Caoboy's Huffy cruiser build

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caoboy

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Sep 3, 2015
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modesto
Caoboy's Huffy cruiser build Err...scratch that, Onyx 29er Cruiser build!

That's right. A Huffy. (I'm already starting to regret that purchase)

Stock photo, since I didn't take a picture:


It was this or some cruiser from 1959. I chose the Huffy, mainly because of the frame with the lower bar that I could build a tank into, and I thought it would be cool to somehow keep the fenders, build lights into the reflector housings, and the rootbeer color really pops with some metallic flake in the sun.

I've had this bike less a week (I think actually a week today) and:

Front and rear fenders removed.



Front cantilever brake installed.



Rear coaster brake has been torn apart, a random chunk of metal was found in there (cause the brake inspection) which was causing a clicking noise to happen when the bike was coasting and pedals were stationary. Cleaned off, inspected, and major regreasing. (almost no grease in the rear hub)

Handlebars flipped for that BTR look, headset has been greased (again, almost no grease, they may have dipped the bearings in grease, or used whatever was on there from the bearing factory)

Bottom bracket was torn apart and greased (did I mention there was no grease in this bike?) It is ridiculous how much grease they didn't use.

Chain guard was removed (chain was hitting the lower guard) Still debating on putting that back on, I may have to mod the chain guard though.

Rear wheel was adjusted for chain slop. Still need to fine tune it.

Tank has been designed.


Initial designs:



Secondary sketches/volume calculations/designed finalized? You can see some input from the DIY tank sticky. That fuel level gauge is an awesome design!



So far this is where I'm at.

I'll be designing/building the tank in my fabrication class (going to the local community college for welding/fabrication) out of stainless steel. I believe I'm going to TIG weld it. Depends on how well I can TIG once I finish the design. (also taking a TIG class this semester) If not I'll try to get away with MIG welding it if the gauge of steel is thick enough. Smallest gauge I can weld MIG would be 20ga.

Once my paypal account funds are released to me (sold some old car parts on ebay) I'll be ordering a 66/80cc kit from California Motorbikes.

Then I'll need to order a rear hub adapter/sprocket. Gasbike has a 36t 1.50" hub adapter (my hub mic'd out to 1.50"..) My bro has a broken SF adapter I'll see if that fits on my hub.

If those don't workout I'll have to get a new set of rims and tires. Which also means I'll probably downsize to 26" wheels and 2.xx" tires. The fatter the better! I might end up getting new wheels anyways since I'm seeing horror stories of these wheel bearings failing...

Lastly I'll change out the seat for a banana seat. I have seen a few on here that look better than a layback seat post mod..I like the fact I can sit farther back and not worry if the post is going to break lol.

I would like to mod my fenders to be able to use them again...not sure yet. Maybe some shorty fenders...maybe not. Just enough to keep water off me while I'm riding.




To Do List:

Purchase 26" wheelset (husky)

Purchase 26" tires (unknown size/brand)

Purchase Sportsman Flyer Sprocket Adapter

Purchase materials for in-frame tank (14 gauge SS sheetmetal SS nuts Brass barbed+threaded elbows)

Purchase Front Mount for engine (SBP)

Purchase Banana Seat+rear mount for seat

Purchase Spark Plug

Purchase good quality fuel hose+filter

Purchase headstud kit (SBP)




Clean up exhaust weld dingleberries

I think that's it for now.
 
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Davezilla

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Mar 15, 2014
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Looks like a nice platform to do a build on... It shouldn't be too hard to make the stainless tank and I agree, TIG is the way to go, MIG will do it too but you can typically get much better looking welds with the TIG and the connections will be nice and strong.

For the fenders, I'd go with plastic fenders or use the original fenders as a mold by coating them with mold release or silicone grease then make a set out of fiberglass, these will be strong enough for everyday use but if something goes amiss and a fender goes into the spokes it'll just break instead of locking up the wheel or ripping spokes out all while leaving you bruised and road rashed etc...

Anyway, nice bike and I'd check out all the welds on this frame before doing a lot of assembling, they should be ok but it never hurts to be sure...
 

caoboy

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Sep 3, 2015
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Tonight I took my brother's Sportsman Flyer 'broken' hub sprocket adapter and tested it on my rear hub. It definitely does not fit the 1.50" hub. I know they say 1.52", but I just wanted to make sure. Looks like the bolts bottom out before they completely tighten onto the hub. I can spin it with ease.

Darn...because I was going to chase the threads on the sprocket studs and fix it for myself! :D

Now I have to decide if I want to go with the gasbike 1.50" hub adapter http://www.gasbike.net/36-tooth-cnc-sprocket-adapter-4102-prd1.html (Does anybody know if it's actually 1.50 vs the 1.52 which is more common with the other brands of adapters?) or go straight for a new rear wheel (26" of course, which means a new tire and tube as well) with a 'proper' coaster hub and spring for the SF adapter since it bolts onto the hub more uniformly with 3 bolts vs 2.


Would this be worth my time? http://www.gasbike.net/CNC-Pineapple-Sprocket-Bushing-Kit-4153-prd1.html
 
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caoboy

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Sep 3, 2015
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A bit of searching has lead me to believe that the shimano hub is the one to get.

I found a wheelset, but I'm not sure if it is two wheels or not. I'll have to post a link later.


My wife said to not buy the wheels and just run it as it is until it breaks before buying new stuff.

