Picked up a Nexus 3-speed bell crank and shifter yesterday......will probably use 3-speed Rapid-Fire LH shifter that originally came on this bike, rather than the RH Revo-shifter that came the bell crank assembly.
New tandem build, from the old tandem.....
- Thread starter scotto-
- Start date
Excuse me scotto. I just finished a nice bowl of chili, 3 pieces of russle stover candy and two cups of taster's choice cofee for breakfast. I have a little bit of a stomach ache with headache, I don't know what's up with these headaches. I want to go out for about 5 hours on my golden eagle before my wife returns from work. The headache slows me down. I'm probably about your age with less than 1/10th your knowledge and experience. Your new tandem build is good looking. I think it has a lot of: power, reliability and comfort. How does it handle? Scotto I'm just asking because I don't know: does the new tandem build require a bracket from that 2'' round tube (off the middle of the rear seat tube) to the "u" shaped piece of steel on the back of the gear box that covers the 10 tooth output sprocket to stabilize the torque the engine exerts on the gearbox? I think you have done an excellent job of combining engine and bicycle to build something that gives us a sense of freedom hitting the open road. If it's appropriate for me to say: I think EZM is an excellent company and is blessed to have you and many others as dealers. Thankyou scotto.
Those are good questions Zean....as far as the handling goes, I don't know yet as I/we haven't ridden it yet as it is still not ready. As soon as I get the rear 22t final drive cog I will let you know.
As far as the bracket you have suggested, that's a very good idea and I may need to fabricate one if indeed I think it needs one. In one of the previous pics you can see a bracket that goes from the "U" shaped bearing carrier to the cylinderhead where the original muffler braket was attatched. This will help in a similar way, but we shall see if more support is needed. Thanks for watching and your observations....
Cheers,
scotto-
take an Excedrin and ride brother!
Well then, for the most part I finished the re-build of the Black Beast.....what's left to do besides ride it? Just need to install the 22t final drive cog on the Nexus hub (as you can see by the slack drive chain in the pics) and finish the exhaust system and that's about it. Here's more pics with working brakes, working 3-speed hub and throttle cable (all cables operable) ready to go.
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still some more to come.....
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still some more to come.....
And I must thank BarelyAWake for pointing me in the direction of these old Suzuki forks for the build here....they're perfect for the tandem, just need to find some rubber boots to cover the springs.
Don't hafta thank me fer your own inventiveness lol, I jus' passed along some email spam
Defo a really really impressive build man, can't wait ta see a few vids of it in action
The parts came in today and I finished the build. Finished the exhaust system with the stock muffler attached for street use and it converts to straight pipe for racing. Used two 22t cogs doubled for the final drive cog to fit the #41 chain better......works well. Took it for the maiden voyage today and everything is working great so far.....the 3-speed shift is awesome! Have a look at the Beast.....
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YouTube - Black Beast.wmv‏
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YouTube - Black Beast.wmv‏
Fine tuned the Beast today, putting on some finishing touches and dialing things in. Wrapped the pipe as well to keep from getting burned and looking to make a few alloy guards to keep feet out of the drive train....stuff like that. Some pics....
Pat's gonna finally get to ride this bike tomorrow....I'm sure he will be STOKED!
Pat's gonna finally get to ride this bike tomorrow....I'm sure he will be STOKED!
This is a great Post. When I see all of this post I think of how a person could take a cross country trip with this tandem. Only question I have is. What about the Cops. Lets say you are going 30 mph on this baby safely and There are the red lights. Is it a bicycle or a Motorcycle with no plates and registration?
I do like everything you did.
Thanks for Sharing.
T
I do like everything you did.
Thanks for Sharing.
T
Thanks T......it's definetely a bicycle and a motorized one at that by all definitions. With the muffler installed it is so quiet that the cops aren't likely to even notice you......you could put a rack and paniers, tow a trailer and put a passenger on-board and cruise cross-country with ease on this bike.
And as for the handling Zean, beautiful! Any bad characteristics it had with this engine mounted on the rack in back have diminished.....it is solid and balanced with no flex in the frame now and sticks to the road like glue with those 24" rims and tires. Great riding solo or with a stoker on the back,,,,a big improvement.
What an Odyssey this build has been... well done, my friend.
I also am enjoying the Suzuki fork and have not done anything with adding oil. It seems fine as it is and I love the way it looks. I have a question for you.
I have mine on my 50 Panther and was going to use a Sturmey Archer hubbed wheel up front with the drum brake. I got stopped in my tracks when I saw that the axle and bearings were somehow press fit and I had no idea how they are supposed to come apart... how do you do that? And where did you get the longer axle? I'm only familiar with old stuff, so used a tired Worksman front wheel with an axle I'm more familiar with... nuts and cone nuts and ball bearings... and got helped out by a forum member with the longer axle.
