My first motorized bicycle build (straight bar Schwinn)

Hi everyone!

New guy here. So it begins, my first MB build. I have been into restoring all things old and USA made for a long time. I decided the next bike I "do up" is going to have a motor! The board track style has always caught my eye so that is what I am going for. Since everyone loves pictures I thought I would share some of the bikes I have already fixed up for my little ones ...

Before....


After.....


Before....


After...

Before...

After....

This is a picture of my first "real" bike I did up for myself, a 1950 DX (still not done)....

I was almost going to motorize that DX but I decided to go the straight bar route instead.
This is what I will be starting with (already has a locking fork!!!)..

Here is a badge from another straight bar that I think I might use on this build, the bike it came off of still has about 10 coats of red barn paint on it..

Already have some cool things to share with what I did with the seat (an old Messenger springer) I will have to post later...
I feel glad to have a forum such as this to learn and share all this cool stuff!
BSG..

Re: My first MB build (straight bar Schwinn)

Thanks Harry!

By the way, the pictures of the start look pretty good from a far but are far from a good, no collectors pieces were harmed on this build. The bike from the start had a fender and fork alone that came from at least 3 different bikes in that picture. The frame and back fender from at least two different bikes. So it was already a work to start with. I actually was going to use another straight bar (barn paint) but that one has the earlier integrated kick stand. I was only looking for an old style schwinn springer fork when I found this bike. So it came with "the fork" but I decided to use the frame also because the kick stand can be unbolted and it makes for a better look and a better way to mount a rear fender if I do. I am looking to have a rear wheel stand anyhow.

So here is a picture of where she is now....


Not so sure about the bobbed fender YET? Comments are most welcome...

BTW...I already emailed SC Pat, those straight bar tanks he makes....I am beyond words!

My strategy is just to keep adding parts together till she runs like a rat bast@rd then tear it back apart and paint and such. This could take a while given the time and $$ available. Might not even get a power plant till income tax return time??

I will explain the seat mounting in another post..

Re: My first MB build (straight bar Schwinn)

Harry,
Sorry my good camera is busted so these are from my cell. If you click on the pictures they will get slightly bigger. The frame is a dull green (factory) with almost black green touch ups all over. The fork is a bluish metallic green from a different bike. The locking yolk that keep the front forks together is red. The chain guard is dark blue LOL. I have thought about keeping and running with the green frame color but it is worse than it looks in the pictures. One nice thing about a re-paint is that everything matches in the end. If I went with the factory green and cream color I would have two colors to match. I have actually been thinking of the same Schwinn graphics but a beige and cream color scheme. I painted those graphics on the black DX in the pic above. Maybe anything silver or chrome normally would be flat black when done? Still waiting to see what she has to say...BTW I threw a quick thin coat of green on that back fender just to help my mind's eye see better LOL...

I will probably still distress the finish once it is all done.. hoping by next summer.

Curt,
I have always had a soft spot for those 60s trikes with the big front fenders. Murray made a lot of em. They are all ball bearing unlike the stuff sold today. The trikes they sell today are disposable! The one with the chrome front fender was blasted and powder coated. The wheels/bearings were acid dipped then powder coated. Putting those NOS tires back on those rims is one of the hardest things I have every tried to do!

Re: My first MB build (straight bar Schwinn)

Hey thanks Pat! I have already spoke with you via email about your straight bar tanks. I hope to be on the list soon enough! About that paint, I hope some close pictures in this next post will tell a better tale....on with the seat!

Re: My first MB build (straight bar Schwinn)

In this post I will detail my seat modifications for this build. Some of these pictures I hope will explain why I want to re-paint LOL... For my build I want the seat to be as far back and as low as possible while still appearing natural and normal looking. It seems like a lot of guys in order to get their seat low they end up with it tilted so they are always falling off the back of the seat! Comfort is still a big priority on this build as well. So this is how I hope to have overcome the above challenges. Some might think this is a little involved for "just the seat" but I think the position of the seat can really make or break the total look and attitude of the BTR style...

I started with an old school Messenger brand seat. I like this style because they are made up of two pans. The top pan can be upholstered and wrapped/glued under, then it goes over the top of the bottom pan without any sewing and you bend the three tabs back and bingo! a brand new seat!

I started out by figuring the best angle to miter the seat post, I then used a chop saw for the cut, dressed it up a little, then busted out the old tombstone Lincoln buzz box. I hate to say it but it seems like I am better at grinding than I am at welding!
In this picture (clamped and ready for sparks)

Done!

Re: My first MB build (straight bar Schwinn)

To get the whole setup even lower I cut a little (half inch) off the top of the seat tube. I actually cut a little too much and had to also notch out the bottom of my clamp. I actually like how the clamp looks and the fit of the frame. I will talk about the fasteners used later...


Most of the the seats this style involve two rails that go from each back spring and bend in towards the front spring where they are attached. After some looking and experimentation I I found that there was a lot of room to work with on this seats hardware and discovered that I could actually get the seat rails to cover even the seat clamp. I thought I was really smart for this idea until I went to do it for real and actually used a bolt/nut to hold the clamp tight! No go, the rails hit the nut, but it had to work, I took off to the hardware store in search of the right "T" nut and a low profile button head allen screw.

If you don't know "T" nuts, click...
McMaster-Carr

I took a BFH and pounded the two seat rails straight. In this next picture, see how the front spring is slotted which allows the two rails to be extended (I swear these seats were made us BTRs). I used a spring I cut down for a cool looking spacer in front but I am going to end up hiding a better spacer inside that spring.


Then just slide the seat on...


Then push it down ON THE FRAME, and all the way back against the seat post, and tighten the back clamp. Then tighten the rails up in front, they actually will grab and hold pretty good on the seat clamp, I think this should help distribute the riders weight better across the whole seat instead of all the weight being at the complete back of the seat post.



I have taken a few test rides and she rides out like a nice comfy soft tail!

Thanks for reading and sharing my efforts with me...

Re: My first MB build (straight bar Schwinn)

I know it is summer time but for some reason I cant stop looking at this...



I thought some of you guys would get a kick out of it!

Re: My first MB build (straight bar Schwinn)

Oh...I almost forgot, it is a boat motor!

Re: My first MB build (straight bar Schwinn)

Thanks Chainmaker! Not sure on the motor yet, I got a lot of time on that...no $$$ right now..

That one in your sig sure turned out nice!

I have been wondering if anyone has ever used a chainsaw motor from a pro grade saw, maybe an 066 or an 086 (120cc) stihl, tons of tourque and rpms to boot!

Re: My first MB build (straight bar Schwinn)

chainmaker said:

The straightbar Schwinns make for a nice MB !! I like how its looking very cool. Are you going 2 stroke or 4 ?

Click to expand...

2 stroke VS 4 stroke....

Hmmm...

I gotta say I am leaning really hard at 4 stroke now?

Here is a picture of that same motor about a mile off of the Erie shores (hard water)..



Now I'm thinking out loud here but I think this might work somehow... comments?...

I might even try an "all USA build"??

Does anyone make a "cut your own width" 3 piece crank set?