From the ashes of the Cranbrook, Rusty is reborn!

maurtis

maurtis

New Member
Since I found a few hairline cracks on my 2002 Cranbrook after about 300 miles with my 66cc China Girl, the hunt was on for a new frame. I liked the look of a motor in a cruiser frame and wanted an older American steel frame, but around here those seem to be going for pretty much their weight in gold. At least on Craigslist, I think next time I will put in some footwork and visit the local salvage yards.

Anyways, a 1988 Schwinn Heavy-Duti turned up on Craigslist, which I got for $40. It is not a Giant frame (I assume, since it does not have a G serial number stamped on the rear dropout, but does have a serial number on the bottom bracket that starts with "LV" and the number 1288 on the headbadge, so just assume it is 1988 and not 1978...)

Still, seems much more solid than my Cranny did, so the build is a go!

This is what she looked like when I got her home:

1988_Schwinn_rusty.jpg


I took about a week of using paint stripper, a brass wire wheel, and wet sanding to get her down to the bare metal, then cleared the frame with Rustoleum Clear Engine Enamel. It is supposedly oil and gas resistant, so we will see how it holds up.

I found that I needed a new front motor mount, so made one out of the mounting flange that came with my BGF RB80 kit and a piece of the seatpost from the Cranny. I press fit them together, then had a local muffler shop weld it up for $20. Nice and sturdy!

I also went ahead and got a shorter crank from my LBS since I anticipate going with a centrifugal clutch soon. It takes getting used to, but so far not too bad.

Other than having to get the front motor mount welded, everything else swapped over smoothly from the Cranny, woohoo! Well, except for the Crow Cycle center stand. It bolts right where the integrated Schwinn kickstand is, and since I did not want to cut the kickstand mount, I am going to have to get a rear axle stand instead. I really like center stands...

And I am going to need a new layback seatpost too, since my Kip Harley post is made for a 1" seat post and this new one is 22.2cm (7/8"?).

So got everything buttoned up last night and went for a maiden run today. She ran GREAT!!! No surprises, nothing shook loose, no complaints. It was nice to be back in the saddle after being down for about a month.

I still need to polish her up and make the side covers to go over the Jaguar CDI and coil since the opening is a little larger and on the Cranny so my old covers do not fit right. I also want to either swap the black forks for chrome, or just strip and clear the ones I have.

Assembled_left.jpg


Assembled_left_front.jpg


Assembled_right_angle.jpg


Assembled_right.jpg


So here is where she is at now:

  • 1988 Schwinn HD frame
  • Weinmann AS7X wheels with 12 gauge spokes
  • BGF RB80 66cc motor
  • NT carb with 68 jet and needle at leanest setting
  • Puch 70cc hi hi head with one head gasket
  • Pirate Cycles hub adapter and 36 tooth sprocket
  • Jaguar CDI and coil
  • NGK b7hs sparkplug
  • Speed-Demon exhaust
  • Beehive springer front end
  • SBP bolts and studs
  • SBP HD air filter
  • #41 Tsubaki chain
  • Skipu chain tensioner
  • Al.Fisherman clutch roller
  • Wald rear rack
  • Short single piece crank

To do:
  • Lace up 90mm Sturmey-Archer drum brake (purchased)
  • Buy 22.2mm layback seat post
  • Make new CDI covers
  • Buy old-style construction worker lunchbox for toolbox on rear rack
 
Thanks BBB! I am definitely pleased with how it turned out. After she cools down, I am going to do a loose bolt check, then hit the road!

xct2
 
That turned out great! I really like the 'look'. It just sits right and looks comfy. You'll like the lay back seat too. I think that bike is longer than the cranny and with the seat to the rear it will make a more comfortable ride.
Are those the original bars just flipped? If so they sure cleaned up nice.
Good work and congratulations. You did good :)

Tom
 
Thanks Tom, your assistance in my other posts was a a great help towards making this build come together, HUGE thanks!

The frame is definitely a little longer than the Cranny, I was going to use the Cranny's pedal chain since the original Schwinn chain was a solid, rusty mess. But it was a little too short so I picked up a new SRAM bike chain.

The bars are actually the bars from the Cranny since they felt a little more comfortable to me than the Schwinn bars. I am definitely looking forward to getting a layback seat post.

On a side note, ran errands with Rusty this morning. Picked up my wife's meds from CVS and doughnuts and kolaches for everyone and Rusty ran great. It is so nice to be back in the saddle!
 
Dan said:
Wow, Purty work Maurtis!
Click to expand...

Thanks Dan!

This week I put on my headlight, made from an LED flashlight and stainless steel toothbrush tumbler from Target. The lack of focus would make it a terrible headlight, BUT, since I do not ride at night I just wanted it to work like a daytime running light to make me look a little less like a regular bicycle. I think it works fine for that. It would work ok as a headlight to get me home if I get stuck away after dark, but would blind the heck out of other drivers. I have it hooked to a toggle switch epoxied next to the kill switch on the throttle.

I also installed an Inked1974 layback seat post. He makes them from a solid bar, simple and sturdy, thanks Chad!

For my seat, the old cover and foam on the Massengill seat that came with my Schwinn frame was trashed, so I stripped them off and wire brushed and cleared the seat. I like the look, and it matches the rest of the bike, but will spring for a Gyes sprung leather seat... eventually. For just a sprung steel seat, it is surprisingly comfortable.

