I dont know what it is about this one but it just seems like its ALL BUISNESS! Tough looking build ! I dig it!
Caviness Motorbike Co. 2010
- Thread starter darkhawk22
- Start date
Got my new fenders in and refit the front one and added on my Brooks mudflap. I wish the front fender was a bit bigger or rather covered more of the tire but I can always change it back out later. Next up is the rear fender refit.
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What's not to like about the rear fender? The front looks nice, did you mean you wish it was longer towards the front? How are they for rattling? Thinking of putting fenders back on my bike and researching the most stout fender and solid mounting method. That's a super nice bike Hawk!
Thanks Skitch, yea I like the look of the really old bikes that have the full fender that covers almost half the tire. I might have a solution soon.
Ok I did some minor engineering to the fender and now I have a full size front fender. I beefed up the supports and basically bolted two fenders together. Next up is the rear fender modification/refit.
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Rear fender is mounted. Refit a tail light of a different style. My speedo went out due to hitting a large bump so I had to replace with a bit newer style so I had to paint it black as it was originally the white Cadet style, I have yet to try it out. Also, finally had some time to refit my carbide light with a newer style bulb. I used a mining light assembly inside the original housing and purchased a battery holder for 4 AA batteries from Radio Shack and a 6V Halogen flashlight bulb to fit inside and added a switch. Now I can run the light and replace batteries as needed. The rear light that I refit works off the 6V mini-gen.
Beautiful build with lots of details that you can tell someone worked really hard to make happen. I see one the that I would change if it was my bike. And this is just my opinion so in the end its just that. To me the fuel tank is totally out of place because of the top tube angle. Its pointing up and just doesn't gel or flow right. Again just my opinion.
Went out the other day and got some new pics after adding a small container just behind the motor. The plan was to place the CDI in there which I was able to complete yesterday evening though I haven't had time to test it out to make sure the bike is running yet. Future plans are to put a glass bowl fuel filter that I have in the area where the CDI was before. I have the gas line and fuel filter, just need to find time to mount it up. Also, I have a Skip-u chain tensioner to mount up at some point but that will require some trimming of the rear fender on the drive chain side and trimming of the chain cover over there. In the mean-time the bike is running great. I just posted a note in the heads thread to find out what might be a good upgrade on that.
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Latest news: Updated the head with a new one from CR Machine that I purchased off of eBay. The one I purchased is the Stage 1. I'm using it with one gasket with no problems. The new head has noticeably more compression and is a bit smoother as well. The smoothing out could be due to the mass of the new head as it weighs quite a bit more than the previous straight mount China head that I had on the bike.
When I first installed the head my bike would not crank up right away but after adjusting the gap (reducing) on my plug (BP5HS) the little engine came alive. I've got quite a bit of torque now and no problems running up to speed so as a result I'm going to change out my 40T to a 36T sprocket and see how it goes. I don't think I will have any problems cruising in the area that I live in even though we have some slight hills. Sprocket should be in within the next few days.
When I first installed the head my bike would not crank up right away but after adjusting the gap (reducing) on my plug (BP5HS) the little engine came alive. I've got quite a bit of torque now and no problems running up to speed so as a result I'm going to change out my 40T to a 36T sprocket and see how it goes. I don't think I will have any problems cruising in the area that I live in even though we have some slight hills. Sprocket should be in within the next few days.
Pic with the new cylinder head. Also I had the chance to move my CDI to the container just behind the seat post.
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Great looking build!
Did you ever get the fueling right?
In the last pic, it looks like the fuel line is pretty kinked, which could limit fuel flow.
It could also just be the angle of the pic or my imagination too.
Hope it helps, keep up the good work!
Did you ever get the fueling right?
In the last pic, it looks like the fuel line is pretty kinked, which could limit fuel flow.
It could also just be the angle of the pic or my imagination too.
Hope it helps, keep up the good work!
Thanks GoldenSprocket,
Yes I just put my old fuel filter back on for the moment. Line has a nice bend, luckily no kinking. Next up is a 36T sprocket and getting rid of the tensioner with some half links hopefully.
Yes I just put my old fuel filter back on for the moment. Line has a nice bend, luckily no kinking. Next up is a 36T sprocket and getting rid of the tensioner with some half links hopefully.
Got the 36T sprocket mounted and the SkipU tensioner attached to the engine. The bike rides nice and smooth now and with the CR head it has plenty of torque for take off. I have just recently gotten everything tightened down and have yet to get a good speed test but overall it rides well and the downhill rides are much smoother on the engine. Next up I'm reworking the chain guard on the drive side to make room for the SkipU tensioner.
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Was wondering how much you lost on the bottom, what your cruise speed is with reasonable rpm and did you get 3 or 4 mph at wot? Thinking of going to 36 tooth myself if i can get my engine to wake up a little more on the low end. Thanks
I use the following:
Continental 26x2 Moped 2-22 KKS 10 Tires I got them from these guys:
http://classic-cycle.de/en/All/Ball...k.html?listtype=search&searchparam=moped tire
They are in Germany but have great service and fast shipping to the U.S.
Hope this helps!
Also, I have some of these but I haven't put them on yet:
http://www.bikesonline.com/continental-retro-ride-tire-26x2-0-cream-wire-bead.htm
Continental 26x2 Moped 2-22 KKS 10 Tires I got them from these guys:
http://classic-cycle.de/en/All/Ball...k.html?listtype=search&searchparam=moped tire
They are in Germany but have great service and fast shipping to the U.S.
Hope this helps!
Also, I have some of these but I haven't put them on yet:
http://www.bikesonline.com/continental-retro-ride-tire-26x2-0-cream-wire-bead.htm
Ok update time. Here are some new/old photos showing the new CR head and SkipU tensioner and 36T sprocket. I love the way the bike performs right now. It did lose some low end torque so I have to pedal a bit more when I start from a complete stop, say at a stop sign. On the other hand, now I can still climb most of the hills in our neighborhood with no problems with an average speed of about 22 throughout my 12-15 mile ride. I would say I only gained about 2MPH but the bike strains less now and doesn't sound like it's going to explode when I go down hills. The best I have clocked on a flat straight at the moment is 36MPH with GPS and I weight about 140 and my bike is heavy, not sure how heavy but it's all steel.
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I really enjoy your bike, you have a real cafe racer vintage look and feel going on. The stance is nice, the fuel tank eats up all that negative space most people have above the motor, you used actual vintage parts. I'm impressed, very good work. 