, your frame, your tires, everything.
3. If you feel any vibration developing, then pull over and see what it is. It's not going to get better by itself.
4. Check your oil at all rest stops. I would see guys engines smoking and oil covering their bikes. Gee, I wounder where it came from?
5. Get a handle on vibration and oil control. We rubber isolate our engines and run catch cans. Slow down and find the sweet spot, then cruise.
6. ANYTHING can happen. A crack in a critical component, a missing bolt, anything. Even a broken exhaust valve!

What I did right:
1. Checked the oil.
2. Checked the bike.
3. Safety wired critical bolts. Intake, exhaust, drive components.
4. Geared my bike for top end to keep the rpm's down.

What I did wrong:
1. Let my wife ride the bike. She is a good rider, she also took off and ran it up over 60 mph for long stretches!
2. Raced ANYBODY that wanted a piece of me. Even a PUMPED overhead valve Whizzer engine can't touch a GX powered machine. These bikes are fast!


Spring Whizz-in 2013 by Sportsman Flyer, on Flickr

 

[chainmaker]

Sorry about the bad luck on the ride. I bet it was fun while it lasted.

 

[truckd]

Dig that dampner,heres one

 

[itchybird]

Sorry about the bad luck on the ride. I bet it was fun while it lasted.

Yep, it's a fun ride, we do it every year -twice actually.

The bike is already back on the road, running my GX140 street motor now. I can feel the loss of cc's on the bottom end, mostly in off-the-line performance. At speed though, this little motor really runs pretty well. And now that it's back on the road, I realize I just need to tear it all back apart for paint.

The electric start which gave me a little trouble on the ride is working perfectly now and it is so nice! I need to post a little video to show it off.

I tried out copper gaskets for the head and exhaust on my race motor and I am done with them. Both had leaks on a brand new motor that was carefully assembled. I used the good stock Honda gaskets on my street motor and it's clean and absolutely leak free -the way it should be with a new motor.

I still need to wire up the lights and do a few little tweaks here and there. I will put some miles on the bike over the next few weekends, do my final tweaks then tear it down for paint.

 

[itchybird]

Dig that dampner,heres one

That's a sweet lookin' ride Truckd, you get credit for digging deep into the vaults for classic old pictures. The guys building those old bikes were leading the charge in innovative new ideas. Funny that we're looking 100 years into the past for 'old' ideas. Pat's 'new' dampener is a perfect example, sure his is cut on a laser, but it's old tech and works great.

 

[truckd]

I don't know if you've checked out my new build? "Black Jack"its a tribute to a 1914 Shaw Motobike,they had a reputation similar to the Reading Standard when it came to durability but the style of the bike is beautiful and its right out of the thick of the motoized revolution of the early 1900's.
I do alot of research and try to get my bikes as period correct as possible so even if a guy who knows what they are can't tell the difference (other then the engine LOL!) in fact there was a guy who restores these types of bikes and he actually thought it was the Indian two stroke.
I like yer bike and hope that you keep it period correct as far as looks go.

 

[itchybird]

I haven't spent much time on the forum lately, but I did peek in on your build thread, you are definitely holding true to the vintage style of the era you are recreating. I have a couple pre-war framesets, one of which is very similar to bikes you posted on your thread. Mine is pedal power all the way though, still hanging in the garage waiting to be finished out.

 

[truckd]

Next week I'll be going to see a friend of my Dads who he says has a garage full of bikes from the 20's & 30's that he'll be selling because he's getting to old to do the restoration on them, so we'll see what he has.
I have a 1916 Cleeve frame and it is in perfect shape,a 1970 Shwinn Varsity & Colligiate these will get restored as Peddlers (some bikes you just don't put an engine in and besides I have to have something to ride with the Ol' Lady I bought her a 1969 KHS with left hand side Sturmey Archer 3 spd, up graded just a bit for her,Ya know bigger seat and wider handle bars.
Here is a pic of the Cleeve,I was going to do a sex change on it and make a board tracker but just can't bring myself to do it.

 

[itchybird]

Just thought I'd blow the dust of my build thread and update you all on my build. I tore the bike down for some much needed color. The frame, forks and some of the small bits off to the powder coater for a nice coat of gloss black.

So glad I went with the gloss, it has a real nice shine to it.

 

[itchybird]

The basic frame assy went together pretty quick.

 

[itchybird]

Then throw the wheels on and she's a roller. The satin rims with the black hubs look good against the gloss black frame.

 

[truckd]

Is that a front fork stabilizer? and are you planning on braking any previous speed records ? LOL!

Nice job!

 

[itchybird]

The bike continues to go in two directions, it's a cruiser and a boardie. For the cruiser dress, I went with super wide black cruiser bars. The bars are a nice satin black which compliment the wheels. I bought a matching neck which looks good color wise, but style wise it's a bit funky. Nonetheless, the wide bars really feel good.

The bike sitting on the deck with my Morini powered racer and another project bike thats getting a Whizzer motor.

 

[itchybird]

...and then for the boardie it's all business. A pair of Pat's boardie bars cut narrow give it a nice mean appearance. The bike is a full roller at this point, motor is in, cables and chains installed, all I need are a set of tins and I am good to go.

I decided to go with paint instead of powder for the tank and fenders. As is typically the case, the paint shop is a bit behind schedule. That's my GX140 street motor in the frame.

 

[itchybird]

oops, here is that pic