98cc Villiers on a 1945 Sears Roebuck

Progress or something like that. Sort of like the pace of an iceberg grinding down the face of a rock but progress none the less. Might be hard to see (clutter and trying to capture a lot of stuff in one photo) but I welded the brake arm bracket on to the rocker to get rid of the several bolts and nuts. Also cleaned up the carbide headlight I'm planning to convert to LED and made a bracket for it. Lots of little things that don't show but take me a lot of time. Garage time will be getting more limited now that the cold is here.

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Side view....

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Expecting snow today and have work (like my job work) to do today but made it into the garage yesterday. Welding more gussets, grinding down the messy welds, rewelding weak joints and repeating the process has been the time consumer. The more time I spend cleaning up the welds and thinking about how much work there is to be done with filler and files and sanding before paint the better a bare or ratty paint scheme sounds. I'd really like to be riding this in early summer instead having the project that never ends. While I was busy grinding away the slag I also took some time to remove most of the paint. I ran out of time and abrasive wheels for my drill before the whole thing was stripped but close. A few posts back we were talking about the rear stays and how they flow with the lines of the bike. I think it's easier to see the lines now that the stark transition from black to yellow is gone.

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Not sure if this helps but I layered the original photo of the frame over a fairly recent photo to compare the rear stays. I think they're pretty close.

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Nice work! Like you using computer to see what an overlay of parts to compare worked out.

That thing that I expect is like a gear box or something that is behind the engine, is that for making it work with pedaling and using the engine both.

I saw the curved arm to what might be the right side pedal. Also thinking kickstart.

Kick start I've seen of very few bikes, but for authentic build, maybe like the early motorcycles they were pedaled to start.

http://s1083.photobucket.com/user/Harold_LF/media/Mobile Uploads/IMG_4359_zpsfnfe8tv4.jpg.html
 
Thanks gents. Coughing up bits of slag and rust and black and yellow paint today. Apparently my beard and 'stache didn't filter all of it.

Measure Twice - that's a kick start. The transmission is a ~1923 Albion three speed. My last build was pedal start and was pretty heavy. I've had enough pedaling three hundred pounds plus (the bike fully loaded plus me) that I want a kick start! I know early bikes were pedal start and there have been discussions on the forum before about removing pedals (and is it still a motorized bicycle) but the 1920's bikes seem appropriate for what I'm building I think. I haven't totally excluded pedals as yet. I have floorboards that I plan to use and there are days I think pedals might be a better solution but they present another set of problems as far as clearance. The other benefit to the transmission is gearing and getting all that weight going especially from a standing start up a big hill. The main reason I'm thinking about pedals is that the clutch pads are pretty old as are the discs and having a rolling start would probably be less stress. Wouldn't hurt me to pedal now and then either I suppose.
 
Harold most of us freely admit that we aren't attempting to exactly replicate a specific marque or model but are attempting to capture something of those early classics flavor & feel and at times improving the safety, longevity, comfort & appearance of a vintage style of moto-bike. 1923 transmission on a 1945 frame is truly retro vintage in my book & kick starts have been pretty common in those time frames as well. Really good looking stays that blend as well. Nicely done!

Rick C.
 
Thanks Rick. Glad you have your account back to working again. It can be a hassle when computers don't work like we expect but I'm always amazed how so many different programs can operate at once to allow us to create the things we do. Your feedback as always is appreciated. I can understand how the Kickstarter might have been hard to discern for MT or anyone else in any of the photos I've posted. Considering the poor lighting and the clutter I'm surprised anyone can tell there's a bike there! You definitely have the idea of what I'm going for as far as the general time frame. Most of the parts were made for a few decades and overlapped a bit so I think they fit. The stays look pretty good in profile but I'm not too sure about the alignment of the rear wheel. That might preclude the pedals and the chain that goes with them. I knew I was buying a little more slack in my alignment with the belts although not a lot but it will still be easier to align just a belt than a belt and a chain.

Still mulling over the rusty rat rod /barn find look. That'd make cleaning up the transmission a lot easier too.
 
Thanks Moto. Being a Michigan guy you might relate to this - my goal is have the bike ready by the weekend of June 10 & 11 of this coming summer. If everything goes well I'll make my way down to the Gilmore Car Museum for the Motorcycle Show & Swap meet. If you haven't been there the place is incredible. One of the largest collections of rare and antique vehicles in the US. I'm pretty certain my ride wouldn't be allowed entry but I can park on the grounds and walk the show and that'd be a fantasy come true. It's my motivator while the snow flies!
http://www.gilmorecarmuseum.org/event/vintage-motorcycle-show-swap-meet/?instance_id=274
 
Harold_B said:
Still mulling over the rusty rat rod /barn find look. That'd make cleaning up the transmission a lot easier too.
Click to expand...

