Hi from the UK - INDIAN Board Tracker tribute, my first build

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indian22

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Dec 31, 2014
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Thanks Pete the streamliner designation tells me that what I'm recalling is the Mallard and that I didn't just dream it up. Now were both or either record speed holders for awhile?

The Schwinn frame your stretch utilizes isn't just pleasant to look upon but also is a robust piece of construction and I'd think it makes a fine candidate for the added length it was given.

Rick C.
 
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Lander Sartin

New Member
Mar 3, 2020
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Hi Pete/All!

I'm a little new around here (pretty obviously), but I've scoured this forum and I've gotta say I love every project you've done on here. I'm excited to see how your Blue Bamboo Bike turns out, and I like that you are switching it up with the electric motor.

Personally, I've just starting getting into this whole motorized bicycle thing, and I really want to create something similar to the Original Indian project this forum started with. I love the look of those old bikes and I really thought you did that project well. I live in the US and I just have no idea where to start. I've seen a few frames that could work as a starting point but honestly I'm clueless. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks,

Lander :)
 

PeteMcP

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Jun 27, 2017
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Hi Lander,
Welcome to the forum. If you're itching to get a motorized build underway, you'll find plenty of inspiration and encouragement from guys - and gals - on here. Glad you found time to enjoy reading about my builds. There are plenty more, completed and on-going, from some extremely talented builders, to whet your appetite. I read hundreds of forum postings and viewed many Youtube vids prior to commencing my first build. Tremendously helpful.
Since you said something along the lines of my debut build, the Indian tribute, appealed to you, I'd suggest you start looking for the frame/tank/fork combo that best suits your needs. I sourced mine direct from China via eBay but there are US sellers offering these same items. Some advertise on this forum's home page. Only a couple of days back I was in touch with a far eastern seller on Alibaba who, despite advertising the same Schwinn Panther inspired 'repop' frame/tank, was unable to sell me one due to no current inventory. Said they'll re-contact me when they're back in stock. FYI, They were stocking the springer forks at the cheapest price I've seen.
On the other hand, you may aspire to build a US designed and made Indian tribute bike, in which case go check out Sportsman Flyer's superb quality machines and components. Being in the UK was the only reason I didn't go down that route. Associated shipping costs, import duties and VAT tax scuppered that idea.
I'm new to the electric bike scene but I'm hoping to learn what's what with my current Blue Bamboo build. Never thought I'd get excited about something without a noisy, smelly engine, but hey, I'm proving myself wrong! Everything's a learning curve. Never worry about asking questions.
 
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indian22

Well-Known Member
Dec 31, 2014
4,734
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Oklahoma
Hi Pete/All!

I'm a little new around here (pretty obviously), but I've scoured this forum and I've gotta say I love every project you've done on here. I'm excited to see how your Blue Bamboo Bike turns out, and I like that you are switching it up with the electric motor.

Personally, I've just starting getting into this whole motorized bicycle thing, and I really want to create something similar to the Original Indian project this forum started with. I love the look of those old bikes and I really thought you did that project well. I live in the US and I just have no idea where to start. I've seen a few frames that could work as a starting point but honestly I'm clueless. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks,

Lander :)
First welcome Lander. Then I'll add you've found the correct forum to follow and posted to it, good start, and you've already a style of vintage bike in mind. You've also displayed that you've an excellent sense of taste in selecting Pete's builds as great examples of the type to examine and learn from. Though you may feel clueless I'd say your already on the path to build your first!

Dig into various build threads and learn some things. Knowledge is power & when set in motion it's powerful.

Rick C.
 

Lander Sartin

New Member
Mar 3, 2020
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Pete, Rick,

Thanks for the warm welcome! I managed to find a frame similar to the one you used in the Indian build, but stock issues have limited me as well. Wondering if it has any relation to the health issues sweeping China right now? I've d̶r̶o̶o̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ looked at the sportsman flyer frames and its definitely an option for me, but the sheer price is holding me back. Might have to wait out the pandemic just for costs sake.

Working on currently just building a basis of knowledge before I pull the trigger on anything. All of these build threads have something to teach me, and if I ever get my hand on one of those Schwinn panther inspired frames maybe I'll start one of my own.

Thanks again for the welcome and helpful tips.

Lander.
 

indian22

Well-Known Member
Dec 31, 2014
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I've built several straight bar Schwinn/Panther, style frames into motobikes and they are sweet. One of these was the aluminum frame import, same as Pete used, with tank. I still own this one and it has a 66cc China girl mounted, fun to ride, but I used 24" tires and I'll be switching these out to 26". I prefer the look and feel of 26", but the 24" actually functions fine. There are steel originals around and these can at times be purchased at bargain prices though they are an adventure to clean up without a bead blaster.

Have fun with this. it's a cool hobby.

Rick C.

sunlite dual spring fork.jpg
 

PeteMcP

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Jun 27, 2017
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Despite Corona virus dominating the news, I've personally not suffered any of the touted delivery delays after ordering stuff from China recently. My electric hub motor/kit and battery/charger etc arrived well within anticipated delivery times last week and today I received a cnc'd alloy adjustable handlebar system (incredible bit of kit at an unbelievably competitive price point) after ordering it only a week ago
.
Your Excelsior badged Panther is a honey, Rick. Incidentally, I noticed a sizeable price drop on the Munro 2 eBike while logged-on to Alibaba yesterday. Bike had reduced almost 500 quid and shipping was discounted by 200 quid. I'll wager the prices may drop even more if China's exports are being affected, as the news implies, due to the ongoing Corona virus scare.
 

curtisfox

Well-Known Member
Dec 29, 2008
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minesota
Pete, Rick,

Thanks for the warm welcome! I managed to find a frame similar to the one you used in the Indian build, but stock issues have limited me as well. Wondering if it has any relation to the health issues sweeping China right now? I've d̶r̶o̶o̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ looked at the sportsman flyer frames and its definitely an option for me, but the sheer price is holding me back. Might have to wait out the pandemic just for costs sake.

