Motorized Bicycle Take a Tip...Leave a Tip

Dunno if I posted this one in here before, but for those clear plastic type fuel lines and limited space, you can form them so they can have tight bends without kinking by first deciding where the line needs to be routed, then use a piece of 12 or 14 gauge solid copper wire as your mandrel...
slip the fuel line tubing (or any clear plastic type vinyl tubing that needs to be formed either for a neater appearance or to eliminate kinking) over the solid copper wire,

bend to the shape needed,

dip in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute,

remove from the boiling water and let cool, cold water can be used to speed up cooling.

slide the tubing off the copper wire, a little WD40 really helps here if several bends are needed in the same piece or really tight bends are needed.

The tube will hold this shape and no kinks no matter how tight the bend is made.

I've done this on my Suzuki Intruder 1400 when it needed the fuel lines replaced and the factory lines are the only ones that'll work because of the really tight bends that were needed. I was able to do 90 and 180 degree bends at about a 1 inch bend radius using a section of 12 gauge solid strand wire and 5/16" tubing to make exact duplicates of the original lines. No kinks, they're shaped perfectly and hold their shape, and the tubing remains pliable and flexable as it was before bending.

This can be used for these bikes when a really short fuel line is needed with a really tight bend, or to make your vacuum lines on your car look really nice and neat... or whatever else you can think of.
 
A great tank mounting technique is to turn the two straps over and put the them on top of the frame sitting under the brake cable(and or gear cable(s)), then lower the tank onto the frame guiding the threads through the clamps and use a second pair of clamp straps to secure to the frame with three 10mm nuts between the clamps on each thread so you can fully tighten the 8mm nuts. (If your cables need more room simply add nuts or washers on to the tank threads before installing. If you don't have spare clamps you can make a couple out of the kits muffler strap that no one ever installs.)

2ag99qf.jpg
 
Davezilla said:
Dunno if I posted this one in here before, but for those clear plastic type fuel lines and limited space, you can form them so they can have tight bends without kinking by first deciding where the line needs to be routed, then use a piece of 12 or 14 gauge solid copper wire as your mandrel...
slip the fuel line tubing (or any clear plastic type vinyl tubing that needs to be formed either for a neater appearance or to eliminate kinking) over the solid copper wire,

bend to the shape needed,

dip in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute,

remove from the boiling water and let cool, cold water can be used to speed up cooling.

slide the tubing off the copper wire, a little WD40 really helps here if several bends are needed in the same piece or really tight bends are needed.

The tube will hold this shape and no kinks no matter how tight the bend is made.

I've done this on my Suzuki Intruder 1400 when it needed the fuel lines replaced and the factory lines are the only ones that'll work because of the really tight bends that were needed. I was able to do 90 and 180 degree bends at about a 1 inch bend radius using a section of 12 gauge solid strand wire and 5/16" tubing to make exact duplicates of the original lines. No kinks, they're shaped perfectly and hold their shape, and the tubing remains pliable and flexable as it was before bending.

This can be used for these bikes when a really short fuel line is needed with a really tight bend, or to make your vacuum lines on your car look really nice and neat... or whatever else you can think of.
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Thanks for the tip!

I am thinking of using this so that a bend should have less crimp at a bend, that could take away from the inner diameter that would make more restrictive flow of the gravity feed in a fuel line.

I think I'll have to try this. Only I have had problems with some clear tubing from the hardware store made specially for gasoline, and it not sealing well on the connection. I have however found the black rubber lines compress and seal well with the worm gear drive strap hose clamps really good. I bet clear tubing is only going to take the bend and keep it as it has something to do with the kind of material the tubing is made of.

Any idea for a specific type of clear tubing that will hold the shape form and also seal well?

MT
 
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MEASURE TWICE said:
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Thanks for the tip!

I am thinking of using this so that a bend should have less crimp at a bend, that could take away from the inner diameter that would make more restrictive flow of the gravity feed in a fuel line.

I think I'll have to try this. Only I have had problems with some clear tubing from the hardware store made specially for gasoline, and it not sealing well on the connection. I have however found the black rubber lines compress and seal well with the worm gear drive strap hose clamps really good. I bet clear tubing is only going to take the bend and keep it as it has something to do with the kind of material the tubing is made of.

Any idea for a specific type of clear tubing that will hold the shape form and also seal well?

MT
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There are different types of these clear plastic fuel line tubings, the cheapest being the vinyl tubine like aquarium tubing, it can be used for fuel temporarily because it will harden fairly quickly after gasoline is introduced to it, then there's the polyethlyne type that can resist gasoline a little better but still hardens up and becomes brittle, which also leads to leaking, this stuff is much better than the vinyl type but still not the best. The Tygon fuel lines tho can resist gasoline and alcohol best and won't become brittle over time.

The other issue is the clamping... These lines do best with the spring type pinch clamps or fuel injection hose clamps, the worm screw type radiator hose type clamps don't work so well for any tubing under about 3/8" or 10mm simply because they won't stay round once tightened up past a certain point.
The fuel injection hose type clamps are the most secure type and will stay round, but the springy pinch clamps will usually suffice when there's no pressure to deal with.

