Old Guys Simplex moto-peddle bike

[indian22]

The co axle chain drive, "reduction gear" which really isn't, is really quite simple. I use two 14 tooth go cart type sprockets which are "keyed" as a basis for the drive. The key way isn't used for the operation of the chain drive system, but is used to mount the two sprockets together on a short piece of keyed 3/4" shaft that I use to mount the sprockets to the lathe chuck during the machining operation. First I bevel the inside of the entire circumference of each sprocket in preparation for welding them back to back. I didn't have to surface the two as they were flat & as luck would have it the correct thickness to line up the primary & secondary chains. Next I weld the two together in two passes while they are still mounted on the 3/4" inch shaft to retain perfect alignment. I then bore first one end then the other on the lathe...still using the 3/4" shaft (keyed) for alignment and "chucking"...boring deep enough to accept the bearings for a moderately tight press fit. After boring I remove the keyed shaft & mill the remaining length of 3/4" sprocket hole to 13/16"...then press fit the bearings & that's all there is to it. I use thrust washers to space out from the bracket bearing if required to line up the secondary sprockets for a straight chain line and I've plenty of adjustment for the engine side to side. That being said I've been very careful in determining the width of the reduction sprocket so that only minimal adjustment should be necessary...maybe 3/16" or so at most. I use shaft collar on the outside to locate everything in place. Included photos aren't comprehensive, just a point of reference.

This is not the only way but it works well on the Simplex and it's simple, rugged & really inexpensive as well, so I'm making another for the Harley. The sprockets just happened to be the perfect width for the CG125 & both the Simplex and the Sportsman frame, but I was prepared to cut one or both the sprockets if they were too wide or add a spacer plate to widen if required. No big deal either way, just have to ensure that both, sprockets remain perfectly parallel.

Rick C.

 

[indian22]

Now I'm back to the faux rocker cover for the Harley Peashooter. Not a pan, flat, shovel or knuckle head but a "chuckle head" & it really fills up the vertical frame space. I'm not finished with it but it is bolted into it's final position. Hope to start on the brass push rod tubes tomorrow & at least get them into a solid mount location on the primary side of the engine, the opposite of a real Harley motor...just for chuckles. Rick C.

 

[indian22]

Primary side bottom bracket gear set is in place & ready to line up the drive chains. & install the idler sprocket as well. Coaster brake arm lever will also need attaching. Some progress being made. My engine guy wants to build a chuckle head Honda engine as well for a small cafe racer he has planned. I said go for it. Rick C.

 

[indian22]

Rainy today & I'm day dreaming drive lines and stuff. Just might make this a jockey shift (left hand) & switch clutch lever to throttle side of the bars and brake lever to the left. Shift lever about bottom of tank in height and pretty much straight up from the shifter shaft location...shift knob will end up at about the back third of the fuel tank.

I'm used to braking with both hands on bicycles so no big deal in usage. I'll also make a "magneto box" to place behind the jug to house the CDI and coil. Just small details that keep me entertained.

Rick C.

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

So I was reading Wiki about jockey clutch and the suicide clutch pedal to match with it and came across detent in clutch pedal. Seems then the suicide clutch pedal name can have the suicide prefix removed if using a clutch pedal with detent to lock in the clutch. Coming to a stop in gear, you can have both feet touch the ground and have the engine running still.

Anyway remember where the ignition switch is!

Faux jockey clutch probably does not make sense as the foot shift would still likely be seen.

MT

 

[indian22]

Hi MT yes the jockey clutch, suicide, is tricky business, but I'm speaking of an actual jockey "shift" to replace the foot shift lever on the 5 speed tranny no fake, it's how I intend to shift the Pea shooter & I just borrowed the jockey term cause I liked the sound of it, though I knew the term might confuse the knowledgeable...which was unintended on my part. My actual intention is to use a normal handlebar mounted clutch lever on the right & operate the front drum brake with a regular lever on the left side...just flipping the two handle bar levers, so I can shift with my left hand the lever mounted on the primary case side and clutch with my right side throttle hand. A very sedate process not intended for racing use I'd add. I do think a hand shift lever will look more in sync with my design than the foot shift however.

Sorry for any confusion caused by my use of the term Jockey in relation to a shift lever. Rick C.

 

[indian22]

Rainy days & reflection go hand in glove. There is great benefit in pausing activity during a build and just critically analyzing progress toward ones design goals.

In general I'm pleased, but hope that I've not overlooked details that could improve my concept of a tribute Harley, of what might have been, by dwelling too closely to what was the actual factory design. What I'm after is more the feel of a Harley than fact, not a specific year and model so much as a composite of two to three decades of H.D. machine design...while using a 1960's design 5 speed O.H.V. integrated engine/transmission which makes that goal harder to achieve even while using a bit of creative license here and there. So I pushed the pause button & reorganized my thoughts going forward, so some progress gained while doing nothing. Rick C.

 

[Harold_B]

Sometimes slowing down is difficult and doing nothing is truly a challenge. I get to feeling like something is wrong if there's not a general sense of urgency. Having said that, well done Rick your doing nothing that is.

 

[indian22]

Harold it is at least calming & I came up with the direction I was looking for with the hand shift as well as the the rocker cover/lifter tubes & coil box. I hope this goes well as I really dislike do overs. I know some of this is hard to follow as there is so little contrast in my photos, but that will start to improve when I get the jug painted black also the addition of the fuel tank will really top off the engine & make all this work...all builds are kinda ugly till almost complete & then it's up to the observer to decide if it works or not. Rick C.

