Electra 200X : My First Thumper!

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Dogtown Burner

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
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Well, after witnessing the thunder of Scotto's hulkster at the last willow race, I was hooked. I know I know, i have been watching the unimited class race for a couple years now, but something clicked. Maybe Scotto's ubiquitous smile, the superhero green paint job that one can only Marvel at (oooh i went there) or it could have been the giant terminator-esque ball of metal parts, gears, and hoses jammed and stuffed into that frame. Quite poetic that a bicycle with such a large, manly, insane engine be chosen "Bixby", the name of the actor who portrayed the original "Incredible Hulk". But I digress..
I had already bought a predator 212cc in early july which I had planned to put into a GT2-A-S2-A-s frame, but that hadnt happened, and is in fact still in the box. (more on that later).
in 2013, I kept running into Jeff Wolf around town on his bad ass sandy dandy dyno, and when he would effortlessly walk away from the pack of us 66'ers at full throttle, I would kinda smile with envy. I've always loved both varieties of engines. they are both great for different reasons, but never did I see myself on one of those 4 stroke 49cc 13mph honda clones I'd been building for clients. I like the quick lightweight 66cc which, with a little work, can propel my fat arse up to glorius wind in the hair speeds of excitement, it smells like my old CR 250, has a clutch lever, and is just downright Zippy and fun.
Enter the 200cc Thunder. WOW! chest pounding thwump thwumps like that of my old yamaha 660, and unheard of ( to the 2 stroke bicycler) speeds and roar. Am I redundant with the sounds? well, its for good reason. These big thumper bikes are EXCITING! Soooooooo illegal, and beefy. i'm kinda getting sweaty here on the couch just thinking about this project.
I told my pal Dave Rust about the predator I had bought, and he, being the 2 stroke race-king, was mildly interested and busy with other things. When we finished the willow race, Scotto offered us to ride his bike. Dave hopped on like a fat kid in a chocolate store, and flew around the larger-than-quarter- mile track, pulling (4) 19second laps consecutively. (my video is on youtube). He was hooked. the next day he called me and said his GX 200 was in the mail and I'd better get one!. HA ha I said.. "remember I told you I have a predator already?" And Dave said "-- well, nevermind what Dave said. lets just say the predator is still in the box, and now I cant decide on whether to strip off the fan shroud of my GX 200 and get a smooth flywhelel, or paint it black and use the killer, efficient cooling billet fan-type that I should use. and own... already..... But Woo HOO!

tonight I finally broke down and started working on it. I still need to go get the frame, (I've chosen to go with the Electra Cruiser 1) and build the bike, but what could possibly hurt in stripping off the "out-of-the-box" looking fan shroud, apply billet flywheel, remove the stock case cover, install the billet case cover, and stand back with the camera. This engine is the one that comes with some race ready stuff, but I'm still going to spend a few paychecks at AGK. . Lets see, so far I have my Jakeshaft (hahahaha) I have my cheetah, the AGK DIY exhaust kit, got a killer megaphone from ebay, the AGK 22mm mikuni intake kit, and some other stuff. Hydraulic discs are ready to go on the full suspension 27" triple tree front forks, and now I gotta convert the arse end of an electra into a 7" wide burly wheel carrier. woo hoo thumper time!dance1

stay tuned..
 

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MotorBicycleRacing

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Jul 28, 2010
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SoCal Baby!!!
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Hey, I like the print out of Grange in one of your pics above.

Are you going to have your 4 stroke finished by the September 7th race at Willow Springs?

Only 11 days to go! :D

PS: It's really hard to read your big block of text, hit the damn space key a few times and
make some paragraphs with some white space.

PPS: You boinked your link. http://http://www.facebook.com/thejakebike laff
 
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scotto-

Custom 4-Stroke Bike Builder
Jun 3, 2010
6,505
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Ridin' inSane Diego, CA.
Very nice Jake, I really like watching these ground pounders being built.....keep it coming and let me know if ya need any advice on issues that may be encountered. I'm sure Dave, Jeff and Shane have you covered as well.

Cheers to another big-bore coming too life!
 

Dogtown Burner

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
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Los Angeles
Thanks Scotto, I'll definitely be thread stalking you, and probably giving you a shout!.

and my apologies to Neil for the whole "reading" thing.

I'm super pumped about this build, and thankful to the pioneers and their wisdom!

