New here, with a DIY Chainsaw Bike
- Thread starter Lightning Boy
- Start date
Hi Lightning Boy!
Your post about alarm clocks, brought some memories back lol. When I was 9 years old I took apart my dads alarm clock in the middle of the night. It was in many, many
s on the kitchen table. He caught me. He screamed at me that if I didn't get that alarm clock together by morning and working right he was gonna whip the skin of me with his 2 inch leather belt. Sad thing is he wasn't kidding but on the bright side I was able to fix it and it worked well for many years. Been that way all my life, machines and electronics talk to me, can't explain it but when something isn't right with either I have always been able to fix it or mod it.
Have fun on that chainsaw bike but be careful I'd like to see more of your stuff.
Dave
AssembleThis
Your post about alarm clocks, brought some memories back lol. When I was 9 years old I took apart my dads alarm clock in the middle of the night. It was in many, many
s on the kitchen table. He caught me. He screamed at me that if I didn't get that alarm clock together by morning and working right he was gonna whip the skin of me with his 2 inch leather belt. Sad thing is he wasn't kidding but on the bright side I was able to fix it and it worked well for many years. Been that way all my life, machines and electronics talk to me, can't explain it but when something isn't right with either I have always been able to fix it or mod it.Have fun on that chainsaw bike but be careful I'd like to see more of your stuff.
Dave
AssembleThis
Thanks, guys! I've been riding this one a lot lately. The night rides on empty streets are my favorite. 
Dan: Indeed. Over a hundred miles worth of "go boy" on this bike alone! The reliability has been great since I got that homemade exhaust sorted out.
Your concern is much appreciated, A.T.- but if I didn't feel safe on them, I wouldn't ride either one. Having built them myself, I have plenty of faith in the designs. (There's another chainsaw bike I built for a spare in the DIY section, if you haven't already seen it.)
Good story, too. I was much like that as a kid. Made a lot of wild stuff over the years, and torn many a household gadget apart. By the time my parents got up to speed on what I was doing, I was repairing my own cassette player. They never said a word, because it was pretty obvious I wasn't just destroying things.
MacGuyver started it. I was never the same after watching that show, in the best way. (Showing my age a bit.) \m/
Dan: Indeed. Over a hundred miles worth of "go boy" on this bike alone! The reliability has been great since I got that homemade exhaust sorted out.
Your concern is much appreciated, A.T.- but if I didn't feel safe on them, I wouldn't ride either one. Having built them myself, I have plenty of faith in the designs. (There's another chainsaw bike I built for a spare in the DIY section, if you haven't already seen it.)
Good story, too. I was much like that as a kid. Made a lot of wild stuff over the years, and torn many a household gadget apart. By the time my parents got up to speed on what I was doing, I was repairing my own cassette player. They never said a word, because it was pretty obvious I wasn't just destroying things.
MacGuyver started it. I was never the same after watching that show, in the best way. (Showing my age a bit.) \m/
Hello, AssembleThis. Please don't take any offense to my earlier abbreviation of your user name. I mean no disrespect- just a habit picked up from the chat box. Good to meet you.
Hi Lightning Boy!
No problem I will accept A.T. from you and no one else. lolol
Dave
AssembleThis A.K.A. A.T. From Lightning Boy
No problem I will accept A.T. from you and no one else. lolol
Dave
AssembleThis A.K.A. A.T. From Lightning Boy
When I was given my first computer, a Commodore 64, I was told "Don't pull this apart!"
When I was young, I remember my dad would give me old type writers and such just to pull apart, really had no chance of fixing them, but I had a go.
When I was young, I remember my dad would give me old type writers and such just to pull apart, really had no chance of fixing them, but I had a go.
Hi Lightning Boy!