 

[indian22]

Riding the Simplex Copper gator this Fall has been great fun...hardly ever leave the city limits of the small town I live in or exceed 35 mph, just putt putt around mostly. The Harley is coming around nicely & I've been thinking about the V twin build I put on hold while working on the HD Peashooter, that is until Pat posted electric & along with Culver's decision mostly or only to do electric I'm leaning in that direction for my next build as well. Maybe do the V-twin as well but I'm struggling with finding a small V....the 250 cc Virago 5 speed is really 125 cc larger than I want to base any build around. So I'm asking for help here & suggestions for a V twin candidate...don't suggest flat twins or parallel; I'm not interested, just small V twin...with or without transmissions. New or vintage engines ok.
I want to continue building bikes based on bicycle parts except for the motor, I want frame, fork, wheels, hubs, tires, brakes etc. to be bicycle components. I've built big bikes many times & I'm over it. I really just want to build town and country bicycle based cruisers, not touring rigs for the highways. Regardless of which power (electric or V twin) I select for the next build it will be basically a bicycle with a motor attached. The 10 plus hp 5 speed Simplex with 125 cc engine is fun & can really crawl around town in second gear, but more than I actually use, so for me smaller is better. The very early twins were only 4 to 7 hp & I'm thinking that's about the right amount of power and weight for me. Rick C.

 

[fasteddy]

I had always thought about a using a V twin lawn mower motor with the crank and rod and pistons removed and an electric motor in placed in the crank case area. You have the motor look with the electric power. The fly wheel could be mounted permanently to keep the look. There would be worn out motors for sale I'm sure.

If an early motor look was needed a welded up aluminum crank case to fit the electric motor with cylinders and heads from a V twin or two single cylinder motors can be added. I'll never get to it but it would be fun to build one and watch the looks as you get on it and just ride away with out starting the motor and there is no noise except the electric motors hum.

Steve.

 

[Ludwig II]

It won't have the V sound, but there's a Chinese fake V twin out there, with the rear "cylinder" actually housing the air filter.

http://www.conecustomcycles.com/?page_id=522

 

[butchl]

That is too cool. Who is producing them ??

 

[indian22]

Thanks Ludwig that is a cool little V, but I really do want a V sound as well as a fully operational V twin cylinder internal combustion engine. Fake rocker covers are about as far as I will go in the faux direction, but for the electric V I like the direction Pat is going...Rick C.

 

[indian22]

I had always thought about a using a V twin lawn mower motor with the crank and rod and pistons removed and an electric motor in placed in the crank case area. You have the motor look with the electric power. The fly wheel could be mounted permanently to keep the look. There would be worn out motors for sale I'm sure.

If an early motor look was needed a welded up aluminum crank case to fit the electric motor with cylinders and heads from a V twin or two single cylinder motors can be added. I'll never get to it but it would be fun to build one and watch the looks as you get on it and just ride away with out starting the motor and there is no noise except the electric motors hum.

Steve.

Steve your good thoughts got me thinking about my stack of old motors and stuff. I'm quite certain to have some small cylinders and heads on hand and since an early motor flat head look is what I'm thinking, whipping up a crankcase shouldn't be much of a task either. I'll need some dimensions of electric motors. I'll look at some of the lower voltage motors to start with and not get too crazy on this initial electric. Unless the perfect small gas V-twin engine turns up I"m certain to go with the DC "Edison" electric V "barn find" Harley as my next build.

I too am a fossil fuel fanatic but green is also nice. Rick C.

 

[Harold_B]

Sometime ago I had started down a path to design a v-twin using the Howell prints as a reference and the 97cc flat head as a parts source. The Howell is about 48cc and intended as a display model but it doesn't seem like a stretch to me to bring it up to 100-200cc using mostly off the shelf parts. If you have the machine shop resources, I have SolidWorks and the Howell print set and would be happy to participate depending on your schedule.

For reference: http://www.jerry-howell.com/V-Twin.html

 

[indian22]

Harold I'm afraid that's a project I'm not able to participate in. I'm really just looking for a small V-twin gas engine at this time, but I'd sure like to see a V- twin produced for use in classic builds that wouldn't be too cost prohibitive. Rick C.

 

[Harold_B]

Harold I'm afraid that's a project I'm not able to participate in. I'm really just looking for a small V-twin gas engine at this time, but I'd sure like to see a V- twin produced for use in classic builds that wouldn't be too cost prohibitive. Rick C.

No problem Rick. Not many people I'd offer my time to for such a project but you certainly have demonstrated the skills. Maybe some other time!

 

[indian22]

Thanks Harold, yet I'm finding that my electric bike knowledge is quite non-existent. I've spent some time on past posts regarding the various aspects of the subject & now realize I'd best learn from those who've gone before & throttle back a bit on my enthusiasm for another build. How hard can it be? Samsung has a lot of experience with battery operated devices and yet...

As a youth I built slot cars and rewound those little motors, carefully balancing the armatures on razor blades to coax the last bit of speed from each little motor, but tech has made quantum leaps and I'm left limping and tripping on half forgotten 19th. & 20th. century theory; I got a lot of catching up to do.

Meanwhile the Harley D. awaits & requires the bulk of my spare time. Rick C.

 

[indian22]

Finished re mounting the engine last night after my motor guru installed the cam, valve springs & did some port 'n polish work. I also painted the jug black hi-temp & that gives the engine some contrast and a vintage look. Had to get the motor work completed as he's being deployed to Afghanistan & has already returned to his unit.

Photo shows the "chuckle head" rocker positioned but not attached. I painted the original rocker cover hi-temp black this morning as well. I'm seeing lots of changes needed. Rick C.