Indian Tadpole
- Thread starter silverbear
- Start date
Welded up the front axle and the tube going back to the bike where will attach to it. I plan to be able to remove the tri-car as they would have and add a fork to make it a regular motorcycle.
The tube going down from the head tube is on and there will be a small piece added to the underside of the tube. My plan is to use a steerer tube at either end of the tube coming down from the head tube.
The top one will act as it would normally with the handle bars in it so they can be removed and everything undone so the frame can be lifted off the tri-car. The bottom steerer tube will have a bearing cup, bearings and everything else to hold it in place.
I'll have a length of steel rod running down inside the top sterer tube down through the bottom steerer tube and out far enough to weld a pitman arm on it to steer the tri-car.
Welding the tube that runs from the axle to the bottom bracket where it will attach gave me about a 10% caster angle since the axle was vertical when it was welded to the tube. The bottom bracket being lower tilted the spindle holders backwards, giving them the caster angle.
Steve.
The tube going down from the head tube is on and there will be a small piece added to the underside of the tube. My plan is to use a steerer tube at either end of the tube coming down from the head tube.
The top one will act as it would normally with the handle bars in it so they can be removed and everything undone so the frame can be lifted off the tri-car. The bottom steerer tube will have a bearing cup, bearings and everything else to hold it in place.
I'll have a length of steel rod running down inside the top sterer tube down through the bottom steerer tube and out far enough to weld a pitman arm on it to steer the tri-car.
Welding the tube that runs from the axle to the bottom bracket where it will attach gave me about a 10% caster angle since the axle was vertical when it was welded to the tube. The bottom bracket being lower tilted the spindle holders backwards, giving them the caster angle.
Steve.
I finally have the front axle on the bike. I was working on the tube that runs from the axle back to the frame at 1am and despite measuring it at least 8 times and getting the same number I managed to cut it to short. I did the happy dance up and down the driveway when I discovered that.
I do seem to have a talent for that so once again I have to add a few inches to the tubing. Amazing how good you get at doing that after a while and really good if you do it as often as I have.
I cobbed a piece in to get it together and that's what you see in the photos. No, I wasn't to proud of myself when I did it.
The steering is running smoothly at least. Wondering how it will steer with someone in the front seat. That may have been part of the problem when they where new and then you had to find someone who didn't mind being covered in mud,dirt and road grime and being the front bumper and an early version of an air bag.
That would have added to the adventure as well.
Looks like I'll be able to work on it monday when this endless rain ends for 3 days or so they claim. This is the wettest and coldest June since 1971. Couldn't tell you how thrilled I am to be part of it.
Steve.
I do seem to have a talent for that so once again I have to add a few inches to the tubing. Amazing how good you get at doing that after a while and really good if you do it as often as I have.
I cobbed a piece in to get it together and that's what you see in the photos. No, I wasn't to proud of myself when I did it.
The steering is running smoothly at least. Wondering how it will steer with someone in the front seat. That may have been part of the problem when they where new and then you had to find someone who didn't mind being covered in mud,dirt and road grime and being the front bumper and an early version of an air bag.
That would have added to the adventure as well.
Looks like I'll be able to work on it monday when this endless rain ends for 3 days or so they claim. This is the wettest and coldest June since 1971. Couldn't tell you how thrilled I am to be part of it.
Steve.
Looks very good, Steve. Looking at the pictures gives me a much better idea of what's coming up for the Indian Hiawatha. I can see that that my bike is going to need to come apart so that some welding can be done and I'm thinking that it may be the time to change the color on my bike. I'm really not happy with the red as it is overpowering. I've been feeling that the bike will look much more vintage and classy in Gray (Ford Gray Tractor paint) with black upholstery and accents. While things are apart will be a good time to redo it. We can find out how it rides with someone on the front seat pretty soon, maybe by August. I'm also now wondering about the upholstery. I have some black Elk hide which would look nice, but am wondering if black Naugahyde would possibly look as good and certainly be more practical. Not that this bike is going to be ridden in the rain anyway. I can hardly wait to get back to work on the Indian. Thanks for the inspiring photos of yours. Gonna be a cool pair of bikes!I finally have the front axle on the bike. I was working on the tube that runs from the axle back to the frame at 1am and despite measuring it at least 8 times and getting the same number I managed to cut it to short. I did the happy dance up and down the driveway when I discovered that.
I do seem to have a talent for that so once again I have to add a few inches to the tubing. Amazing how good you get at doing that after a while and really good if you do it as often as I have.
I cobbed a piece in to get it together and that's what you see in the photos. No, I wasn't to proud of myself when I did it.
The steering is running smoothly at least. Wondering how it will steer with someone in the front seat. That may have been part of the problem when they where new and then you had to find someone who didn't mind being covered in mud,dirt and road grime and being the front bumper and an early version of an air bag.
