New guy from London Ontario

[Gongsho]

Hello all, my name is Chris and I'm new to the world of motorized bicycles. I have been into vintage 3 speed Raleigh for a long time and have always wanted to motorized one. I ve had an old 68 Raleigh "Canadian" DL1 Rod Brake Roadster laying around for just this project. I have a half breed 66 cc engine I'm putting on it. I'm going to get everything mounted where it needs to be and working and broken in before the upgrades. I plan on Jackshaft in the engine and running it thru a 7 speed cassette with rear disc brakes and a dual disc brake set up on the front. I have some 26 inch mag wheels coming in this week. I'll attach some pics and keep everyone updated on my progress. This is a great informative site. I've learned a ton already just reading thru the forum.

 

[curtisfox]

Nice bike, be Kool if you could find a cylinder tank and hang it from the top bar. Looking good ......Curt

 

[Gongsho]

Thanks Curt. Ya I saw one of those tanks on a BSA. It looked really cool.

 

[Chaz]

Welcome to the forum.
Your build is looking great. You may already have plans to do so but I thought I should warn you about fenders. They should be reinforced to handle the vibrations from the engine.

 

[Gongsho]

Thanks for the tip. My biggest problem right now is I'm looking into getting a new BB spindle made. It needs to be longer so my left side crank arm clears the engine. And because it's a Raleigh all the threads a Raleigh only sizes. Oh the joys of old Raleigh bikes lol. I could raise the engine but that creates new problems with mounting plus I like the look of the engine down low in the Vee of the frame. I should know more about this spindle in a few days but sounds like $50-$100 Canadian dollars to custom make it

 

[Chaz]

Regarding the Raleigh threads, I guess you mean you cannot fit the wide crank arms on the spindle? If the clearance is close maybe you can dog leg the original arm a bit?

 

[Gongsho]

Ya it's off almost an inch and a half. The old Raleigh's use cottered cranks as well so it's not a regular spindle. I have spare cranks and arms and was thinking of dog legging them but I'd rather it look cleaner and more original to the bike.

 

[Chaz]

Straight arms look better for sure.