Another thing to look out for is that some of these lines come in standard and metric sizes. 6mm looks a lot like 1/4" but it's slightly smaller, a 1/4" hose will slip over a 6mm barb but won't be as tight as if it was over a 1/4" barb, same as a 7mm hose over a 1/4" barb, it'll fit but it'll be loose enough for the fuel to either leak or harden up a cheaper type of plastic line. This can be avoided by measuring the hose barbs then ordering the correct size line. About the only standard size that's compatible with metric would be the 8mm or 5/16" they're the closest match. This mis match in size between standard and metric becomes more of a problem under 1/4" or 7mm and less of a problem above 1/2" but can still be a problem if plastic lines are being used.

Not really going against what you're saying, but just a little more info since these lines look quite the same but can be very different in size and how well they handle fuel. my tygon lines have lasted 4 years so far without becoming hard or leaking, but the cheaper line I used on the Sportster started to leak about 6 months after installation.
 
I guess a scientific supply place would have the Tygon Fuel type tubing. I do recall having that stuff for chemistry usages and it was softer but clear like the stuff I bought at OSH. I think I still have the package from OSH and could get the brand name, but I know it was not Tygon. Just did Google search, lots on Ebay. 19 bucks after shipping cost totaled for 10ft translucent yellow gas fuel line Tygon brand.

Anyway I was able to put the line I have been using without a tight bend, so will stay with the black rubber type, but thanks for that forming the tubing idea!

See this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Cle...005?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e92d138e5
Would this be stuff that would take the bend shape and stay.

MT
 
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I got mine from ebay, one color was the good stuff and the other color was something else and it did harden everywhere but where it slid over the barb, then it began to leak after a few months, the good stuff has been there on my other bike for about 4 years with no hardening or trouble, I do remember there was a significant price difference, but I wanted my lines to match the color scheme, and I found out the quality difference later.

This tip does work with just about any flexable plastic tubing and possibly even with the harder plastics, not so sure about teflon tho since it has a really high melting point, (a heat gun and a steady hand may help for that tho) but it may work with small diameter pvc (not for fuel of course, but other uses one can think up).
 
I saw this tip else where on Youtube, but I did not go looking for hardware to make what equates to an extra hand to hold down the top of the valve while attaching the cup or pin to the valve stem.

Used one of the head bolts and extra shroud part of metal with the exact size hole for the head bolt. I needed a shim and use a socket that worked. Then with the valve spring compressor and a needle nose pliers had it an easy task putting the valves back in after adjusting and lapping.

MT
 

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I don't currently recommend a cable driven speedometer/odometer, At least on my e-bike it made a lot of extra noise I was not accommodated to and to boot it read twice as fast as my cycleanalyst digital speedo would read. I'm pretty sure its for a 26 inch wheel , But what with having a springer front fork It was a bit wonky to install. Then when I hit the railroad a bit hard I think something got knocked a bit outta whack as the needle started jumping up and down for the rest of the ride. Overall I must say Im quite dissapointed.
not super technical or probably useful info as who the heck wants to use a cable driven speedo?! Oh yeah, I did because I was going by the rule of cool. why isint there a wireless Analog speedometer for my ye olde style bike?
 
Ok... that's more clear...
Now if you still want an analog speedometer for your bike, they do make electronic speedometers for motorcycles and mopeds that run off a wheel sensor or magnet and pickup that eliminate the need for the twist cable and the gauge itself has an analog needle instead of the digital readout.
i'll se if I can post a link since I've seen these on ebay before.
When my speedo went out on my '84 KZ 700 I didn't want to use an aftermarket gauge, but a bicycle speedo was easy to install and remove, I just stuck a rare earth magnet on the brake rotor and it stayed put, even at 120+ mph (whatever the bike's top speed was) and the actual speedometer could easily be removed when I needed to show off the bike and put back on when I went out for a ride. I really don't like digital, but it was cheap and easy, there are analog ones available now, but take some searching on ebay and other places.

There's another alternative, but probably too expensive, some of the bigger name car gauge companies are making GPS speedometers that are surprisingly accurate with analog readout, they take speed samples 10 times a second so the readout response is just as good as mechanical or electronic, but only one wire is needed to power it. The drawback... they cost over $300 still.
 
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You know it never occurred to me to search for moped bits. Thanks for the new line of parts Davezilla!
 
No problem... That's why I asked about the tip part of your post. I can usually help or at least steer ya in the right direction once I understand what's going on.

Here's another valuable link for goodies... http:www.treatland.tv they might have something better than the ebay stuff or the speed sensor needed to make those speedometers work.
 
Davezilla said:
There's another alternative, but probably too expensive, some of the bigger name car gauge companies are making GPS speedometers that are surprisingly accurate with analog readout, they take speed samples 10 times a second so the readout response is just as good as mechanical or electronic, but only one wire is needed to power it. The drawback... they cost over $300 still.
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That could be worth the money if it doubled as a tracker for my bike. I've been thinking about a GPS tracking unit anyhow and if it happen also tell me how fast I was going While looking really
Cool I could be down with that...although my original plans were for the tracker to be somewhere in the Bike frame
 
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