Lurker's V-twin build

[sportscarpat]

RickS,
That is one seriously cool Simplex! I saw that same problem with the Coker ad and it was confusing. Maybe I will buy a set of those and try them out on a set of Worksman rims. I think I can swing the width in the rear of the bike no problem, but the front may be tight on a Monark fork.

 

[Lurker]

Thanks for that info RickS. I just ordered ordered a set of them so I should have them in a few weeks. I will post some photos and my thoughts of them when they arrive.

 

[RickS]

RickS,
That is one seriously cool Simplex! I saw that same problem with the Coker ad and it was confusing. Maybe I will buy a set of those and try them out on a set of Worksman rims. I think I can swing the width in the rear of the bike no problem, but the front may be tight on a Monark fork.

Pat, I measured the cross section for you. They are 2 5/8" wide when mounted on a 2" wide rim. They may be slightly different on a narrower worksman rim.

 

[cobrafreak]

I just ordered a set of Simplex tires also. Tires are usually narrower on narrow rims and wider on wider rims, so I think we may be talking 1/8 to 2/8 difference on each side wider than Fat Franks are on our rims, all things being the same.

 

[Lurker]

Just a small update. Things have been going slow lately, just a lot of waiting for money and parts. I have however managed to mount my handle bars and paint my hubs and rims. I will post photos of the completed wheels when they are done. This photo is of the upper part of the fork and bars. The bars are mounted using early 70's Suzuki cast aluminum risers just like my last bike. All of this chrome stuff will eventually be painted the charcoal and brown colors I posted earlier. Sorry for the crappy pic. I will try to get better ones today.

 

[cobrafreak]

Nice spring set up. If you are going to paint the springs mix the paint with an elasticizer so the paint will flex and not chip on the springs.

 

[Lurker]

I reamed the head tube and mocked up the fork last night. This bike Is freaking huge 80 inches form end to end. The wheels in the photo are not the wheels I will be using.

 

[cobrafreak]

80" will be good for stability at speed. You are a tall guy too, so you wont make the bike appear like a toy when you are on it. When I went to 77" long when I redid my leaf spring it made all the difference in the world appearance wise. What are you going to do about front brakes? 203mm hydraulic? I think that is the largest now. Runs around 8" around.

 

[Lurker]

No front brake. It will only have a large rear drum, that may change in the future tho. I am not too concerned with functionality. My goal with this bike it to make something that is as close to the real thing as I can get.

 

[cobrafreak]

No brake up front will make it look very authentic. It will look good. I'm upgrading my old 70mm front S/A drum to their newer 90mm drum. I read posts where it stops as well as a small disk up front in comparison tests. We will see. Waiting for a rainy week to re-lace the front wheel.

 

[Dan]

"Waiting for a rainy week to re-lace the front wheel."

Off topic, but what a great thought & aspect to our crazy hobby. Rain or shine, always some thing to do, try or learn. Now we just need shorter winters up here in the great white north.

Well, as long as we have a garage, living room or a tent, lol.

(if you have an engine tore down and laid out on yer coffee table, you might be a MBer)

 

[harry76]

How did you go with the sale of your first bike? Did you sell it?

 

[Lurker]

Well, its going. I have had it for sale locally for almost 2 months and on ebay for 2 or 3 weeks now. It seems like no one is willing to pay more than $1800 (which is the best offer I have gotten an I am considering taking it.) for a motorized bike regardless of how much time, effort and money has gone in to it. I have people telling me my bike is worth much more but I think I need to face the the facts cut my losses and reconsider the value of these bikes. I have lowered the price of my bike to 2k plus shipping if needed. Another possibility could be that there is just no market for this type of motorbike. I was planning on using my vtwin build as a road legal prototype to start building and selling them but if no one is interested I will probably just finish this one and be done with it.

The vtwin build is kind of at a standstill until I can sell the old bike. Hope fully if all goes well I will have my rear wheel built this weekend, and maybe by next week I will have the tires I ordered 2 months ago. Summit racing is taking their sweet time getting them to me.

On a up note here is a sweet 1to1 comp of the bike with the b&s 23hp engine.

 

[harry76]

I can only imagine its the downturn in the economy..... people just arent spending money.... i just sold a car here in Australia and practically had to give it away.

I think your bike is worth a lot more but its only worth what someone is willing to pay for it i guess..... which sucks because your bike is awesome. Shame you cant keep both bikes.

And WOW im loving your new bike.... you are certainly raising the bar. I like!!!!!!

 

[sportscarpat]

That picture with the v-twin sitting in the frame looks pretty wild. As for the market value of these builds my experience has been that the lower the price the larger the market. No rocket science there. My thoughts have always been as your price nears motorcycle price we start to lose part of the high end motorized bicycle crowd.

 

[cobrafreak]

23hp is going to zip. Can the big Comet take that kind of torque?

 

[cobrafreak]

Hey, it's too bad we couldn't run two 6.5's in series connected by chain in a V-twin configuration. It would save a TON of money. You would end up saving around 80% of the engine cost over the Vanguard. Hey, maybe this could be done.......Hmmmmmmmm.

 

[harry76]

Hey, it's too bad we couldn't run two 6.5's in series connected by chain in a V-twin configuration. It would save a TON of money. You would end up saving around 80% of the engine cost over the Vanguard. Hey, maybe this could be done.......Hmmmmmmmm.

But would it sound like this???????????????

Briggs and Stratton 16 hp v twin - YouTube

EZ-GO GXI-804 with V-Twin Briggs and Stratton - YouTube

 

[cobrafreak]

You could make it sound any way you wanted because you could put the firing order between engine #1 and engine #2 anywhere. You could make it sound like a Harley or a Triumph.

 

[Lurker]

Progress!!! although not much. I finally received my simplex tires and let me tell you these are the full fledged motorcycle tires. I don't think I will ever get a flat. I wish I would have discovered these before my last build. If any of you guys are thinking about a gx200 build I would highly recommend these for safeties sake. Also, I was finally able sell my other bike. The guy who bought it is putting it on display in his gun shop near Cleveland. He was really excited about it, like a kid at xmas. Now I have the tough task of picking a engine. I am torn between a Briggs Vanguard, Kohler Command, and a Kohler Triad does any one here have experience with any of these engines? Here is a pic of the front wheel mocked up please excuse all the chrome. It will all be painted once I finish the frame.

If anyone is considering using the simplex tires but worried about clearance, the total diameter of the tire mounded on a Worksman rim is 26.5; just a little fyi that would have helped me out.