New project officially underway

killercanuck said:
Those beefy forks look normal next to your tank :) Too bad about the hub dia., hopefully you can fend a good one.
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I really like the way those forks look on the frame lol. As far as the adapter goes, I might be able to shave it down a little and get it to fit. I just might take it to a machine shop and have it milled down a few sixteenths, depending how much it costs.
 
So here's a little update y'all. I found a member willing to trade me his Cranbrook stock rear wheel for my wheel and a few spare parts. I know the Howard adapter will fit the Cranbrook wheel, because the Howard adapter was designed specifically for the Cranbrook wheel. It does fit some other wheels, but the Cranbrook wheel for sure. Now its a matter of getting the transmission parts, headlight setup, and an axle long enough to fit the suzuki motorcycle forks.
 
I got my handlebars mounted, and although I don't have a long enough axle for the front wheel yet, I decided to mock the front wheel up temporarily because I really wanted to see what it looked like, and I took a few pics while I was at it. On a side note, I just discovered that my Android photo viewing app, QuickPic, can shrink photos. Neato!
 
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I've been getting quite a bit of prep work done the last few days. I took my clutch lever from my china kit and made a spring return for it so that I can still use it to control my brake light. I found an axle that is long enough for the motorcycle forks, though I'm missing some of the lock nuts for the cones, but I believe those can be found easily enough. I cut one of the fork dropouts today (they're motorcycle forks, so they don't have open dropouts like bicycle forks, I guess motorcycle hubs must typically have sealed bearings and you can slide the axle through). I'm going to cut the other one in the next day or so. I got new bearings for the Cranbrook rear wheel, and also put some zip ties where the spokes cross to prevent them from flexing too much. I should be able to get this bike up to a rolling chassis very soon. I also shimmed up my head tube. The forks I got have a 1" steerer tube (1" steerer tube on mc forks, go figure lol), and the Schwinn frame I got apparently has a 1&1/8" head tube, so what I did was take two pieces of sheetmetal for each bearing cup and bent them to make them form a round shape, and left gaps between the ends so I could compress them into the head tube. It worked very well, and I know my fork can be bolted on safely. I use 3 nuts on the headset, the cone nut first, then a flat washer, then a flat nut, then a crown nut which I've cut the crown part off of. Plus the top tree bolts to the steerer tube, so my forks arent going anywhere lol. I still have a fair amount of prep work to do, but tomorrow I need to start cleaning up the basement.
 
I got my front wheel mounted today, and not just a mockup, bolted on solid. It was a pita, but thankfully its done. I'll be taking some pics tomorrow.
 
Today I will have the parts I need to re-assemble my rear hub, and this bike will finally be a rolling chassis. I still need about $400 to get the rest of the parts I need, but I've got a new job I start on Monday and my wife will be filing the income taxes soon, so I hope to have this build completed by March some time.
 
Even though I said I wasn't going to share any pictures, I changed my mind and decided to share some anyway. There haven't been very many comments on my pics lately, so there might not be too many more pics if no one has anything to say.
 
That is going to be a awesome ride with the suspension front end. Engine looks good in there like that............Curt
 
I like..the rims and hubs all blacked out.Did you paint them/how?I think if you could find a curved manifold from a honda gx you could get the engine to sit alittle flatterand get the car out of the way.You know what your doing just a thought.I like the springs exposed too!!!
 
i like it !!...that motor fills up the space very well ..& good choice of color too
is it going to be in the way of your cranks & pedals ?
 
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MotoMagz said:
I like..the rims and hubs all blacked out.Did you paint them/how?I think if you could find a curved manifold from a honda gx you could get the engine to sit alittle flatterand get the car out of the way.You know what your doing just a thought.I like the springs exposed too!!!
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I don't mind the engine sitting forward a little. I can slide it back far enough for the air cleaner box to just touch the seat tube, and I think that should be ok. I just painted the rims with spraypaint, cost $1.25 a can for glossy black at the dollar store here. Thanks for the comments!
 
wing nut said:
i like it !!...that motor fills up the space very well ..& good choice of color too
is it going to be in the way of your cranks & pedals ?
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I'm going to have to have my crank arms bent, but I think I can do it with an acetylene torch. Tried it with propane, didn't get hot enough. Maybe I didn't do it long enough.
 
I can say conservatively that this bike should be done by the end of March. I just talked with my wife today, and she is going to give me $400 out of our income taxes. The rest will come out of my paychecks, but it shouldn't be very much. I may have it done before the end of March, but we'll have to see.
 
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