More Maytag Mayhem
- Thread starter cannonball2
- Start date
So cooling my jets waiting on parts has led to continual tweeks to this build. I wanted to swap out the "space age" clear blue Western Flyer hand grips for a set of slightly beat up brown Hunt Wilde grips on a rusty old handle bar I had saved.
Heres the tip: don't throw away rusty or bent bars especially if the grips are still on. The like new bar under the grips is useful. Saw em off. On some bikes they can be used to make a seat post, extend a steering tube, and in this case extend the handle bars.
I added 4" to the handle bars for a more vintage motorbike look. The grips are 4.5", so after a bit of paint on the welds to prevent rust the grips slipped over and completely hid the welds. Too much fun.
Really liking the patina build thing. That's a completely "restored"(read wire brushed) rusty hand brake lever on the bars. Too easy! Will be either a throttle or clutch not sure yet.
Heres the tip: don't throw away rusty or bent bars especially if the grips are still on. The like new bar under the grips is useful. Saw em off. On some bikes they can be used to make a seat post, extend a steering tube, and in this case extend the handle bars.
I added 4" to the handle bars for a more vintage motorbike look. The grips are 4.5", so after a bit of paint on the welds to prevent rust the grips slipped over and completely hid the welds. Too much fun.
Really liking the patina build thing. That's a completely "restored"(read wire brushed) rusty hand brake lever on the bars. Too easy! Will be either a throttle or clutch not sure yet.
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Heres the tip: don't throw away rusty or bent bars especially if the grips are still on. The like new bar under the grips is useful. Saw em off. On some bikes they can be used to make a seat post, extend a steering tube, and in this case extend the handle bars.
AWESOME! another goody from CB,what a good idea. Also seen were they the cross brace coverd up the welds on longer extensions.But your is the first i seen that way.Love it and your drop stand idea...............Curt
AWESOME! another goody from CB,what a good idea. Also seen were they the cross brace coverd up the welds on longer extensions.But your is the first i seen that way.Love it and your drop stand idea...............Curt
That's what Fasteddy and I did on my Indian Hiawatha to extend the handlebar. The extra few inches makes a world of difference and the price is right, too. After cutting off the extensions from a donor handlebar we cut off another section after making a longitudinal slice in it with the sidegrinder and a cutoff wheel. We cut that off into two shortish sections, squeezed them a bit so that they would fit inside the old handlebar end and into the end of the new extensions. So the little sections were then inside the handlebars which gave a lot of beef at the union where they were welded. Steve beveled the edges to be welded first and left a wee gap so the weld could penetrate down into the sliced "connectors" inside. It is also a good way to align and hold the two sections to be welded. All you need is a donor, a little time and a welder. Yes, and it is covered up by the hand grip. Sometimes using what you have at hand is better than what you can buy and it is always less expensive with no waiting for the part to arrive.
Your bars have a nice reach and should make for a comfortable ride. Keeps looking better and better.
SB
Your bars have a nice reach and should make for a comfortable ride. Keeps looking better and better.
SB
Thanks for the comments! I lucked up in that the original bars were rolled on the ends. This allowed a nice nearly flush weld. Now regretting all the veteran stuff I have thrown in the recycler in the last year. Have to get some more!
Thanks IWW!Your bike is just getting better and better cannonball
The drive parts are beginning to trickle in, finally got the primary belt. It is the key part in setting the locations of the rest of the parts. I used an online belt calc and it hit dead on, was a bit skeptical.
The drive is going to work out very well. Will be a bit tedious to build due to many small parts. I will be overdriving the roller by a ratio of between 1.2 and 1.5. Am counting on engine rpms in the low 2k range. Couple that with the fact that 2" is the largest roller that can be fitted due to design limitations and overdriving becomes the only way to get a target speed of around 15-18mph. That's a lovely speed to ease down the road to the sound of the twins burble.
Got the primary drive finished. Went rather smoothly. The accomplishment of the day was cleanly cutting the lower pulleys set screw mount off. This allows the pulley to fit inside the frame rails. The bearings will hold the key in place. Mounted the pulley to a 5/8 bar and sawed away on the band saw.