That would have added to the adventure as well.
Looks like I'll be able to work on it monday when this endless rain ends for 3 days or so they claim. This is the wettest and coldest June since 1971. Couldn't tell you how thrilled I am to be part of it.
Steve.
SB
Naugas are a small South American mammal usually found in the Andes mountains. Naa, that's an old joke along with,Where do the Naga's hide? Anywhere they feel safe.
It's the leatherette, pleather, what ever you call it that you use to cover seats with. Naugahyde is a brand name, so like Kleenex is to any tissue made, so any man made leather is Naugahyde to we old timers.
Ricardo Montalban an actor from years ago used to sell Chryslers in the 1970's and talk about the Rich Corinthian Leather that they had in thier cars. He was from Mexico originally and had a deep voice and he did wonders with that term.
The upholstery was Naugahyde of course.
There you have it Charlie.
Steve.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...3pm-Cw&usg=AFQjCNHF8f-SH4xtGdJo1_x85qtpD8iieA
It's the leatherette, pleather, what ever you call it that you use to cover seats with. Naugahyde is a brand name, so like Kleenex is to any tissue made, so any man made leather is Naugahyde to we old timers.
Ricardo Montalban an actor from years ago used to sell Chryslers in the 1970's and talk about the Rich Corinthian Leather that they had in thier cars. He was from Mexico originally and had a deep voice and he did wonders with that term.
The upholstery was Naugahyde of course.
There you have it Charlie.
Steve.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...3pm-Cw&usg=AFQjCNHF8f-SH4xtGdJo1_x85qtpD8iieA
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Hi Silverbear,
I'd say your into a tear down as far as mounting this tri-car is goes. I'm trying to come up with someway to take it off and mount a regular fork like they would have done when it was original.
Haven't come up with anything brilliant as yet. Since all of my former wives felt free to point out I was swimming in the shallow end of the intelligence pool I may not just to prove they were right about something. I'll go out to the garage with a cup of tea and stare at it creatively shortly.
I like the look and feel of leather but Naugahyde, I think, is more practical not to mention cheaper. Tufted with buttons of course as per the original.
Steve.
I'd say your into a tear down as far as mounting this tri-car is goes. I'm trying to come up with someway to take it off and mount a regular fork like they would have done when it was original.
Haven't come up with anything brilliant as yet. Since all of my former wives felt free to point out I was swimming in the shallow end of the intelligence pool I may not just to prove they were right about something. I'll go out to the garage with a cup of tea and stare at it creatively shortly.
I like the look and feel of leather but Naugahyde, I think, is more practical not to mention cheaper. Tufted with buttons of course as per the original.
Steve.
A quick update. After the more than nasty looking mount for the tri-car to frame. I've finally come up with one that is solid if not photogenic and I can live with. There are a couple of others that are in the scrap pail as well.
I'm leaving at the end of the month for Silverbears Bicycle Camp in the Birches by the Lake. So this will be as far as I can go until I get back.
Steve.
I'm leaving at the end of the month for Silverbears Bicycle Camp in the Birches by the Lake. So this will be as far as I can go until I get back.
Steve.
Thats AWESOME and should work great. Have fun at the camp brin lots of bug spray. After all that rain the Mosquitoes are tearrible. There is a new prodect ( new to me)that works good. Mosquitoe Beater that you put on the end of a garden hose and spray with...................Curt
Thanks Curt.
Silverbear said to bring a 12 guage since the little buggers are the size of crows at bicycle camp. We may have to tie cement blocks to our feet so they can't get up enough of them to carry us off.
Steve.
Silverbear said to bring a 12 guage since the little buggers are the size of crows at bicycle camp. We may have to tie cement blocks to our feet so they can't get up enough of them to carry us off.
Steve.
Ugh, they're even worse down here! And still the best way I have to get rid of the mosquitoes, is my chinagirl with this strange kinda oil that my dad found, you mix it in the gas , alittle heavy though, and it's ment for weedwacker's. The exhaust sinks down and just fogs anything in sight. I do laps around the property with it. It works great.
Exactly! And they're so bad down here, they were trying to bite the pepperoni on the pizza we had at my uncles birthday party last week!!
When I lived in Michigans UP we used to say the skeeters would fly away with small children and pets. Steve the machine is looking better every post, looking foward to seeing a completed project
Rick,
Thank you. I will be loading Silverbears front seat and axle in a few days and before I put it on the trailer I'll do a mock up with my frame and the seat so that there will be some idea how this going to look.
Really interested myself since I'm guessing at the size of everything when I build it and it all comes together after it's done. I might well be doing the happy dance around the front lawn while saying inappropriate words.
Worst skeeters I ever saw were in the Yukon. Caribou would run in circles until they fell over fron exhaustion. Driven mad by the bugs. You would see patches of snow with a dozen or more Caribou on it trying to get relief since the skeeters were reluctant to fly over the cold rising from the ice and snow but that was no gaurantee.