Seat_light_left.jpg


Seat_light_left_angle.jpg


Seat_light_right_angle.jpg


Seat_light_right.jpg
 
Installed a centrifugal clutch today and WOW, what a difference! Acceleration seems a tad more sluggish but the rotating mass really feels like it smooths things out. Before the install of the CC I would get some mid throttle surging and twitchiness, but things feel much smoother now.

Being able to take off without pedaling is really cool. I still help, but not as much ;)

The install went smoothly enough, but my short cranks still barely hit the clutch cover. I could safely dremel enough away to clear the clutch without the cover, but will have to bend my old crank out and use that instead.
 
The good news: had some $ left over from a side job I did, so ordered an RT carb from Dax, it should be here today!

The bad news: found a leak in my tank this weekend :(

I noticed a funky puddle of black goo with a whitish swirl in it under my bike yesterday. After poking about, I found out what it was, a mixture of dissolved duct tape and foam rubber. I had a strip of black duct tape under my tank where it sits on the frame for a little frame protection, under which I later added a strip of weatherstripping. That way I can leave the tank loose enough to rotate in a crash, but not loose enough to move on its own.

The underside of my tank was soaked in fuel. I was hoping that somehow it was left over from when I put gas in the tank last, but when it reappeared after I wiped it up, no luck. I could not find the actual source of the leak, but since the paint is bubbling in several places underneath the tank, I figure it is pinholes. The inside of the tank actually looked ok, but obviously there is an extra exit in there somewhere.

So just placed an order for a new 3L tank, went chrome this time, so hopefully I will be back on the road and testing my new carb later this week! Yes, I know that I could have just lined the old tank, but how much fun is that???
 
maurtis said:
Installed a centrifugal clutch today and WOW, what a difference! Acceleration seems a tad more sluggish but the rotating mass really feels like it smooths things out. Before the install of the CC I would get some mid throttle surging and twitchiness, but things feel much smoother now.

Being able to take off without pedaling is really cool. I still help, but not as much ;)
The install went smoothly enough, but my short cranks still barely hit the clutch cover. I could safely dremel enough away to clear the clutch without the cover, but will have to bend my old crank out and use that instead.
Click to expand...

Don't let the cops see you take off without pedaling. The would make your bike self propelled. In Texas anything self propelled is classified as a motor vehicle.

You could get ticketed for riding a unregistered moped, and no liability insurance. Plus you would need a motorcycle drivers license.
 
biknut said:
Don't let the cops see you take off without pedaling. The would make your bike self propelled. In Texas anything self propelled is classified as a motor vehicle.

You could get ticketed for riding a unregistered moped, and no liability insurance. Plus you would need a motorcycle drivers license.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads-up. I do help pedaling anyway, just not as much as I used to, lol. I do have my motorcycle license, and would love to be able to register the bike if they allowed it. But since they do not, I will be sure to let them see me sweat from stops ;)
 
maurtis said:
Thanks for the heads-up. I do help pedaling anyway, just not as much as I used to, lol. I do have my motorcycle license, and would love to be able to register the bike if they allowed it. But since they do not, I will be sure to let them see me sweat from stops ;)
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I wish we had some kind of legal status. I think it holds our state back as far as MBs go.
 
So last weekend I got the new 3L chrome tank in. Quality is "meh", not great, on par with the rest of the kit, lol. But at least it did not leak! I like the look of it better than the black tank, too, on my raw cleared frame.

The RT carb went on fine, but had to squish the heck out of the air filter that came with it to get it on. Originally had an air leak where the carb met the manifold, Seal-Alled the crap out of it which made a big difference. Overall though, idle can be set lower and throttle response is snappier, but pull and top end all seem about the same as my NT with with SBP HD air filter.

BUT... I still have an air leak. This is the same air leak I have had from day 1, but it seems to be getting worse. Originally I would get a high idle and start losing power after a high RPM run, usually anything above 35MPH. So keeping her in the 30-32 range I was not having any issues. I could live with that. Still, though, it would have been nice to track it down.

Recently I have been noticing that it is getting easier to induce the leak. Now, a short cruise at 30 will result in the high idle and lack of power response (with the NT and the RT carbs).

I replaced the clutch side crank seal shortly after getting the motor since it was noticeably leaking, but my issue persisted after that. That was a couple hundred miles ago. After my ride last weekend I checked both clutch and magneto side seals and both are dry.

Also, I have no evidence of any leaks elsewhere! No drips, no runs, only road dirt...

I love tinkering in the garage, but am getting sick of always trying to sort this bike out. I had a good couple weeks there where I could just gas and go and as long as I kept it under 35 I would have a trouble-free ride. I really hope I can get this under control...

Later this week I am going to go over the motor with a fine-toothed comb and Seal-All the case seam, I read that some people get leaks there? Also, is Seal-All ok to use on my intake gasket to seal the manifold to the cylinder, or should I just use something like Permatex #2?
 
One thing to note, if I keep the rpms low enough to not start the lean condition, she pulls great. Small hills nearby and she can accelerate uphill noticeably. Once the lean condition starts, those same hills I can barely climb without losing speed, and my top speed is dramatically reduced. But letting the bike sit for a few minutes shut off, and on startup pulls great again.

From everything I read, this sounds like an air leak, right??? I am running the Jaguar CDI, but had the same behavior with the stock CDI. Would a bad magneto do this?

I have also tried using different plugs, the NGK b6hs, b7hs, and iridium br9hix (tried this after install the Puch head). All worked pretty much the same for me, though.
 
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