98cc Villiers on a 1945 Sears Roebuck

[Harold_B]

As promised, results of my attempt to rebuild a wheel. I'm calling it a partial success. I managed to lace the spokes properly and not cross-thread or lose any nipples. That'd be the success part. The not so successful part is that I had switched out a Shimano 110 coaster hub for a SA XD drum single speed. The flanges on the SA hub are a bit taller than the Shimano so my spokes are too long. Not long enough for a different cross pattern but too long to be taken up with the available threads. I'll make some measurements and start shopping for used spokes or a bargain of some kind. Maybe I can run a die up these and cut them off.

 

[indian22]

Harold a big cheer for your effort on the wheel now you know it can be done!

Hozan makes a tool & dies to thread spokes, looks old fashion with the manual crank handle and cast finish. I've seen them on Ebay and the old school bike shops carry them and use them as well, but you can buy a lot of spokes for $150. bucks. Rick C.

 

[Harold_B]

Thanks for the cheer Rick. I had tried my hand at this four years ago and it did not go so well even though the spokes were the correct length for that wheel. Took three times this time and finally turned out with the exception of spoke length. I take my victories where I find them! You're right on the cost of a thread roller vs just buying some new spokes. Used or new spokes are most likely my path forward. No rush. You don't have to zoom too much to see how much work there is remaining cleaning up the welds and I'm not done welding so it's going to be a while in this loop.

 

[MotoMagz]

Cross 4 pattern should work. The last spoke that goes under is the tricky part. In stead of going under remove nipple on the spoke you were going to go under.Then while that spoke is loose attach your last spoke to rim then take the spoke that you removed nipple from and put it over the the last spoke and back into its original hole. Basically remove the spoke that you were going under then reinstall it on top of last spoke. Geez that's hard to spit out. I have put xlfd Hubs on traditional front hubs and xlrd hubs on rear coaster brake hubs without buying spokes many times.

 

[Harold_B]

Thanks Moto. I was just looking at your build post on Rat Rod Bikes was wondering about your SA wheel build. I noticed they were 24" rims so knowing your spoke lengths wouldn't really help me. I think I can figure out what you're suggesting here and I'll give it a shot.

 

[butchl]

There is a guy that was at Portland who makes them for about $1.00 each. I think he is in Ohio.

 

[MotoMagz]

Thanks Moto. I was just looking at your build post on Rat Rod Bikes was wondering about your SA wheel build. I noticed they were 24" rims so knowing your spoke lengths wouldn't really help me. I think I can figure out what you're suggesting here and I'll give it a shot.

Just when it's time to turn the hub turn it as far as you can.you should be good.

 

[Harold_B]

I'm most likely doing something wrong but I'm not getting things to align for a four cross pattern. I'll try again but I'm guessing I'll be purchasing spokes.
Thanks for the reference butch.
Made some headway today but not much. Didn't do well with the wheel rebuild so started getting brackets bent for the leaf spring and ran out of Ox for the torch. Switched over to grinding welds on the frame. Not my favorite thing but kind of rewarding.

 

[Harold_B]

Rear wheel is "done". Qualifier is that I think I'll be taking both front and rear to the LBS to have a pro true them and tension the spokes. I'm close but not close enough and I could spend the next month doing what a good mechanic can do for me in an hour. I also decided since I was swapping out the black spokes for polished stainless I'd go ahead and remove the black from the rim too. I plan to do the same to the front. Getting the filth out of my beard was quite the challenge. I'll need to plan better when I start on the front rim!

 

[MotoMagz]

Sing it with me " go Harold go Harold" Ya did it ! What rims are those also are those the Schwinn Kevlar tires? Oh ya that's what I do take it to the Lbs and let them True it up.

 

[curtisfox]

It's always after thought on the first one, LOL LOOKING Great though.........Curt

 

[Harold_B]

Everything's an afterthought on this thing it seems! Buy it, try it, change it, try it again, repeat until I'm relatively happy.

The rims/wheels were from a Felt 1903. The front had been rebuilt with a SA X-FD and the rear was still a Shimano 110. When I had the wheels on the 1903 with a flathead and "dressed" it weighed around 104. I was rolling down a big hill and had a van or SUV (don't recall exactly) pull out. The Shimano brake arm twisted through the anchor bolt and turned into a cone of metal around the hub. Lucky I slowed down and didn't lock up. I decided this build was getting a drum on the rear too. Tires are Duro. I like the profile and they seem to be holding up well for cheap tires. Even so I'm considering going with white walls this time.

 

[Harold_B]

Well Moto I'm one step closer to doing that dance. Front wheel is laced and back on the bike. Missed a few spots of black that I'll need to catch later though. It was hard to see through steamy goggles. I had a bandana over my beard and tucked into my shirt and a hat pulled down to the top of the goggles to try and save the nasty clean up from the rear wheel. Did OK. Busy with a few other odds and ends. Welded on brackets for the tank so that I won't need clamps. Also made a start at linkage for a shifter. I'm starting to wonder how I'm going to get a sprocket on the rear wheel to align with the transmission sprocket. It seems like the brake arm and stop will be in the way. Feh.

Anyway, progress....

For reference, the linkage so far....

 

[indian22]

Harold you're making excellent progress on your exceptional build..I can see that final drive line may present some issues, but that's part of the fun and the challenge of graduating to one off builds. Big difference from the China kits on Walmart frames, built in a few hours, of yesteryear. Rick C.

 

[Harold_B]

Thanks Rick. The last few days have been much more rewarding seeing it come together a bit. Still a long way to go but the time in the garage is really a treat for me. I've been mulling over a jackshaft to get the power to the other side then using the threaded freewheel mount or maybe a belt drive. I could flip the wheel and make a mount that would clamp onto the freewheel mount threads (rendering them useless afterword). Mostly I want to figure out my approach before it gets too cold in case I need to weld anything else onto the frame before paint. I'm doubting I'll beat the cold at this point. I guess I'll be giving it some more thought while I get back at the springer. Bought more Oxy now I can bend stuff.

 

[Harold_B]

Probably hard to see in this view but at the top is one of the welded on brackets for the tank. I also sliced off ~1/4" from the top of the head tube so that the fork nuts would thread on further. That should leave me enough of a gap for a headlight mount.

 

[Harold_B]

Plugging along. Made a seat post for my Primus box spring mattress fold-away sofa saddle. There's no getting around it that thing is huge but boy howdy is it cushy to sit on. Lots of clutter in the background but that's my garage....

Also got some paint on the engine and a little shine on the flywheel. The mower is becoming a garage queen!

 

[Harold_B]

Bought a Whizzer sheave from MotoMagz and spent some time today getting it cleaned up and on the bike. I purchased knowing there was some surface rust but got a great deal on it so a couple hours with a drill and various abrasive and buffing wheels was worth it to me. I'll need to make my own clips or clip adapters because these don't align quite right. No big deal there either. Fenders are on there just so I can think about next steps including lowering and moving the seat back.

A little better view of the sheave installed.

 

[indian22]

Harold this bike is turning out so great. Looking forward to seeing the new saddle position. Rick C.

 

[Harold_B]

Thanks Rick. I haven't been able to spend as much time again lately but did manage a few minutes tonight to bend the post with a torch. I'll need to make a couple of brackets and it should work out fine. I like this position much better.