Noticed your post on bike computers. I've had the same problem with the second one I purchased. I'm very pleased with it and it seems to be the exact same one that dealers sell for $30 or more. The reason I bought a second, the first had no back light. Anyways it worked very well, all the functions worked and I could see the display in the dark. But occasionally it would reset because of vibration, like I took the battery out. So I'm going to do without it until I can hard wire it with everything else. The link still works and price is still $9.99.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400474403967?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Dave
AssembleThis
Noticed your post on bike computers. I've had the same problem with the second one I purchased. I'm very pleased with it and it seems to be the exact same one that dealers sell for $30 or more. The reason I bought a second, the first had no back light. Anyways it worked very well, all the functions worked and I could see the display in the dark. But occasionally it would reset because of vibration, like I took the battery out. So I'm going to do without it until I can hard wire it with everything else. The link still works and price is still $9.99.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400474403967?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Dave
AssembleThis
I've heard of that problem with some of them, A.T. I squeezed a thin layer of foam padding in between the mount bracket and handlebars to keep mine from losing contact with the circuit. (Originally, I stuffed some thin cardboard in there. It works too, just less permanent.) Maybe it will help with yours, too?
Once the odometer hit 130 miles, I went out and got a new spark plug. It's a good number, and also my old competition weight. I digress... Since the original (likely stock) plug was an old Champion, I went with its modern equivalent: the EZ start 5851 chainsaw model. There was only one left in stock at one location here in town, and I managed to get it. Must have been the lucky number.
It made quite a difference in the ride. The firing sounds so much smoother, more consistent- with a pleasant tone akin to a miniature turbocharger sitting over the rear wheel. I also noticed an increase in throttle response. Another replacement I should have done long ago. Well worth the pocket change. I didn't realize the popping inconsistent sounds during coasting weren't attributable to the cobbled DIY exhaust. Instead, it was the ancient plug complaining about the workload. It feels like the vibration scaled down a bit, as well. Glad I checked the plug after the last ride. The color was good, but that plug electrode was ugly. Figures- I assume it's older than me, too.
I digress... Since the original (likely stock) plug was an old Champion, I went with its modern equivalent: the EZ start 5851 chainsaw model. There was only one left in stock at one location here in town, and I managed to get it. Must have been the lucky number. It made quite a difference in the ride. The firing sounds so much smoother, more consistent- with a pleasant tone akin to a miniature turbocharger sitting over the rear wheel. I also noticed an increase in throttle response. Another replacement I should have done long ago. Well worth the pocket change. I didn't realize the popping inconsistent sounds during coasting weren't attributable to the cobbled DIY exhaust. Instead, it was the ancient plug complaining about the workload. It feels like the vibration scaled down a bit, as well. Glad I checked the plug after the last ride. The color was good, but that plug electrode was ugly. Figures- I assume it's older than me, too.
Thank you, DirtWarrior. They are a lot of fun. I get a kick out of doing the speed limit on a bunch of recycled junk. There's a certain pride in knowing I fabricated the vast majority of the parts myself, too. Nobody has one exactly like mine, and I dig that.
The reliability is so much better than the old china girl cruiser-then-chopper I helped construct. It was much too temperamental for my liking, so I went with old American chainsaws for my own creations. The ones in the metal cases have always been good to me, and I highly recommend them. They're pretty hard to kill.
If you have a good frame, good engine, and a good plan, one can make a sweet little ride. I did it on the smallest of budgets. In fact, most of that was spent on the speedometers and other electrical after they were already up and running. I say, go for it. My plans floated around in my head far too long, and I could have spent that time riding.
Once I built the first, I had to make another one. Be careful what you wish for. As my father used to tell me, "Work smarter, not harder".
The reliability is so much better than the old china girl cruiser-then-chopper I helped construct. It was much too temperamental for my liking, so I went with old American chainsaws for my own creations. The ones in the metal cases have always been good to me, and I highly recommend them. They're pretty hard to kill.
If you have a good frame, good engine, and a good plan, one can make a sweet little ride. I did it on the smallest of budgets. In fact, most of that was spent on the speedometers and other electrical after they were already up and running. I say, go for it. My plans floated around in my head far too long, and I could have spent that time riding.
Once I built the first, I had to make another one. Be careful what you wish for. As my father used to tell me, "Work smarter, not harder".