I do plan on only riding at about 15mph for now anyways...I may just do that until I sell some more stuff on eBay to fund this project.
 

curtisfox

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2008
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Have you looked at Husky wheels?That's a nice frame.Have you got in and measured you hub with a caliper,something is wrong on the size...............Curt
 

Davezilla

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Mar 15, 2014
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Don't waste your time with the CNC Pineapple from Gasbike... they only fit one size hub, and it's pretty small. I got one just to see if they would be a viable option for mounting a sprocket and out of about 12 different rims I tried it on it only actually fit on one of the smaller hubed front rims (like the ones you would find on older bikes with the 5/16" axle bolts) I got in my stock room. As far as it fitting on any of my rear rims it was a no go for all of them, and there's no way it would fit on a coaster brake rear.
 

caoboy

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Sep 3, 2015
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Have you looked at Husky wheels?That's a nice frame.Have you got in and measured you hub with a caliper,something is wrong on the size...............Curt
I just checked out Husky. HD-105 steel wheels with a Shimano hub in the rear...a pair of wheels for $84...not bad!
 

kevyleven007

Active Member
Sep 25, 2008
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I'm thinking about picking these up : http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Beach...3&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=wheelmaster+26+histop

My bro is running a hi-stop rear hub...or is the price of a CB-E110 hub worth it over a hi-stop?

http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Cruiser...778387&sr=1-2&keywords=wheelmaster+26+cb-e110 (cb-e110 hub)
I bought that exact wheel from bikewagon on ebay for 50 bucks about a year ago. great wheel, shimano brake is awesome. hi stop is good too. both good upgrades. I also have a front drum brake wheel from husky. Super heavy duty and works as good as a shimano coaster brake.
 

caoboy

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Sep 3, 2015
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Ordered the engine kit today from CaliforniaMotorBikes.com.

http://www.californiamotorbikes.com/apps/webstore/products/show/4031592

I've gained enough confidence in my GTAW (TIG) (A whole 4 hours worth of experience) that I think I'm going to TIG weld the custom gas tank. I believe I can use the cap and filler neck from the kit tank. Might as well save some money there, if I can.

Once I get the kit in, I'll start the mock up and see if the cap/neck will work how I think it'll work.
 
Dec 11, 2014
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I'm excited to see how this one turns out. I looked at that bike with the thought or running 24" wheels with 3" tires. Keep the pics coming as it goes together, you're off to an awesome start!
 

caoboy

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Sep 3, 2015
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I wanted to do 24" wheels with some fat tires...but I put the front brake on..and then realized I have 28" wheels! For now I think the lowest I can roll on is 26" with the cantilever brake...I'd have to upgrade to a disk brake to drop down to 24's.

Speaking of 26" wheels:
How wide of a tire can I run on a 1.75" rim?
How wide of a tire can I run on a 2.125" rim?

Which one would look more like a BTR? I'm thinking a wider rim and as wide a tire I can fit would be better.

I really want to run either size because Husky has them laced up with a Shimano hub.

Let me guess...24"
\/
 

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Last edited:
Dec 11, 2014
628
14
18
Tucson
I believe those are 24" wheels with a 3" tire. This company has the best deal I have found on a set.

http://www.bicycledesigner.com/bike-parts/bicycle-wheels/24-x-3-fat-tire-wheel-kit.html


I follow the problem with the brakes, I have seen a member build really nice clamp on canti mounts although I am not sure where the thread is. With all that said I think the 24x3 looks so good it would be worth having nothing but Flintstone brakes but I couldn't in good conscience recommend that to someone else.
 

caoboy

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Sep 3, 2015
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Stilll waiting on that tracking number. Got an email saying it'd be shipped over the weekend, but no tracking number yet.

Hopefully CMB just forgot to update me.

The anticipation is kicking me in the butt!
 

caoboy

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Sep 3, 2015
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Kit came in today!! Which is sweet because the tracking number was given to me at like 5pm and it shipped yesterday.

Unboxing:



Engine is in pieces...



Complete kit:



My bro shot me some youtube vids of Fred's so I can put this badboy together.

I'm wondering though, since it's already apart, would it be a good idea to do a bit of porting on the intake and exhaust sides?

Any other mods I can do since it's already apart?
 

Davezilla

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Mar 15, 2014
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This would be a good time to clean up the ports but get as much info on it before jumping in because it's real easy to go from just right to a paper weight... there's a good amount of info on porting in the high performance section in here..
One of the things I would recommend would be to clean up any plating that overhangs into the port windows and chamfer all the port openings to prevent the plating from peeling, this is best done with a dremel but jeweler's files can be used.
If you got a dremel setup you can widen the exhaust port and intake port as well as smooth out the casting ridge in the transfer roofs as well as cut 5mm from the intake side of the bottom of the piston skirt. This will make good torque by going about 2mm wider on each side of the intake and exhaust ports along with the 5mm cutout on the piston skirt's intake side.
To get more rpm and top end power you would do the above plus raise the exhaust port roof by 1mm... you can go higher but this is about the point where you need to use a degree wheel and know how to calculate port duration. People in here including myself can help you here if you decide to go this far...

Another thing that'll boost power is to shave down the cylinder head if using a stock head, taking off 1mm from the head's mating surface will raise the compression ratio to a more respectable level... this is done with a sheet of sandpaper taped to a perfectly flat surface like a sheet of glass and running the head over the sandpaper in a circular motion. If you have a compression checker or can borrow one from a buddy or from autozone, you want the compression pressure to read 130 to 140 psi. Any more than 140 is where you may not be able to run 87 octane gas...