I mentioned the original GT2 idea and did'nt follow up. I've used that frame on more than a few builds now ( seems that anyone who buys one calls me for help) and I do love the concept. The rear end looks short, and of course i'd love to see it lengthened, but the bikes track very well, and ride surprisingly smooth and solid. My thought was that with a rear end modification I could stuff a GX200 in there for a totally new deal. Its always fun to try something nobody has, but this time I had at least 4 people tell me I was nuts to consider it. Then I realized the Electra I had in my hands was also aluminum. DRAT. Back to the drawing board. literally.
Now I'm really wishing I had frame-building capability, as this post surgery couch time has gotten me sketching new frame ideas. Theres one in particular i'd love to have Jeff Wolf start building, but one of my customers has now got Jeff building 2 bikes. A day late and a buck short. Oh well.
For now I'll use a modified Electra, chopped and slammed. I'm 6'3", and 215 lbs. I need a bike that doesnt have me looking like the opening act at a ringling bro's main ring. Hahaha I looked at some shots of me from the perris dirt track last year, where I had been convinced that 24"s were the way to roll. I LOOK RIDICULOUS!!! like a giant chimp on a trail 50!

With this bike, I aim to stretch the thing and get the Ergo right so the C/G stays low and feels right. In the bike, not UP OVER the bike.

I gotta say I'm blown away by the friendly service at AGK, and the scope of KITs . makes for a simple way to spend loads of cash. It's like Legos for big guys. AWESOME

Well, I better get out there and build some more 2 strokes so I can get back to this one.

And Neil: I cant see this thing coming together for the race unfortunately. We'll see how quick the frame mods come together. I plan to take it to a friends fab shop today and begin the transformation. I have the parts. I need Dave to make my front triple tree clamps so I can build the front end.
Jeff said he'd build the motor mount plate, so as soon as i get the frame finished I will resume bothering him and we'll see how quick it comes together!
 

buba

Member
Jul 2, 2010
914
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los angeles
great jake
just got on line post tel mess.

digging your way with words and your perspective is fresh and passionate
what a combination

go go go and don't stop

best buba
 

Dogtown Burner

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
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Los Angeles
OK, so I have been moving slow from the surgery recovery, and not done much. although I did get the frame. As it turns out my "alternate" local bike shop that i happened to stop into doesn't carry the Electra brand. ANDDDDD.... I got a text from Jeff. He said " your new frame is sitting out front of Chubbys" . I had to go check it.

When I arrived on the scene there it was. Flat black rat rod style low slung Alumi-Phat. I've been hearing the calls of "steer clear" when it comes to aluminum and these torque monsters.

I went inside the shop, and they had the steel version. easy to spot the tigless welds and smaller O.D. tubing, but still the same Jig.

almost $400 later I had it over to Matt's sign shop on the Sony pictures lot to make some modifications.; so cool to be back on my old stomping grounds!! Matt Moss is the coolest Kat, and very helpful. We had a blast. took a tour of some cool things on the studio. an antarctic expedition pair of humvee converted medivac trucks on Cat tracks.

Anyway, I digest. but we did a slight frame alteration and I am now looking for a hydraulic bender with 1.25" chocks.
 

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Dogtown Burner

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Sep 15, 2011
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WWait-- I was talking about a bike, right? ok. so here are some shots of the Electra AHEM PHAT 200X . kinda suits ME better. I am in the 200 club. again- need to get down to race weight. 30lbs in a week? any takers?

Nevermind that I have a bike to build. Another thing slowing this down is that I have had 3 custom builds in 3 weeks and havent been able to do much to my stuff. Oh well. the Cobblers kids aint got flip flops.

here are the photos to match the last posting. and check out the sneaky China girl flirting with the new wheels. funny how she slips right in. and even funnerieer how we went and hacked the seat post out. kinda sacrilidge for this ol 2 stroker to chop a frame so bad ass that actually fits a CG without any modding or mounts.
 

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Dogtown Burner

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
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Los Angeles
And here are some of the GX 200 phatty thumpster. I had to take the thing ro my friend Jake(ironically) for some mad heli-arc skills. He helpd turn a months worth of drawings and concepts into a reality. We used a BB for a jackshaft. thus giving it the title of "jakeshaft'. lol
 

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Dogtown Burner

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Sep 15, 2011
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Los Angeles
We had removed the stock seatpost, and plated the top and bottom of the frame junctions., and mounting the engine vertical is perhaps a No-No, but with success from other builders, I threw caution to the wind. the engine still has a 5* rear tilt, which is maybe better than vert.
 

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Dogtown Burner

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
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Los Angeles
After looking at the rear stock dropouts, I decided that they were way too wimpy for 12hp and a 3" rear tire. I asked Matt Moss of Sony studios if he would cut some star trek "v" shaped 3/16 overlay brackets. they fit perfect! Now the bike has a 3" longer wheelbase, and a very nice stretched stance for this 6'3" rider.
 

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Dogtown Burner

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
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Los Angeles
Shane at AGK has been a very willing and patient hotline assistant for this 'first time builder". I now am working on gearing. I had bought a 48t from my regular supplier, custom made for #35 chain, but apparently I wont keep up at the grange unless i gear up, so tomorrow i will be ordering a 56 tooth. I havent taken pictures yet, but the carb and exhaust are looking great!
 

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