I have a spare Suzuki fork that I don't yet have plans for, but it will go on something special and I'd like for it to have the Sturmey Archer hub with the built in dynamo for lights. So I need to know about this modern pressed bearing stuff. Must be a special tool for that.
Bonus question. Do the forks come apart easily so that you can fit the extended axle in there without a struggle? I didn't take mine apart on the Panther and still have some tweaking to do on the spacers.
Great build, Scotto, and good luck racing. Stay safe, both of you guys.
SB
I also am enjoying the Suzuki fork and have not done anything with adding oil. It seems fine as it is and I love the way it looks. I have a question for you.
I have mine on my 50 Panther and was going to use a Sturmey Archer hubbed wheel up front with the drum brake. I got stopped in my tracks when I saw that the axle and bearings were somehow press fit and I had no idea how they are supposed to come apart... how do you do that? And where did you get the longer axle? I'm only familiar with old stuff, so used a tired Worksman front wheel with an axle I'm more familiar with... nuts and cone nuts and ball bearings... and got helped out by a forum member with the longer axle.
I have a spare Suzuki fork that I don't yet have plans for, but it will go on something special and I'd like for it to have the Sturmey Archer hub with the built in dynamo for lights. So I need to know about this modern pressed bearing stuff. Must be a special tool for that.
Bonus question. Do the forks come apart easily so that you can fit the extended axle in there without a struggle? I didn't take mine apart on the Panther and still have some tweaking to do on the spacers.
Great build, Scotto, and good luck racing. Stay safe, both of you guys.
SB
SB,,,I changed the axle on my S/A drum hub (I cross-threaded the nuts and chewed the theads),,,the bearings come out easily
I removed the nuts that sit against the bearings and gave the axle a sharp tap,,,bearings came right out
they are just like the bearings in a skateboard wheel,,,
I hope that helped
I removed the nuts that sit against the bearings and gave the axle a sharp tap,,,bearings came right out
they are just like the bearings in a skateboard wheel,,,
I hope that helped
Is that all you have to do? And here I thought some special tool was needed... I suppose you used one of those high tech hammers... ha! Thanks, Bill.SB,,,I changed the axle on my S/A drum hub (I cross-threaded the nuts and chewed the theads),,,the bearings come out easily
I removed the nuts that sit against the bearings and gave the axle a sharp tap,,,bearings came right out
they are just like the bearings in a skateboard wheel,,,
I hope that helped
SB
SB, I used a vice with padded jaws opened up to just wider than the bearing, rested the hub on the non-brake side, took a lead ingot and a special hammer and beat it into submission. They popped out quicker than snot.
To ease the wrestling of getting the 10mm axle to fit (wheel intact), I cut a drop-out in the right hand axle loop. Then install onto the left leg while compressing the right......get axle into position and gently let the right leg slide over the axle and BAM, install nuts and tighten to specs (crank'em down).
When I installed the 10mm axle I made a spacer that slides over the axle that sits between the bearings to keep them from too much side-load as the original axle does.....this is a pretty important thing to do. If you have questions about this, PM me. Hope this helps....gotta run.
scotto-
99.9% finished and ready for racing....I can't wait! More pics for those who might care...
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Enjoy!
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Enjoy!
And here are the last few pics I took today after extensive test riding and the build is 99.999999% completely finito....yes, ready to RACE!
You will see this bike in action at Willow Springs......and some of you will get to race against it.....good luck!
You will see this bike in action at Willow Springs......and some of you will get to race against it.....good luck!
Thanks a lot for the information. Cutting the slot is a perfect solution and I'll do it. I did not want to try to dismantle that whole fork just to be able to fix a flat tire. This set up will be like what was on my 51 Schwinn springer fork. One leg's axle mount was a hole and the other a slot. Excellent. Your bike looks super!
SB
Thanks Silverbear and I hear you on the dismantling just to change a flat....that would be a nightmare. Just a little trick I use when changing flats while on the road....instead of removing the tire and wheel from the bike, just take the bead off of the rim on the most accessable side, pull the tube out and locate the hole and patch it. Check the inside of the tire for thorn or whatever caused the hole and remove it before slipping the tube back in and re-seating the tire bead and adding air.
This saves a ton of time and is easy to do if the tube is repairable with a simple patch.
And on a side note, the tandem performed very well at Willow Springs and opened a lot of eyes, too say the least. The Beast is a BLAST!
the *Wildman*
That bike was real nice seeing it in person. You did alot of engineering for that system to work right. Good Job. Great riding skills on the track.
You also opened my kids eyes real big when you gave him a ride...lol
You also opened my kids eyes real big when you gave him a ride...lol