We wore a mesh bug jacket that looked like a hoody with mesh over the face. You would look over at someone else and they would be a moving mass of bugs trying to get in for a bite. We wore gloves to protect our hands.
In those days we thought it was fun. Now I wonder why we did it since I spent enough years as a kid in northern Canada to know better.
Steve.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...4_nZCg&usg=AFQjCNEvEV4tRvtVuQjuO-6oT7_ni-_MPw
Thank you. I will be loading Silverbears front seat and axle in a few days and before I put it on the trailer I'll do a mock up with my frame and the seat so that there will be some idea how this going to look.
Really interested myself since I'm guessing at the size of everything when I build it and it all comes together after it's done. I might well be doing the happy dance around the front lawn while saying inappropriate words.
Worst skeeters I ever saw were in the Yukon. Caribou would run in circles until they fell over fron exhaustion. Driven mad by the bugs. You would see patches of snow with a dozen or more Caribou on it trying to get relief since the skeeters were reluctant to fly over the cold rising from the ice and snow but that was no gaurantee.
We wore a mesh bug jacket that looked like a hoody with mesh over the face. You would look over at someone else and they would be a moving mass of bugs trying to get in for a bite. We wore gloves to protect our hands.
In those days we thought it was fun. Now I wonder why we did it since I spent enough years as a kid in northern Canada to know better.
Steve.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...4_nZCg&usg=AFQjCNEvEV4tRvtVuQjuO-6oT7_ni-_MPw
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Actually the mosquitoes have not been bad so far. Usually May and June are the official blood drive months. Considering all the rain we have had it is a curious thing. Few noseemums and the sand flies have been tolerable. Maybe they are waiting for your arrival.
Very much look forward to seeing the tadpole parts and fitting things up to the Indian Hiawatha for a look. It has been a long adventure, this Indian tadpole enterprise, with a good ways yet to go. I remember seeing my first tri-car, the one which leads off this lengthy thread and was blown away by it. "Man, I'd like to have something like that!" Careful what you wish for and the price to be paid, eh?
Motor Bicycle Summer Camp will officially open with your arrival. Staff is ready (bear and dog). Drive safely, my friend.
SB
Very much look forward to seeing the tadpole parts and fitting things up to the Indian Hiawatha for a look. It has been a long adventure, this Indian tadpole enterprise, with a good ways yet to go. I remember seeing my first tri-car, the one which leads off this lengthy thread and was blown away by it. "Man, I'd like to have something like that!" Careful what you wish for and the price to be paid, eh?
Motor Bicycle Summer Camp will officially open with your arrival. Staff is ready (bear and dog). Drive safely, my friend.
SB
I just remembered a mosquito story from boyhood. My brother Jon and I were on a canoe trip down the Kawishiwi River. I was perhaps seven and he would have been ten. It still astonishes me that our mother let us go off into the wilderness like that for days at a time, just two little boys in a canoe.
My brother often came up with dares to test my bravery or strength, neither of which was ever in good supply. On the remembered occasion we were settled into our canvas tent snug in sleeping bags. He had to pee, which meant going out into the mosquitoes. That's when he came up with a new dare.
Which was... to see who could stand still the longest without swatting or moving at all. And we had to be naked, no shorts. I didn't want to. My idea was to pee as quickly as possible and get back into the sleeping bags. He taunted me and I relented. We did our business and stood still. I could hear their little engines approach and feel them landing on me... feel their little drill bits punching through my skin to draw blood. Agony. This was my brother's idea of being Indian, being braves. This was my idea of being stupid. I lasted maybe a minute and he was out there for a good five donating blood.
The things boys do trying to prepare for being men someday. My brother and his wife will arrive for the summer tomorrow. I'm going to ask him if he remembers the mosquito dare. He'll claim he does not and then smile at me.
SB
My brother often came up with dares to test my bravery or strength, neither of which was ever in good supply. On the remembered occasion we were settled into our canvas tent snug in sleeping bags. He had to pee, which meant going out into the mosquitoes. That's when he came up with a new dare.
Which was... to see who could stand still the longest without swatting or moving at all. And we had to be naked, no shorts. I didn't want to. My idea was to pee as quickly as possible and get back into the sleeping bags. He taunted me and I relented. We did our business and stood still. I could hear their little engines approach and feel them landing on me... feel their little drill bits punching through my skin to draw blood. Agony. This was my brother's idea of being Indian, being braves. This was my idea of being stupid. I lasted maybe a minute and he was out there for a good five donating blood.
The things boys do trying to prepare for being men someday. My brother and his wife will arrive for the summer tomorrow. I'm going to ask him if he remembers the mosquito dare. He'll claim he does not and then smile at me.
SB