My 15 minutes of fame!

[Maxvision]

This is a total ego trip. Hope you guys don't mind...

Have to give credit to this forum for my first 15 minutes of fame.

I built a motorized stretch cruiser a few years ago and thanks to this forum, whenever I do a google search for images of motorized stetch cruisers, the one I built is often one of the first 20 images.

So, just maybe, if I post a nice picture of the motorized bike I recently built in the board tracker style here. I might get another 15 minutes of fame...

So here it is. And thanks again to motorbicycling.com and all the members that have made it the best motorized bicycle forum in the WORLD!!!

 

[Tyler6357]

Nice bike!! Good Job Max!

 

[davidberg]

What a beauty! Great work, you do really deserve much more than 15 minutes of fame! Anyway -- just a silly question -- did you use different colored rims on purpose? Love the bent of the mufflers!

 

[Maxvision]

What a beauty! Great work, you do really deserve much more than 15 minutes of fame! Anyway -- just a silly question -- did you use different colored rims on purpose? Love the bent of the mufflers!

Heh...good eye!
Actually, I picked up a good deal on a used front wheel with a roller brake and haven't relaced it onto a black rim yet!

And thanks on the exhaust pipe. That too is still in the works. Picked up some 1" and 2" polished 16 ga. stainless tubing to use for the new muffler. The thin wall stainless is turning out to be a "biotch" to bend! Making some aluminum dies that "might" help keep it from kinking at the sharp bends.

 

[GearNut]

Have you tried packing the tubing tightly with sand? Duct tape one end closed. Fill it a little and tamp it down with a wooden dowel, fill it some more and tamp it down again. repeat as necessary. Fill and tamp it all the way full, until overflowing then tape the open end closed. Then do your bending. When done, remove the tape, pour the sand out and rinse clean with water.
That is an old trick that I have used successfully in the past.

 

[Ron344]

Very clean looking bike. I really like the proportion of the motor to the bike.

 

[chainmaker]

Have you tried packing the tubing tightly with sand? Duct tape one end closed. Fill it a little and tamp it down with a wooden dowel, fill it some more and tamp it down again. repeat as necessary. Fill and tamp it all the way full, until overflowing then tape the open end closed. Then do your bending. When done, remove the tape, pour the sand out and rinse clean with water.
That is an old trick that I have used successfully in the past.

Exactly like GN said works great and with this method you can usually use an emt bender

 

[Maxvision]

Very clean looking bike. I really like the proportion of the motor to the bike.

Yes, motor does look good. Got a lucky break when I found that motor. It's an older S5 Morini. Bought it for $75 and all it needed was a new clutch. Also got all the rest of the LEM LX-2, yes the whole motorcycle with it....GAWD I LOVE CRAIGSLIST!!!

Recently bought another LEM Motorcross for $100. Motor had a detached lead from the stator coil, other than that the motor was in excellent condition.

 

[2door]

Beautiful machine, Max. Great work and thank you for sharing it with us. And I agree with davidburg, you and the bike deserve much more than 15 minutes.

Tom

 

[Ron344]

Max I've been looking for another motor I sure wished could find a deal like that. I really like the china girl I have in my bike it seem to be getting stronger every day. I just put a pirate cycles head on it and it made a big diffrence, I haven't road it yet because it's too cold here. Nice bike.

 

[butchl]

How many horsepower is that Moroni engine?

 

[Maxvision]

Have you tried packing the tubing tightly with sand? Duct tape one end closed. Fill it a little and tamp it down with a wooden dowel, fill it some more and tamp it down again. repeat as necessary. Fill and tamp it all the way full, until overflowing then tape the open end closed. Then do your bending. When done, remove the tape, pour the sand out and rinse clean with water.
That is an old trick that I have used successfully in the past.

Oh yes, packing sand is a great way to go...even went one better, crimped one end of the tube and silver brazed a 3/4" pipe coupling on the other end, tamped the sand down real good and had enough in that when I screwed a pipe cap onto the coupling it crammed the sand in even better.

It's just that the stainless tubing I'm using has such a thin wall that there's not much to stetch on the outer curve for tight bends. Heating it red hot helps but still getting a little rippling on the tight 90's.

I guess I'll just have to deal with a little rippling. It will be on the underside of the tube so not really THAT noticable...

How many horsepower is that Moroni engine?

Intake port goes into the cylinder instead of the case so I think it's only a 3.5 hp.

P.S.
And thank you all for the wonderful compliments. I'm feeling all warm and gushy inside.

 

[txcycle]

Man that thing is sweet!!! Like the color!

 

[2door]

Max,
There is a product called Cero-Bend. I don't know where to find it but another member posted a link to it when I mentioned it some time ago. I have no idea where that thread is today.

Cero-Bend is a lead based alloy with a very low melting point, about 190 degrees F.
It can be melted in hot water then poured into the tubing and allowed to cool which only takes seconds in cold water.

What you have is essentially a solid metal rod that can be bent into a surprisingly small radius. Afterward the Cero product will melt and run out when the tubing is submerged in hot water leaving you with the bend, minus the kinks in the tubing.

I'll keep looking and you might do a little Internet research yourself for the product. I know that Cero is a manufactuer of copper fittings and tubing if that's any help.

Tom

EDIT: Just found this> http://www.csalloys.com/products-cerrobend-alloy.html?gclid=CKi05f_qyrQCFSFyQgod-2oATA

 

[silverbear]

Max,
That bike is a real beauty! Well done, sir.
SB

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

I'll keep looking and you might do a little Internet research yourself for the product. I know that Cero is a manufactuer of copper fittings and tubing if that's any help.

Tom

EDIT: Just found this> http://www.csalloys.com/products-cerrobend-alloy.html?gclid=CKi05f_qyrQCFSFyQgod-2oATA

here is another one.
http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/LowMeltingPoint158ALLOY.htm

 

[skitchfish]

Hey! I've seen that pic before! Ha!Ha! No, not really but I bet I will in the future. Beautiful bike and a very worthy landscape background for it.

 

[2door]

here is another one.
http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/LowMeltingPoint158ALLOY.htm

That's the stuff.
I first saw it used in an Air Force aircraft rebuild facility. I watched how it worked and was amazed at the small radius bends that were being done to steel tubing for hydraulic lines on aircraft.
They had it in a big vat of hot water. The technician would submerge the tubing in it then hold his thumb over one end while lifting the tubing out of the cerrobend then submerge it in a tank of cold water. The tubing was then bent and when that process was complete the tubing was again submerged in the hot water and the alloy would flow out, not sticking to the tubing and left a perfectly bent tube, no kinks or wrinkles.

Tom

 

[Maxvision]

Max,
There is a product called Cero-Bend.

SaWEEET!

Another really great thing about this forum is that every time I come here, I go to bed smarter than when I woke up!

 

[\./]

great build!!!

i saw your add for it on craigslist; how come your selling it?

 

[Maxvision]

great build!!!

i saw your add for it on craigslist; how come your selling it?

Well, If I could get the $3200 I was asking I'd sell it ya.
But was more of an effort to see if I'd get any bites.
I got 2. 1 Nigerian email scam and another guy who wanted to trade me a 1952 Hiyawatha bike with engine and some cash.

I sent the second guy to Pirate Cycles to the Sportsman frame for $2400...