The lower pulley is slightly off the cranks centerline to keep the belt from contacting the flywheel. The belt follows the pulleys perfectly. Running a 3/8 belt lowers the belt deep into the pulleys making it pretty much impossible to come off. The driven pulley for the roller easily clears the pedals and my leg. Next up is the drive roller and belt clutch controls.
Disregard the junk bearings , still waiting on the precision units. Also the long long shaft will be trimmed to make the roller assembly.
The lower pulley is slightly off the cranks centerline to keep the belt from contacting the flywheel. The belt follows the pulleys perfectly. Running a 3/8 belt lowers the belt deep into the pulleys making it pretty much impossible to come off. The driven pulley for the roller easily clears the pedals and my leg. Next up is the drive roller and belt clutch controls.
Disregard the junk bearings , still waiting on the precision units. Also the long long shaft will be trimmed to make the roller assembly.
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"That's a lovely speed to ease down the road to the sound of the twins burble."
Such a great mental image
Such a great mental image
So got some time to work on the build. Finished the drive system. The clutch is yet to come.
Was important to build as narrow as possible and I believe I did it. It easily clears a standard pedal crank. The threaded tensioner on the right side easily retracts or engages the roller. It has the ability to load the roller for maximum traction with just a few turns. It just as easily retracts it for free pedaling.
The clutch system will most likely be a hand lever, tensioning the belt to engage.
Still have to trim the roller brackets to inside the roller. Those two sharp lower edges would shred a tire in no time.
Was important to build as narrow as possible and I believe I did it. It easily clears a standard pedal crank. The threaded tensioner on the right side easily retracts or engages the roller. It has the ability to load the roller for maximum traction with just a few turns. It just as easily retracts it for free pedaling.
The clutch system will most likely be a hand lever, tensioning the belt to engage.
Still have to trim the roller brackets to inside the roller. Those two sharp lower edges would shred a tire in no time.
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Thanks IWW! The roller is from a common 2x4, fir I believe. Its a veteran being run on one of my Lifan bikes. Since this drive is so narrow I will have to pin the roller rather than using the compression method. Will build up an oak roller of the same size and drill one of the laminations for a threaded pin into the driven shaft. Just one of the many quirks of this build.
The little Maytag makes such little HP(1hp Im hoping!) that this wont be a problem.
The little Maytag makes such little HP(1hp Im hoping!) that this wont be a problem.
Thanks Curt!
Also thanks for the tip WAY back to dress the 1 3/8 hole saw down slightly on the grinder so the hole cut is slightly smaller. The bearings are a tap fit with a hammer, rather than falling out of the hole using the saw as purchased.
Also thanks for the tip WAY back to dress the 1 3/8 hole saw down slightly on the grinder so the hole cut is slightly smaller. The bearings are a tap fit with a hammer, rather than falling out of the hole using the saw as purchased.
Threw on the towel on a hand lever operated clutch, just too little space to make it work easily. Really wanted one. Modded the roller tension assembly onto a cable operated clutch. Works very well. Pulls through a hardware store flag pole pulley. The cable itself is riding on 2 small ball bearings from the rotor head of one of my R/C helis. Makes a real smooth control. Roller is spring loaded. Got the leather straps on the tank. Very secure. The tank is sitting in leather also to keep from being worn through by the cradle.
Considering a lever operated throttle on the left side. Theres a mounting place on the left cylinder. Am thinking its not going to have much throttle range. The throttle and an idler for the chain are really the last things to build. The rear wheel will ride all the way back in the drop outs and use the idler as a tensioner. This eliminates the roller changing proximity to the tire when adjusting the chain.
Considering a lever operated throttle on the left side. Theres a mounting place on the left cylinder. Am thinking its not going to have much throttle range. The throttle and an idler for the chain are really the last things to build. The rear wheel will ride all the way back in the drop outs and use the idler as a tensioner. This eliminates the roller changing proximity to the tire when adjusting the chain.
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Very nice. I like your clutch, having already decided to use something similar on my 3 speed Elgin Velocipede. Elegant! Are you using a locking type clutch lever?
SB
SB
Thanks SB! I will need to lock the lever in some yet undetermined method in order to start the Maytag. Unless I can coax it to roll start.