AMF Cruiser for motor project

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MotorNut123

New Member
Aug 31, 2010
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New York
That's a nice bike. And you will like the hobby. It's fun and before you know it you'll be putting aftermarket parts and all that good stuff on it! Good luck!!
 

darkhawk22

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
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Acworth, GA
I made it up out of PVC, if it works then great if not then I'll go with Copper. It's sealed internally with the Blue PVC glue and seal all on all the joints. Outer shell is sealed with JB Weld and Seal All. Then there are three coats of flat black Plastic Paint from Rustoleum, then three coats of Wagon Red, then two coats of clear. So far it's only been tested to be air tight. The trick will be to see how well it holds up to Gas/oil mixture.
 

fishguts

New Member
Sep 7, 2010
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southeastern MA
I made it up out of PVC, if it works then great if not then I'll go with Copper. It's sealed internally with the Blue PVC glue and seal all on all the joints. Outer shell is sealed with JB Weld and Seal All. Then there are three coats of flat black Plastic Paint from Rustoleum, then three coats of Wagon Red, then two coats of clear. So far it's only been tested to be air tight. The trick will be to see how well it holds up to Gas/oil mixture.

That's intriguing ... what did you use for a filler/cap? And where did you get PVC sheet stock?

Nice job!
 

darkhawk22

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
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Acworth, GA
The filler came from Home Depot it's a brass fitting and a hose adapter cap with tubing nipple for my vent cable. I still have to adapt the bottom fitting, I'll probably pick that up this weekend. I will run a tube from the tank to the Glass bowl filter that I purchased at NAPA, part number is listed somewhere in the forums.

The sheet stock for the PVC can be purchase from several places on the net but I used pieces cut from a Washing machine pan from Home Depot, manufacturer lists the material as PVC. It could swell or even disintegrate, who knows at this point, I thought it would be worth a try.
 

darkhawk22

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
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Acworth, GA
My Dual brake and throttle assembly arrived yesterday. I had a heck of a time getting my grip on the throttle after getting the not-so-good smelling rubber ones off. Then I filed down the small nub inside the retainer piece as it fits plenty tight without having to drill my handlebars. I've gotten the brake cables attached at the moment and I'm reworking the push button kill switch as the quality isn't that great. In the mean time I purchased it here:

Dual Brake Twist Throttle Kit - $19.99

And this is a picture of the assembly:
 

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Don P

Member
Sep 1, 2010
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indiana
Hi all seams like there are a lot of AMF cruiser fans in here.
i worked in the AMF Olney IL plant, from 1981 to 1986.

here is some pic of a WESTERN FLYER BICYCLE made by AMF Olney plant.

not shure of the year late 70 early 80. i pixed this up saturday at a yard sale $15. dance1
 

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Dan

Staff
May 25, 2008
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Moosylvania
Nice score Don! Can fit a whole lot o' engine on that bad boy.

Just a thought and forgive me, but would look awesome with springer forks. Could get crazy an' do an inframe tank. Prtty much what ever you do with her, gonna be a sweet MB.
Just realized you had not said if you were going to put an engine on her.

Man, never find cool old cruisers out my way.
 

Don P

Member
Sep 1, 2010
234
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16
indiana
Dan yes its going to get a HF 2.5hp Greyhound engine. in frame tank. disk brakes front and rear. i am thinking all belt drive too and ect, ect, ect.lol. and be for everyone get a bent out of shape it will be licensed and insured as a motorcycle. I don't need no stinking fines!!!!!
 

darkhawk22

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
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Acworth, GA
Motor kit arrived! I rummaged through all the parts and everything seems to be there. I've started mounting the sprocket and so far I'm not having much luck. Using the two rubber rings with sprocket facing toward the spokes doesn't work (too wide) and sprocket mounted with only one rubber ring on back and facing toward the spokes doesn't work (chain won't clear the spokes). Lastly, I'll try the sprocket with one ring facing away from the spokes. Wish me luck. If all else fails I'll order a manic adapter.
 

darkhawk22

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
733
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Acworth, GA
Finally got the sprocket mounted and with enough clearance to make everything fit. Next up was the motor mounting which went very well. The motor fit into the frame with the existing mounting hardware perfectly. Then came the clutch. That didn't engage so easily. It seems very tight and the clutch lever has to be pulled very hard to get the clutch to engage fully. Any tips on this? Pics to follow soon.
 

MotorNut123

New Member
Aug 31, 2010
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New York
My clutch was like that when I first put it on also. It will loosen up over time. Mine seems to have loosened up pretty well but I re adjusted mine the the other day and it's stiff again. I guess it just depends what happens over time! Can't wait to see pics!
 

darkhawk22

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
733
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Acworth, GA
Latest photo of my build. I still have some tweaking to do and the fuel line needs to be added from the tank to the carb. but other than that it seems to be almost there. I purchased some oil last night and will try to get the fittings today or this weekend sometime for the fuel line. I'll probably get those from advance auto or NAPA.
 

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Don P

Member
Sep 1, 2010
234
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16
indiana
Hi darkhawk22
that is a real nice clean job you have done on this piece of American history. We don't make any thing here anymore!



good job, hope my Western Flyer (made by AMF) comes our as nice as yours! thanks for sharing your bicycle with us.
 

darkhawk22

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
733
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Acworth, GA
Put some gas in her earlier and found out I didn't seal the bottom tank fitting that well. Oh well I can always touch that up a bit, just not sure I want to keep it in the garage for now unless I empty out the tank. It fired up but took a few tries. Also, I found out my back rim even though it's true is off a bit in the radius as the bike pulses i'm guessing due to the rim or it could the slack in the chain. It's trial and error but it's getting there. The first ride went pretty well overall.
 

darkhawk22

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
733
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Acworth, GA
These bikes are a blast! I took the bike out for about four more short rides on Sunday. The back of the tank is leaking a bit at the seam so I guess more JB weld for now and an order in for some copper sheeting to make one up out of copper. In the mean time i'll ride it like it is. I can see how a better air filter and exhaust could make an improvement on things as I can feel the engine trying to go a bit faster but it's being prohibited or baffled a bit if that makes sense? I'll probably add an expansion chamber muffler and a filter soon.
 

MotorNut123

New Member
Aug 31, 2010
220
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New York
The expansion chamber and filter will make it nice. U could also put a cns carb on it instead of the filter. And also a billet intake to match the ports.