Harold bottom line is you get to set the parameters & decide if you want to "color outside the lines" or not....I love perfect show quality, on others builds; cars, trucks, bikes etc. and for years that's what I built for myself and others. Building a barn find look should never be about sloppy workmanship but attention to the "aged with grace" appearance. I now aim for a what I can live with & ride without the worry of getting a scratch or showing some road grime. I'm not settling for less with this approach far from it, but attaining what's important to me. It's really not about how time consuming it is to initially detail out a build to perfection with me, but the question I internally pose is - Can I actually utilize my builds on a daily basis and still take great pride in what I've created? Nothing wrong with either decision if you're ultimately satisfied with the outcome. If I was building multiple bikes of the exact same design I'd go for the perfection allowed in the target price range with all that entails regarding paint & bling to maximize sales, one offs for my own use... no. With a show bike or garage art I'd shoot for visual perfection cause it wins. Regardless of what you decide after "mulling" it will turn out beautifully. Rick C.
 
Agree absolutely Rick especially when it comes to setting my own priorities. There's no way I could look at spray painted slag or really rough cuts on edges after all the time that has been spent. It's more a matter of what resources (time and money) it will take to bring some of the details back to their prime. My thoughts on a barn find are that the bike would need to look like a factory ride with good lines, good welds, and a design that looks like it was intended to be sold to a larger market then was stashed away and forgotten. Rat rods have a bit more attitude to them and I don't think this bike would really make a good rat. Too soft around the edges I'd say. My two cents and all that. On my last build I made it pretty then made it look tired then rode it until it was very tired. Being aluminum it never had a real barn find character in my eyes though. More steampunk is what I kept hearing. Either way it'll be cold for quite a while so I have plenty of time to get down to the nitty gritty details and let my mind wander while my hands are busy getting dirty.
 
Spent the last couple of days or at least a couple hours of each in the garage. Warm temps in the low 30's make for reasonable garage time when I dress for it. I'll need to give it some time before I decide if I've accomplished anything though. I'm not so sure I like it. I have added a jackshaft and mount so that I can get power from the transmission to the rear wheel. The engine drives the tranny via a chain, the tranny drives the jackshaft via another chain, and the jackshaft drives the rear wheel via a belt. This set up takes care of the alignment issues between the wheel and the transmission, and makes it so I don't have to mount a sprocket on the hub. It just looks a little cobbled to me (probably because it is) and too cluttered. Maybe I'm just used to the space being empty.

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I'm after a vintage look, not steampunk. I like steampunk just fine it's just not my goal here.
 
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Harold_B said:
I'm after a vintage look, not steampunk. I like steampunk just fine it's just not my goal here.
Click to expand...

I've said it elsewhere, many of these bikes now are acquiring an aura of post WW2 Japanese lightweight motorcycles. I suppose the type of engines and the bicycles they are added to almost dictates the style.
 
Harold I woke early made coffee & got as far as your last post...been staring at the photo now for over a half hour, doing the Silver bear thang and like SB I think it looks really good. I have often covered my own "progress photo posts" with the caveat throw down quip, "all my builds get ugly till they are finished". Absurdly obvious to expect perfection at each stage of progress. What I see is important solutions being worked out with some space to spare and that alone seems a blessing to this old guys experience of not having quite enough space to fit just the essentials in. You have entered into a rather complex build with unique couplings of disparate parts to form a functioning transport...definitly not a rag joint kit build or a paint and fluffy remake. Take yourself out of the equation and see what you've accomplished to this point and I believe you will clearly see what's next on the to do list and how to get there. Your making really good progress on a very interesting and appealing build. Let time work for you and answers will appear...if your not to busy to see them.

Rick C.
 
Harold I woke early made coffee & got as far as your last post...been staring at the photo now for over a half hour, doing the Silver bear thang and like SB I think it looks really good. I have often covered my own "progress photo posts" with the caveat throw down quip, "all my builds get ugly till they are finished". Absurdly obvious to expect perfection at each stage of progress. What I see is important solutions being worked out with some space to spare and that alone seems a blessing to this old guys experience of not having quite enough space to fit just the essentials in. You have entered into a rather complex build with unique couplings of disparate parts to form a functioning transport...definitly not a rag joint kit build or a paint and fluffy remake. Take yourself out of the equation and see what you've accomplished to this point and I believe you will clearly see what's next on the to do list and how to get there. Your making really good progress on a very interesting and appealing build. Let time work for you and answers will appear...if your not to busy to see them.

Rick C.
 
I find the mechanical complexity necessary to achieve the operation of a design intriguing.

Yours is no less so. I can imagine people looking at your build admiring the thought and skill it took to bring it about. This is the genre of a vintage style build.

This all works well together! Its mechanical art.
 
Thanks for the feedback everybody. I really do appreciate your taking the time to take a critical look and give me your thoughts. I took another look this morning as I was getting in the car to leave for work and it didn't seem as cluttered as I thought last night. Maybe it's a matter of getting used to it (or maybe it was inhaling the fumes from welding and grinding in a closed space!). There's still more brackets to be added once everything is aligned properly so it will be more crowded before I'm done. I would like to take this idea to completion before I change direction so that I can take advantage of the time to ponder (thanks for the reminder Rick, seems obvious but it's not always). As I get things aligned and robust I can be thinking about guards / covers for some parts to make it look a bit more finished. Sheet metal, that'll be something new for me!
 
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