Old Guys Simplex moto-peddle bike

[indian22]

Old Guys been puttering about with his bikes & also got 'round to ordering 40' of D.O.M. 1" round tube for the side car frame & other ongoing projects...pricey stuff!

I also ordered in the stainless 1", 316 marine tube fittings for the "alligator gar car" as a part of it's boat design. I think the hack will integrate well with the Simplex Copper Gator design. I'll be using bolting, coupling, brazing & welding to hold it all together.

Lots going on but not much to show at this point. Rick C.

 

[PeteMcP]

Glad to hear progress is being made with your side hack plans. Don't suppose your stainless marine fittings are Bimini brand? I've used several of those in the past. Great items - and not just limited to being used on boats..

 

[PeteMcP]

Rick,
I value your experience and opinion, so let me bounce something off you.
'Bout 6 months ago, one of my eBay searches threw up one of those 'you might also like' items which I stored in the back of my mind thinking it might be something I might find a use for further down the line.
Check out the attached pic showing various pipe/tube fittings known as 'lean tube' (?!) - whatever that might be. Available in both 25mm anmd 28mm diameter. Presumably intended for a racking system - but I thought they might be useful for quickly knocking-up a sidecar frame. Once everything checked out and aligned ok, the tube/fitting joints could be permanently welded. Discuss....

 

[indian22]

Pete these would indeed be of value for inital fit up & those "What if I just try this?" moments. I also use the "creative stare" process that Silver Bear introduced in his wonderful posts. These joints would certainly aid during design & are a really good idea. Sure beats magnets, clamps and duct tape.

The marine couplers aren't the Bimini brand, but similar & run the boating gambit from the various stanchions, rail joints, pipe caps, elbows & angles etc. They're also an aid to fit up & serve well as design tools. They are easily positioned and have set screws to positively hold each position. 316 SS welds well, to SS and carbon steel...it also brazes and flows well, being quite quite strong when brazed (70,000 lbs. with the proper technique, rod and flux ) though excessive heat should be avoided or the chromium content of the SS can be effected, thus allowing corrosion at the weld. Truth is I just like the way they look, a proper nautical flair for a modest land yacht.

Rick C.

 

[indian22]

Ike must be carrying a light academic load at each University.

 

[indian22]

My sincere thanks, staff for taking out the garbage!

 

[curtisfox]

WOW! all them fittings are Kool. I have been gone, and am back for a short time befroe i go again. Looked up stainless 1", 316 marine tube fittings, and am sure i will be ordering some soon. Can't wait to see more progress on your build. and get back on some of mine......Curt

 

[indian22]

WOW! all them fittings are Kool. I have been gone, and am back for a short time befroe i go again. Looked up stainless 1", 316 marine tube fittings, and am sure i will be ordering some soon. Can't wait to see more progress on your build. and get back on some of mine......Curt

Thanks Curt & have missed you're input. I've included a photo of the couplers attached to 1" tube, they are also commonly available in 7/8" size. Not shown are the tube to plate fittings that are available in square & round bolt down base plates, with the fixed tube angled at 30, 45, 60 or 90 degrees (fixed not adjustable angles) these are the only angle I've spotted on marine fittings. It's easy to imagine how one might use these in fabrication work as a part of the design or just mock up of frames.& third hand tools for welding.

As to progress (that's such an interesting concept) I've accomplished some, although it's mostly of the negative variety, resulting in my now certain knowledge of what not to do again. That admission is painful enough without posting photos as proof positive. Laughing at ones mistakes is an excellent colonic medication, but still the taste is bitter as h#*!.

Rick C.

 

[curtisfox]

Ya! i know, when in dought use wood, then roast marshmallow with the mistakes after your are done. LOL They are sure nice looking fittings, awesome for setup, and design like you say.

Sorta been down as went to visit my brother in Ca and a week after i got home he passed on to heaven, best place for him though as he had Parkinson's. Just so glad i got to visit with him when i did...........Curt

 

[PeteMcP]

Sorry 'bout your brother Curt. Bet both he and you appreciated your timely visit.
Welcome back to the forum....

 

[curtisfox]

Thanks Pete ! The best part was i brought my sister along, she hadn't seen him for 10 years.

Glad to be back, but what happened to everyone else, forum is so dead.

 

[indian22]

You did a good thing Curt, not only with the visit, but by taking your sister along as well. I'm certain this will aid in closure process.

Some of the projects are in late stage completion It's actual wait for paint to dry and assemble etc. Others are probably still trying to complete Spring chores that in many areas were pushed back by an extended Winter. I'm into exterior and interior remodels and repairs added to the normal home upkeep & lawn work. I'm also carving out some time each day for early rides & that's been great as well. Eventually get back to the fun projects. Rick C.

 

[curtisfox]

Thanks Rick! Flying next week for a week, for his service, so my yard work will be all summer doing. I am suppose to be doing a small addition on my bedroom, that too will be all summer. Going to putts with the bike some as my engine is on the work bench and it is a mess, after the lake sale. .....Curt

 

[indian22]

Seems every thing, mainly electrical, chose this spring and summer to die & that includes computers, printer, router and phones & I'm just now getting all to work together in harmony after major upgrades to all.

Seems the forum hasn't been very active during my absence, but hope that will soon pickup pace. I've been riding everyday but no building outside of home modifications and repairs....Rick C.

 

[curtisfox]

Welcome back, was think about you, now i know what has happened, LOL

I have been doing the same here, work on the yard and outside............Curt

 

[fasteddy]

That is an expensive summer. Things have be quiet here. I wonder how Pete McP. is doing with his move.

We've had an incredible summer on the Wet Coast. Temperatures in the upper 80's and low 90's where I live and no rain for weeks. Usually it's low to mid 70's.
It's all about to return to normal in the next week.

Steve.

 

[PeteMcP]

Still occasionally watching from the wings Steve. Forum's been quiet - but I log-in when I get e-mail notifications telling me build threads I'm following have been updated.
House move to Spain is temporarily stalled awaiting a Court of Protection emergency application enabling me to become a 'Deputy' and act on wife Jen's behalf when signing-off the house sale. Never did get round to obtaining a Lasting Power of Attorney prior to Jen losing mental capacity, so now we do it the hard - and more expensive - way. July's moving deadline came and went so now we're aiming for sometime in late September. No biggie.
House contents, or at least what remains of them after selling off a bunch of stuff, is all boxed-up and good to go - including my crated-up bikes. If I could be bothered, I'd unpack Build No. 3 and do some more work on her, but I've been too lazy to do much more than enjoy the 2 month long record hot summer we're happily enduring here in the UK.
Optimistically looking forward to a time when us old'uns get to building again....

 

[indian22]

Good to hear back from you guys. Hope things pick up soon for all of us.

Pete I was hoping for an update from Espana. Legal issues are like beavers that live in the stream of life just to dam it up. Rick C.

 

[fasteddy]

Hello Pete,

As Rick put it the legal beavers can build a fine damn and then charge you as they see fit to remove it at their leisure. Enjoy the fine summer. You deserve it.

Steve.

 

[PeteMcP]

Been a year of extremes weather-wise. Seems like we jumped from freezing our asses off courtesy of the Beast from the East straight into an unexpected - but more than welcome - Spring/Summer heatwave. From what I see and read, seems like this has been a worldwide phenomenon. Kinda glad we didn't make it to Spain in July as planned. Saw yesterday it hit 47 degrees in Portugal and central Spain. That's waaay out of our comfort zone.