The random tandem thus far

[Wevil Kenevil]

Lol on the hello kitty seat. So hilarious

Oh and the good thing about the flex pipe is that it mounts up flush and it leaves plenty of slack for jiggle room so it's not a rigid joint. I swear by the flex pipes!

Make sure not to buy a knock off cuz the knockoffs aren't the right length and it messes with the exhaust system.

 

[Solarsyst]

I haven't had luck on flex pipes on my China Girls. They always are welded badley or just generally or not airleak free for me. Intregrating pipes are the hardest part. I'm spot welding a RHM pipe right now. It's so think it's easy to burn through.. Very frustrating job. Just finished painting it and I'm thinking of just fiberglass wrapping 20% of it just for looks.

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

The tandem will be ready for its first test run probably late tomorrow afternoon. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

And then it's going to be time to pick a paint color scheme and I'm thinking neon green and gloss black like the rainforest frog you know those frogs that are poisonous I don't know if you ever seen the green and black with the blue stripe?

It almost look like a glows from radioactivity. ... But first things first let's get it running.

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

I haven't had luck on flex pipes on my China Girls. They always are weled badlet or just generally or not airleak free for me. Intregrating pipes are the hardest part. I'm spot welding a RHM pipe right now. It's so think it's easy to burn through.. Very frustrating job. Just finished painting it and I'm thinking of just fiberflast wrapping 20% of it just for looks.

Noice!!! Can't wait to see how it turns out for you brother good luck!!!

What type of welder are you using stick or are you using wire feed?

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

I don't know how long you been welding but to get proficient at it you need to burn through a couple containers of sticks or a couple rolls of wire feed to get it down and try to find like some thick tin cans or something a little thinner, if you practice on something thinner than what you have to weld by the time that you go to weld up what you intend to weld up you will be more than proficient.

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

What type of bike are you going to put the motor on if you decided?

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

I haven't had luck on flex pipes on my China Girls. They always are weled badlet or just generally or not airleak free for me. Intregrating pipes are the hardest part. I'm spot welding a RHM pipe right now. It's so think it's easy to burn through.. Very frustrating job. Just finished painting it and I'm thinking of just fiberflast wrapping 20% of it just for looks.

Oh and use the e6011 not the e6013 welding stick if you're using arc welder. It doesn't have anywhere near as much slag and it's easier to work. The 6013 is really hard to get dialed in it doesn't seem like it's consistent.

And if you're using a wire feed instead of trying to adjust your welding technique adjust the amperage on the welder but don't change it by more than just a couple clicks at a time until you get it dialed in and when you find it you'll know it!

 

[Solarsyst]

Oh and use the e6011 not the e6013 welding stick if you're using arc welder. It doesn't have anywhere near as much slag and it's easier to work. The 6013 is really hard to get dialed in it doesn't seem like it's consistent.

And if you're using a wire feed instead of trying to adjust your welding technique adjust the amperage on the welder but don't change it by more than just a couple clicks at a time until you get it dialed in and when you find it you'll know it!

Yeah i Have a flux and the problem is dime stacking because the material was too thin. I had to use the lowest voltage and speed to get straight welds and fix it that way instead. Here one sec here's a photo of the job completed.

Since the pipe has a slip header the other issue is finding the right material to seal the connections. It will cause engine issues and a bit of bogging otherwise.

So here's what I think might work. Muffler or Exhuast Sealant and bedding the slip header with fiberglass. I tried several Silicone sealants. To much RPM and PSI coming from a Minarelli. The seals only last 2 days max lol.

 

[Solarsyst]

Here we go.

 

[Solarsyst]

The tandem will be ready for its first test run probably late tomorrow afternoon. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

And then it's going to be time to pick a paint color scheme and I'm thinking neon green and gloss black like the rainforest frog you know those frogs that are poisonous I don't know if you ever seen the green and black with the blue stripe?

It almost look like a glows from radioactivity. ... But first things first let's get it running.

That would be sick.

