Alrighty, a few updates to lay out here.
1: I got one wheel finished and the other going on the truing stand tomorrow. I matched the polished spokes on both wheels, so they look like they belong together.
2: Now that my wheels are taken care of, I'm going to be focusing on performance. I'm going to finally purchase the billet flywheel, a manifold kit, a carb, and a new spark plug, along with a few cheap ones for chops. Unfortunately, removing the spark plug involves removing the engine, so it's going to be a hassle doing chops. If anyone's got another method for checking mixture, lemme hear it please.
3: Once all my performance stuff is taken care of, I'll be redoing the wiring. I'm going to use motorcycle harness plugs and 2 inch split loom to make maintenance easy. I'll also be rebuilding the box, not out of bloodwood, but out of mahogany. This is probably the most consistent thing I've said lately, lol.
4: A full strip down and repainting is in order as well. I'll be stripping the frame down to bare metal (protecting the steel from oxidation with some bacon grease until I'm ready to lay down the primer if I don't have it ready beforehand), laying down some rust preventing primer, the color coat, and finally, a durable clear coat, maybe a thin layer of clear epoxy over that too, idk. Either way, this bike is going to get a makeover. This, of course, is the final stage because I want everything working, easy to remove and maintain, and aesthetically not clunky before I paint literally everything except the box, the wheels, handlebars, fork, headlight, turn signals, you get the point. I'm torn between a metallic emerald or a candy apple finish. On one hand, the red accents on the bike would pop against the green and draw the eye to the bike, but on the other, going red would reduce the contrast and make everything seem blended together, and a little more boring.
Anyway, the reliability stage is almost complete. I just need to replace my fenders (one got mangled and the other is in bad shape), tires (2 year old rubber that's just been sitting for most of its life), and my grips (need more grip on the grips). I have one more thing to add before I go: my gearing is optimal for my purposes. With a maximum possible top speed of 105mph, a 5th gear speed of 65, and a first gear speed of 16, all at 5800rpm, this bike is well geared for both range and torque. I calculated the equivalent cadence at 397rpm at the chainring and used a bicycle gear calculator to reach these speed quotes, which takes into account the wheel size.
The problem is this: do I have enough power to even realize my 5th gear speed, and can my frame handle the power needed to reach that speed? I'm fine if 45mph is all I can do, I'll just build another bike that can handle that design speed and more.
This, my motorbicycling friends, is my 4 stage plan for building any bike: Get it working, get it roaring, get it lit up, get it looking good.
Thanks for reading another NightRider post, and keep the rubber side down.