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I didn't take any pictures of it as I did it, but I'll do my best to describe it. On this bike, I had to disassemble the clutch entirely and remove the nut from the collar with a cutting wheel, to fit inside and grip the peg. The clutch wasn't enclosed and was only in the way. All I needed was the driveshaft and that reverse nut. The peg sits flush with where the clutch used to be. There is a picture of that end result, inside the bike peg (see page 2). Remove the springs and shoes first. That's about it. Make sure the peg is centered as well as you can get it on the shaft- washers might help here if the driveshaft isn't quite tight with the mount hole. You can trim the outside of them to fit inside, (depending on the inner diameter of the peg) and help center the shaft. Torque it down, and use loctite if you have to.
On my larger saw, the clutch was enclosed. All I had to do with that one was remove the clutch nut, and attach the bike peg with some loctite (again, you might need it) and a good amount of torque on the stock nut. The picture of that bare motor will help there. The nut on the end of the clutch bell was removed, and a peg was attached. It really was that simple. I wish they both had been so agreeable!
Hopefully, that points you in the right direction.
On my larger saw, the clutch was enclosed. All I had to do with that one was remove the clutch nut, and attach the bike peg with some loctite (again, you might need it) and a good amount of torque on the stock nut. The picture of that bare motor will help there. The nut on the end of the clutch bell was removed, and a peg was attached. It really was that simple. I wish they both had been so agreeable!
Hopefully, that points you in the right direction.
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commodore 64? the SID chip in it is valued by a ****ton of nostalgic electronic musicians, if u still have it u can make some coin on that chip, enough to build a bike maybe
I once saw a woman make a midi sound controller/electric bass synth from Commodore guts. Pretty cool gadget. C.A.H. makes a good point about the secondhand market on them.
As for this bike, I had to do a bit more work yesterday: Front tube went flat just sitting there, right before I was to leave on it. (Both stock tubes from 1999 have now been replaced.)
After checking it over, I noticed a crack in the chrome zinc (I DO know better...) plate holding the upright beams to the center seat mount. No wonder the top end was acting funny the last couple days. Glad I caught it before it became a much bigger problem. I chopped up an old broken motorcycle fairing mount plate and drilled two holes for its replacement. At least the repairs were easy.
While I had it in pieces, I checked all the other brackets and hardware. Everything else looked good. Nuts and bolts are holding up, and haven't lost torque. After all that, I put it back together for a test drive. No more funky throttle or bogging at high rpm. All is well again with the Diesel.
As for this bike, I had to do a bit more work yesterday: Front tube went flat just sitting there, right before I was to leave on it. (Both stock tubes from 1999 have now been replaced.)
After checking it over, I noticed a crack in the chrome zinc (I DO know better...) plate holding the upright beams to the center seat mount. No wonder the top end was acting funny the last couple days. Glad I caught it before it became a much bigger problem. I chopped up an old broken motorcycle fairing mount plate and drilled two holes for its replacement. At least the repairs were easy.
While I had it in pieces, I checked all the other brackets and hardware. Everything else looked good. Nuts and bolts are holding up, and haven't lost torque. After all that, I put it back together for a test drive. No more funky throttle or bogging at high rpm. All is well again with the Diesel.
Chain guard broke away from the zip ties attaching it last night, taking my forum decal with it. Hopefully, I can get another one from Paul- if I'm real lucky. It looks so naked now... My foot slipped off the pedal, snapping the rear mount of the plastic. Not like I need the guard, but it did look nice. Oh, well. The rest of the bike is fine.
Hopefully, I can get another one from Paul- if I'm real lucky. It looks so naked now... My foot slipped off the pedal, snapping the rear mount of the plastic. Not like I need the guard, but it did look nice. Oh, well. The rest of the bike is fine.
Many thanks to our friendly neighborhood moderator Paul for sending me another set of stickers! Attached to the rear wheel dropouts this time, so I won't be losing it again.
It's really cooled off in a hurry around here, but I'm still riding as frequently as I can (with face mask and an extra layer beneath the leather). Mileage check tonight says 157.15 documented, and still going strong. Really enjoying cruising leisurely through the fall colors.
It's really cooled off in a hurry around here, but I'm still riding as frequently as I can (with face mask and an extra layer beneath the leather). Mileage check tonight says 157.15 documented, and still going strong. Really enjoying cruising leisurely through the fall colors.