Don't get me wrong, sure, there are people that take them out on weekends to get the cobwebs out of them and such, but I'm specifically talking about regular day to day riding of a 60k to 100+k motorcycle. Nobody is going to lock their first generation Harley or Indian to the bike rack while they go into work for the day or into the store for loaf of bread. The lock would be cut and the bike put in the back of a pick-up truck. The days of day to day ordinary utility riding of these old fantastic machines are gone, and that is where the replicas come it! All the fun and feel of the real thing without the huge expenditure of money! I love riding across town on good weather days to work on my faux Indian. It makes me actually look FORWARD to work! Lol! The coolest thing is I only have about $1700.00 in parts and supplies into mine. If the engine blows up one day I have a new second engine on my work bench waiting to be installed, and at $125.00 too. The economics of making your own retro 1st gen motorcycle copy are fantastic.
1911 Indian
- Thread starter cobrafreak
- Start date
Wow thats an awesome bike!!! i really enjoyed reading through you build on ratrods.... i saw your army bike! i am making a simple army bike http://motorbicycling.com/f42/dump-find-25729.html
.... check it out and tell me what you think... ps you are an amazing fab./builder!!! 2 thumbs way up!
.... check it out and tell me what you think... ps you are an amazing fab./builder!!! 2 thumbs way up!
Cool Chinese bike. You don't see those everyday for sure. Nice find. I like the brake system.
I wanted to compliment you on the thorough and well written thread on Ratrodbikes. Many great ideas and lots of using-what-you've-got solutions to problems. The result is a one of a kind head turner which is a tribute to those who came before us and a legacy for those who follow. Well done!
SB
SB
Great idea! Bet you could cover the CDI with copper or brass and it would look great. If you can find an old iron you could get the braided cloth cover. Wonder if you could find one of those old style bolt down spark plug wire ends?Two things I might recommend doing are either hiding the CDI box or building a more vintage shell to cover it, and putting an old braided cloth cover over the spark wire. Looks so good! My favorite part is the fake crankcase
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You read my mind. I'm currently looking in antique stores and garage sales for something to hide/cover the CDI. If I can't find anything I'll either cover it with brass or make something. I was going to wrap the spark plug wire with black cloth handlebar tape, just have not got around to doing it yet. The project really never ends. I find myself needing to take new pictures of it just to keep up with little things I have done. But it's fun.Two things I might recommend doing are either hiding the CDI box or building a more vintage shell to cover it, and putting an old braided cloth cover over the spark wire. Looks so good! My favorite part is the fake crankcase
I was thinking something like this for the plug wire http://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/images/products/large_736_cloth-plug-wire-by-the-foot-photo-1.jpg
http://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/images/products/large_736_cloth-plug-wire-by-the-foot-photo-1.jpgThat is good looking. I'll look into it. Thanks.I was thinking something like this for the plug wire
lots of neat toys
Brass Nuts & Nickel-Plated Ring Terminals for your Spark Plug Wires -
Cloth Covered Wire - sold by the foot - Assorted Colors Available -
Cloth Spark Plug Wire Sets Vintage Style - Assorted Colors Available - ngk spark plugs, performance spark plug wires, accel spark plug wires, plug wire, ngk spark plug caps, vintage spark plugs, harley davidson spark plugs, wire sets, atv spark plugs
Lowbrow Customs Possible copy and paste on this last one
Brass Nuts & Nickel-Plated Ring Terminals for your Spark Plug Wires -
Cloth Covered Wire - sold by the foot - Assorted Colors Available -
Cloth Spark Plug Wire Sets Vintage Style - Assorted Colors Available - ngk spark plugs, performance spark plug wires, accel spark plug wires, plug wire, ngk spark plug caps, vintage spark plugs, harley davidson spark plugs, wire sets, atv spark plugs
Lowbrow Customs Possible copy and paste on this last one
How's this? I whipped up this brass ignition box. I'm looking into the wire and terminals. In the reviews of the terminals it said "not recommended for electronic ignition, but points are ok".
Ok, I did some research into running CDI electronic ignition with old fashion ring terminals and here is a cut and paste:
At the moment the spark jumps the gap it causes a high frequency burst of energy, this is known as RFI (radio frequency interference). This is why resistor spark plugs were introduces in the mid 1960's. Placing a resistor within the spark plug suppresses the RFI. Without resistor plugs in your car you can experience static on your radio as well as interference with other sensitive electronic equipment. Some later model vehicles as well as newer Powersport engines must use resistor plugs for a proper "talkback" to the electronic ignition.
The lack of being able to run a spark plug resistor along with nut and ring terminals will cause the CDI to not work optimum. With the 2 stroke needing a plug firing every time the piston is TDC I don't think I could get away with it. Too bad because it would look cool.
At the moment the spark jumps the gap it causes a high frequency burst of energy, this is known as RFI (radio frequency interference). This is why resistor spark plugs were introduces in the mid 1960's. Placing a resistor within the spark plug suppresses the RFI. Without resistor plugs in your car you can experience static on your radio as well as interference with other sensitive electronic equipment. Some later model vehicles as well as newer Powersport engines must use resistor plugs for a proper "talkback" to the electronic ignition.
The lack of being able to run a spark plug resistor along with nut and ring terminals will cause the CDI to not work optimum. With the 2 stroke needing a plug firing every time the piston is TDC I don't think I could get away with it. Too bad because it would look cool.
If the braded cable is solid wire ,maybe you can add the clip on end to it for looks anyway.
I thought these motors were loaded with innerference when they ran anyway,so a solid connection from a spring clip would seem the same as your explanation above w/the wire screwed tight io the plug,unless the replacement plugs have a resister(in conclusion,I thought we ran a solid wire and connection now)
I thought these motors were loaded with innerference when they ran anyway,so a solid connection from a spring clip would seem the same as your explanation above w/the wire screwed tight io the plug,unless the replacement plugs have a resister
(in conclusion,I thought we ran a solid wire and connection now)The factory spark plug boot may have a resistor built into it. I don't know. I do now run a modern silicone/carbon plug wire with a slip-on boot that necessitates a plug resistor. Given the close proximity of the plug to the CDI box it would probably run bad. The only way to know for sure is for someone to test it out. Any takers?
Same for me I saw the pic and thought it was another Indian sported on the board trackers thread. LOL then I see the little happy time head sticking out. There is a lot of talent out there, I love looking at the neat stuff you all come up with. If we could just find a way to make them sound like an old tracker. Look at my Schwinn I did just a straight pipe to the rear, has its own sound, but pretty noisy. Thanks for sharing Cobra
http://motorbicycling.com/f15/egors-motorized-schwinn-234.html
http://motorbicycling.com/f15/egors-motorized-schwinn-234.html
This is a true work of art my friend. I watched the video and it is awesome!!! Thanks for sharing...very cool!!!