40's western flyer china-girl motorized bicycle II

[perichbrothers]

Well had so much fun putting the shelby together,
decided to start another one.

Had found a whizzer project,
and sold the engine, kept the bike.
A 40's western flyer...

There were way too many pieces missing to make it anywhere near running.

So doing this one the opposite way,
making the tank first, and **** no more fiberglass, i like instant results!

So last night made some bucks...

Gonna be a big tank, but want some capacity.

TP

 

[perichbrothers]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

After work whipped one side out of some rusty scrap

an hour and a half later...

It's gonna be welded/brazed to the frame.

Hard to see but there's an indentation in the centerline.

Now just have to match the other side!

TP

 

[foureasy]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

real nice. always cool to see someone make the buck and do it right. and the brass will never leak or crack.

 

[perichbrothers]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

real nice. always cool to see someone make the buck and do it right. and the brass will never leak or crack.

Making a simple buck and hammering is so much easier than welding a right angle and grinding!
TP

 

[silverbear]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

Awesome! And yet another way to fabricate a tank. You're right, that's going to hold a nice amount of gas. What kind of heat is required to do that work?
SB

 

[perichbrothers]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

No heat silverbear. Just a hammer.

Got the other side made and welded it all up.
Hopefully get the cap and outlet on this weekend,
well and all the other stuff!

TP

 

[dule]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

nice work, andnice garage - my working place is a "bit" smaller - open balcony on 12th floor hehe, not quiet nice to work outside when it's -9 deg.C

anyhow hope to see the bike done soon

 

[perichbrothers]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

so got a little frisky with the paint.
Of course didn't weld the cap or the outlet on first, or even bondo it...
have enough extra rattlecan to touch it up.

Did the motormount the same as the earlier bike.
Amazing how much quicker things are the second time!
TP

 

[lopee]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

So, to make the tank you cut and formed pieces of wood, and hammered steel over them to help shrink the metal into shape? Are you using a body hammer and dolly set or a regular hammer?

 

[perichbrothers]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

So, to make the tank you cut and formed pieces of wood, and hammered steel over them to help shrink the metal into shape? Are you using a body hammer and dolly set or a regular hammer?

this is pretty much it.
didn't use the small hammer that much though.
Also have an anvil made of train track to help straighten the edges,
but a dolly would've worked.
TP

 

[sseisup]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

That tank is awesome, and it really keeps that 40's streamlining look.

 

[Mr.B.]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

Very nice,

Thanks for sharing!

What gauge is the sheet metal you used for the tank?

-Kirk

 

[perichbrothers]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

Last week got an itch to just make this thing run.
Holy CHIT this one hauls balls compared to the shelby.
I think its the weight of the bike, the aluminum rims,
and more holes in the back of the muffler.

I was considering getting expansion chamber exhaust,
but will probably just try out the smaller rear chainring.
Don't know how fast I really need to go!
TP

Kirk, probably 18 gauge it was pretty thick stuff.

 

[silverbear]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

Boy, did that turn out nice. Can you give a closer shot of the painted tank? I can't make out the graphics or lettering. That one's a keeper for sure.
SB

 

[Mr.B.]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

Thanks!

-Kirk

 

[lobsterboyx]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

digin the ball burner exhaust! any problems with long pipe robbing back pressure?

 

[perichbrothers]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

digin the ball burner exhaust! any problems with long pipe robbing back pressure?

Well my first bike, the shelby, seemed like a good cruiser,
but couldn't keep up with my friends orange rocket,
just no top end.
I had modified the muffler by cutting off that inside tube flush with the cap.
It definitely made a performance difference, a little noisier but did help.

Well this one I made a triple-hole cap before the first startup.

So right off the bat it hauled balls compared to the shelby.
Basically I just cut 2 1" pieces of that leftover mini-tube and brazed them on the cap at crazy angles.

I did some comparison testing against both,
and swapped the caps to check the difference.
Wow it really woke up the shelby bigtime.
Its still not as fast as chinagirl, but its a heavier slow solid bike anyway.
So whipped out another triple-holer for the shelby.
The cool thing is I can put a bolt in one of the holes,
which quiets it down a little with not too much performance loss.

Of course it now sounds like a dirt bike though,
but to me it sounds better than the put-putter that it was.
If you're neighborhood allows it try it out.

So instead of making back pressure, I think it breathes more.
Still thinking of the expansion chamber exhaust but having fun like they are now.

TP

 

[cornbelt]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

Did you have to notch your rear fender for the chain?

 

[perichbrothers]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

Did you have to notch your rear fender for the chain?

I should have but that part of the fender wasn't very straight,
so I just kinda hammered on it to give it clearance.

I've since changed this one to a "bobber"

way more comfortable but not as fun in the turns...

TP

 

[curtisfox]

Re: 40's western flyer china-girl II

Awesome bike: Nice hemi powerd A in the background.