Excalibur ‘09

[fasteddy]

Hi Kirk,

Super glad to hear that you came through the accident in relatively good shape personally. As Silverbear just said it's harder for us to get over a spill as we get older and we hope that nothing further shows up in the coming days.

Excalibur will most certainly arise to it's state of perfection once again and it's a shame that you will have to spend the time to restore it. Once it's apart you will be able to see the extent of the damage in the daylight and we can only hope that the repairs are easily done.

Steve.

 

[Gbrebes]

Like everyone else, glad to here injuries were minor. It's all about the tuck and roll when going down on pavement, sometimes it's difficult to have time during a fall to maneuver a tuck and roll.

Sorry to see the damage. I'm one of those guys who prefers riding over building, so I feel your pain being out if riding commission.

I had a similar incident in which I bent my forks. I decided not to repair them in fear they had "softened" or become weakened from the bending. When I built a new fork, I brazed the truss rod to the fork leg on bottom, the truss holder at the crown, and to themselves at the top in a Y joint. This seemed to make it a lot stronger, but I also brazed in a small horizontal crossbar in between the crown and wheel stay connecting the fork leg to the truss. This seemed to make the fork super strong and hopefully avoid fork leg bending in a future crash.

Good luck and speed with the repair job.

The speedo sounds like a chore. What kind of hub is that? Did stuff also get chewed inside the speedo hub/gear? Or do you only need to buy a new cable.

Gilbert

 

[Mr.B.]

Thanks for everyone’s concern!

Healed already, no soreness this afternoon and hardy even a scuff to show.

Actually I’m looking for the driver, or even just the little nylon gear with a “D” hole as seen in this older pic...



It's made in Japan, but it gets a little confusing because of a similar looking brand that has a slightly larger gear...

-Kirk

 

[MotoMagz]

Glad your OK...and the scuffs will just add to the beauty of the bike.One of my favorite bikes for sure.

 

[curtisfox]

I am hopeful about the forks, as they were originally manufactured- tapered, shaped & bent while cold I should be able rework the old steel.

And I’ll very carefully inspect for cracks or stress/stretch too!

Schwinn used to actually make a tool for the common backward bend... It was basically a old fashion car bumper jack/yoke placed between the bottom bracket and front wheel axle nuts.

With the fear of excessive present day liabilities and the use of alloys I imagine you couldn’t get a bike shop to even consider straightening forks or frames today.

Thanks for the tip about msrfan, I'm using a 1960’s Japanese made driver that has a highly modified and reenforced housing.

I just seen he actually has a thread about it, which I will start reading...

Now!

-Kirk

7/8" solid stock will fit down the top of the fork so not to damage the upper if you put it in a press. My old Monark twin fork bent and that is what they did,a press with blocking. Run that way for a long time with no efects.......Curt

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

A completely unrepentant 'BUMP' as this thread is too fabulous to be left languishing in the shadows

 

[Heretic]

Just read about your last mishap, I've always thought the risk of climbing on two wheels to be part of what thrills us. And seeking that thrill despite the risk is a bond we all share. I would also like to thank you, your skill and art are a major inspiration in many things I've done. Thank You.

 

[Mr.B.]

Thanks for the suggestion Curtis, and everyone for the nice feedback!

I’ve sure had more than my fair share of “life gets in the way” moments this summer and some are continuing, pretty much all other bike building related projects are on hold for now. :- (

I did however finish the repairs to Excalibur about 3 weeks/100 miles ago. (Riding her is powerful therapy!) :- )

I found a new (old) stem that actually has a better period correct look and the right amount of period correct rust. Although the camera flash makes things look rustier than sunlight...

But because it sets back 1.5” farther that the previous old Schwinn did I decided to shorten the handle bars about 7/8” to help keep familiar geometry.

The chewed speedo driver gear turned out to be a non-issue and actually seems smoother than before, who’da thunked?

Straightening the forks was a bit tedious but was successful with Bicycle Bill’s helping hands (and his torch). A new old paint job was added to the to do list.

But I discovered the steering tube was cracked down low where the id thinned for stem fit.

Rather than welding old steel in such a critical area (not to mention being able to change races and possibly bearings) Bill donated a nice chunk of properly sized heavy walled dom as a internal sleeve and the use of his lathe to fine tune the fit.

Brazed together with the top of nice thick 60’s era Schwinn S-tube I feel it’s stronger now than it’s ever been ever!

I am glad to be back on the road!

-Kirk

 

[Mr.B.]

Gilbert, I see I missed answering your hub question...

It's a old Yamaha flea market find, but I don't know what model it came from?

Must of been fairly large, like in the 250-500cc range though.

-Kirk

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Good to see Excalibur all fixed up and looking nice again

I agree that getting out on the road with one's favourite bike is the best therapy of all.

 

[moto-klasika]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Hello Kirk,[/FONT]
​

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]In spite that you already constructed magnificent motorised bicycle (in a style of veteran light motorcycle), there is a sketch with so many possibilities for layout of frame, engine and transmission.
Maybe interesting for your next project, or for somebody else...
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Our ancestors from “[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Belle Époque”[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif] were very imaginative...
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Ciao,[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Zoran [/FONT]
​

 

[Ludwig II]

Let's see if it comes up bigger:

No, I tried but no better.

 

[Mr.B.]

Wow, that's really neat!

You can really see the evolution of engine placement those first few years.

Thanks for sharing!

-Mr. B.

 

[2door]

If you missed it, here's Kirk's beautiful build on the road. Look for it @ 5:20 into the vid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nSNG6gGnWs

It was a pleasure riding with this amazing bike. I watched this video again tonight and it brought back some very fond memories.
Thanks Kirk. Hope we can do it again next June.

Tom

 

[Mr.B.]

Yep! That was fun!

Let's try to get 1000 people there next year!!!

-Mr. B.

 

[Mr.B.]

Got's a little write-up in the local paper today-

 

[MotoMagz]

Well deserved!

 

[curtisfox]

If you missed it, here's Kirk's beautiful build on the road. Look for it @ 5:20 into the vid.

It was a pleasure riding with this amazing bike. I watched this video again tonight and it brought back some very fond memories.
Thanks Kirk. Hope we can do it again next June.

Tom

Welcome back, you been gone a while, missed you. See you are flying some RC that is fun, always went to the air port in Reseda when visiting my brother...............Curt

 

[Nightster]

Very nice build Kirk !!!!

 

[Mr.B.]

Goodness i haven't posted in a very long time!
Here's an update of the some of the "routine" maintenance required if using antique parts...

On a recent 60 some mile ride with a couple of Eastern Iowa buddies my old Solar brand headlight broke in two! Cheap Arse Made in America junk, it only lasted 125 years!

Some field repairs where made to get home~

At first i considered making an all new "Retro Antique" replacement with brass parts from an old table lamb and cigar can that i've collected. But because of the amount of work in that i decided to just repair the Solar. And I was also anxious to just get back to riding! But i will probably still use those parts for some future build...