 

[Solarsyst]

I just welded the leaks then bedded the area with Versachem Muffler Weld Exhust System Repair, painted it with high heat automotive silicone based paint, then wrapped 20% of the pipe and metal zip tied the fibercloth material. Granted they do recommend to use their brand of spray silicone to seal the wrap, it's really expensive. 30+ dollars.

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

You know that basically handlebars are about the same thickness as muffler pipe right?

And thank you very much for the compliment brother and yeah that sucks man it takes a while to get that **** down but don't give up! Actually if you got any old handlebars that are steel you can practice welding those together. And that's actually how I made my ape hangers that I have on my main bike. I used a pair of beach cruisers coming out of the neck and then I cut the tandem passenger handle bars in half with a swell is in the middle and it fits right over the other pipe and I just welded it up and ground her down.

It's sort of hard to tell in that picture but my handlebars are 5 ft 5 in off the ground to the end of The handlebar and they have a 3-ft spread and 23 inch rise.

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

I just welded the leaks then bedded the area with Versachem Muffler Weld Exhust System Repair, painted it with high heat automotive silicone based paint, then wrapped 20% of the pipe and metal zip tied the fibercloth material. Granted they do recommend to use their brand of spray silicone to seal the wrap, it's really expensive. 30+ dollars.

You seem pretty knowledgeable solar how long have you been building bike

 

[curtisfox]

Oh and use the e6011 not the e6013 welding stick if you're using arc welder. It doesn't have anywhere near as much slag and it's easier to work. The 6013 is really hard to get dialed in it doesn't seem like it's consistent.

And if you're using a wire feed instead of trying to adjust your welding technique adjust the amperage on the welder but don't change it by more than just a couple clicks at a time until you get it dialed in and when you find it you'll know it!

Have you tried 7014 rod its the same as 6013 only a contact rod, you can hold right on the project and go right along, may need just a bit more heat?.........Curt

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

It's been raining all day here in Sacramento so the test drive is gonna have to wait until a sunny day when the ground is dry. Which should be in about 3 days .

I feel like its Christmas eve in super slow motion... Arghhh!

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

Have you tried 7014 rod its the same as 6013 only a contact rod, you can hold right on the project and go right along, may need just a bit more heat?.........Curt

Yes as a matter of fact I have thank you for bringing that up. It is for super clean metal that has no rust or paint or anything else on it which is kind of hard to do when you're dealing with an old bike frame or exhaust pipe unless it's new of course. But it is alot easier for sure!

 

[curtisfox]

Yes as a matter of fact I have thank you for bringing that up. It is for super clean metal that has no rust or paint or anything else on it which is kind of hard to do when you're dealing with an old bike frame or exhaust pipe unless it's new of course. But it is alot easier for sure!

supper clean , not so, just clean turn the heat up a tad and weld along, I used it all the time, but now have wire feed welder, I keep hoping to find a buz box at a garage sale, because it was so easy to use with 7914, being 82 my eyes are not the best...........Curt

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

Thank you Curt! You are correct. It seems the person who told me that was mistaken or I remembered wrong idk.

It's 7018 that is very touchy... My bad.

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

Well I have a 3 nice sets of front forks... But they all have aluminum or magnesium dropouts.

I was looking around the "bike pile" and found some cheapish forks that work until I get something else.

They are just spring dampened BUT the dropout is Definitely steel and Since I will only be using the front hub to get the bike motor started I think with the proper washers and torque arms it will suit my need.

See photos.

The steel tubing that the spring is inside of comes down and is pressed together and "laminated" on the ends so it should handle the torq with torque washers and torque arms.

It's the only ones I got so I'm going with them, safety over comfort.

Temp work around.

 

[Wevil Kenevil]

For the torque arms instead of using the leaf spring I cut the back dropouts off and old bike and modified them for use as front torque arms. I will post pics when I get them installed.

I figured since it's only a 350watt hub that arming both sides will be sufficient to do the job since it's only going to be used to get the motor started and temporary boosts of speed while running. The torque will be minimal since the gas motor will be carrying the majority of the weight already.

Sorry for the micro reports but beings this is my first e bike build and alot of what I'm doing is trial and error.