Working on currently just building a basis of knowledge before I pull the trigger on anything. All of these build threads have something to teach me, and if I ever get my hand on one of those Schwinn panther inspired frames maybe I'll start one of my own.

Thanks again for the welcome and helpful tips.

Lander.
I would suggest going through all the old post in the board tracker, and DIY sections. Lots of really good old builds in the past............Curt
 

PeteMcP

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Jun 27, 2017
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Currently working on Blue Bamboo's front end.
Already replaced the bike's original rim braked Stingray 24" 40 spoke wheel and cracked tyre with a new 36 hole rim freshly laced to a Sturmey Archer 90mm drum brake. Non of S/A's brake fulcrum arm clamps are designed to fit fork legs of so large a diameter as the Stingray's, so I needed to source a suitable fork leg clamp. Clearance issues between the brake's fulcrum arm and fork leg meant I had to shorten and drill the fulcrum arm and turn up an alloy spacer bush to fasten the arm to its new clamp.
New front tyre is a 24x2.35 Schwalbe Crazy Bob. As things sit, this wheel tyre combo leaves 5mm clearance between tyre and lower fork brace. A miss is as good as a mile they say, but I'll still file a little material off the centre flange of the brace for a little extra tyre room.
Never been a big fan of triple tree style forks, so I knew I wanted to work them into something else. Considered using another springer like on my Indian boardie tribute, but couple of points re that idea; First, I could see that plan being a non starter on account of how l-o-n-g the fork tube is on this frame. Secondly, I didn't want to go over the same ground and use forks I already had on a previous build. So to ring the changes, I'm playing around with ideas to convert the bike's original forks into something more springer vibey. This is a custom - so I don't have to follow any rules...
I've combined the original forks with a nifty set of multi-adjustable cnc'd alloy riser parts, two lengths of 22.2mm dia. stainless tube and a pair of rubber fork gaiters. Still have to figure how I'm going to fasten the lower legs of the s/s fork tubes to the axle nuts - thinking rod ends for now. Pics show where things stand, fork-wise, for the time being. Pic also shows the new wide cruiser bars I'm going with. The bike's original bars attached via a pair of clamps fitted atop the upper fork brace, but those clamps are now being used as upper attachment points for parts of the new 'springers'. These new handlebars will attach to the steerer tube via a new stem riser and 32mm ahead - or in this particular case, astern - clamp, resulting in a very pleasing and comfortable ride.
Look closely and you'll see work on converting the frame to look like bamboo has begun. I'm using half round brass stock, suitably formed into rings using my rolling bars. After annealing, these are easily clamped around the frame tubes. When the time comes, each ring will be blended-in using a little body putty to create a more natural profile. Three different sized tubes used on this frame means I need to produce three sizes of brass rings. Time consuming, but I'm hoping the resulting frame, once repainted to look like exotic blue bamboo will be an eye-catching feature.
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PeteMcP

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Jun 27, 2017
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Rick, re the front/rear matching tyre tread pattern issue you mentioned in Tony's thread, nah, not an issue on this custom cruiser build. This bike is so long, by the time the rear tyre comes into view, you've forgotten what the front tyre looked like, lol!
 

indian22

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Dec 31, 2014
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Lol, yeah buddy! Really an excellent & innovative use of stem risers Pete, though I've come up with other ideas for their use I never imagined them being used in this way....respect!

I also don't want to own two bikes with the same fork on them so none of my eight forks duplicate, though I've built several Monarch type dual spring and Schwinn single spring China girls; they all eventually ended up in someone else's shed. or my parts storage. I absolutely love both styles used on others peoples builds, but these days I'm one and done where forks are concerned, no matter how great they look or function.

Rick C.
 

fasteddy

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Feb 13, 2009
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When you start using parts in a way they weren't intended to be used you have to start modifying them to work as you want them to. It constantly amazes me just how cunning we get to make them work and just how we go about it.

Your forks are a prime example of this. I wonder is the Sturmey Archer front drums could be modified to accept a 22mm through axle. I'd rather have them on the front of the tri cars.

A bamboo frame or at least in the minds eye it will be. Definitely a first on here as far as I know.

Steve.
 

PeteMcP

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Jun 27, 2017
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Steve,
The Sturmey Archer 90mm dia. front drum brake's axle is threaded m9. I just tore one down to look at the internals. I measured the internal diameter of the alloy hub casing and it appears to accept a 26mm o/d bearing.So not really enough room there for a 22mm axle and bearing. At least not without resorting to re-machining the casing.
 

fasteddy

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Feb 13, 2009
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Thank you Pete. I use a 3/4" or 20mm bolt for the axles. The 22mm is the standard axle for the bike hubs used in BMX bikes. I'll measure the bearing size in the hubs for the tri car. We have a really good bearings only store near us and I'll see what they have to offer if it's close.

To go from the 20mm axle to the 22mm bearing inside diameter I wrapped the axle with a piece if beer can.

Steve.