Old Guys Simplex moto-peddle bike

LOL you crack me up. I've actually had a couple of two smokers that ran like a rubber chicken with it's head cut off. I have to agree with you on the mystic side of tuning them, especially dealing with the expansion side. More Voodoo/Santaria mumbo jumbo than science, but when you accidentally find an incantation which works they run liked a Howler monkey with it's tail on fire (pretty fast) and scream even louder! 2 or 4 cycle, rotary... I like them all. Rick C.
 
So sorry to hear that racing great John Surtees passed at age 83. When I posted yesterday I started to mention an interesting book he published on tuning 2 cycle exhaust and existing, state of the art, theory involved in the fifties era, I woke this morning to the news. John is the only man to have won world championships in both motorcycle GP racing and Formula 1 GP auto for Ferrari. I recall him riding Norton's and Cooper Motos & Honda as well in 500 cc and 350 cc & had multiple world championships in both classes. He also won at the Isle of Mann TT several times in the senior division. He was one of my boyhood hero's along with Sterling Moss, both hailing from the Empire. Makes me sad and feel older at the same time...Rick C.
 
Spring cleaning begins with cutting my bicycle inventory, pedal and motorized as well...2 of each, making room for me to build more? Initially it will allow a pathway for me to get from the front to the back of my garage and access tools without moving bikes to the driveway. Either I do this or I build another storage shed so the reduction of bikes will act as a temporary relief from my 2 bicycle addiction. Next cleaning job motorcycles, trucks and go cart storage...Rick C.
 
Steve I'm downsizing, but will continue building. That which I seldom ride or drive will go. The two bikes are going to my Son and his wife and the bicycles are going to friends who ride, gifts. I'm not a vedor or collector. I really want them to go to responsible adults that will actually ride and take pride in them. The motos really ride nice and neither have more than a dozen hours of riding, so I hope they will be on the road soon. Rick C.
 
Two bikes I built to ride, but seldom did and are now finding a new home. Nothing fancy, built around solid, slightly modified China doll engines and hub adaptor drive train on standard frames (one aluminum & one steel), with a few vintage/replica & custom parts added to create interest. Rick C.
 

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This bike I'm keeping & ride most days year round. Literally thousands of miles on it, fun...not a cutting edge build certainly, but I love it. It's a real Grubee frame and has really held up. Rick C.
 

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Wonderful bike Rick. The bikes that are going to new and I'm sure appreciative homes are it's equal but some how one bike seems to stand out amongst the rest. Never could figure out just why.

I may have been just a little tongue in cheek about the new storage shed. Just bought a bunch of plastic storage bins myself to corral the pile of parts and to make their removal easier for my son when he shows up to get them.

Steve.
 
Thanks Steve, I worked on cleaning up the two bikes yesterday and ended up fabricating a new fuel tank setup for one of them...just can't help myself. I'll also need to do some other stuff to both, who knows? I just like to tinker.

Favorite rides? I can't explain it either. Both the bikes I'm taking South are more comfortable than the Grubee, ride softer and pedal easier (as easy as a single speed cruiser pedal bike), but I prefer the Grubee. It somehow fits me at 6' 1" and 170 lbs. the board track profile just handles my 70 year old frame. Years of riding road and mountain bikes I suppose have adapted me to the forward lean contortion. Riding straight up with my butt stuck to the seat while supporting my weight, instead of using the legs on the pedals to bear the weight and absorb the road shocks, isn't my style of riding; even while just cruising.

All 3 bikes look ok and maybe the two black ones will prove as durable as the Grubee, that remains to be seen. My Simplex Copper Gator is a hoot to ride and I really like to look at her, feels very sporty and quick as all get out and has a riding attitude very similar to the Grubee, yet I still mount the little two stroke 4 out of five times out and I don't really know why. I just do.

I will probably add some bike storage to better house a side car rig and a few bikes, but I'm becoming more selective of what I keep and build.

Curtis I really like what the Lane brothers are doing and as master cycle builders it makes me proud to see young men of immense talent gravitate to period style custom builds and others are following their lead with fine builds of their own. Not replicas but new frames built in vintage style, that would look at home racing the boards and dirt in 1915 along side the HD's and Indians etc. By using original engines they achieve that narrow frontal profile that the total loss oil design permitted then and now, when coupled with skinny rubber. It will be interesting to see the videos of the "Son's of speed" race this week end, starting today. Rick C.
 
Son's of Speed "board track" race (Daytona, Fl. vicinity) sponsored by Billy Lane was a great success last Saturday. Wish I could have attended. The Harley's swept the podium and the women finished first and third. Brittany Owen was first and Shelly Pepe took third...gals can really ride! Billy Lane and his brother Warren both finished out of the money, but credit where credits due Billy put this race together and it looks like he may have started something that will be around for awhile...just like the Cannonball run, only different.

Good exposure for classic American racing and coupled with the release last year of Harley and the Davidson's mini series it should spark interest in early American racing bikes. Rick C.
 
Spring cleaning turned up some great used, unused, misplaced, forgotten or cast off parts. I thought about selling them, but decided instead to pick up a straight bar Schwinn style frame and build another 2 stroke board track style bike, with coffin tank and twin spring fork. I've some ideas about how I'd like to design one. The frame is the only thing I'm missing as far as major components are concerned, if I had a spare fuel tank I could build two bikes with the parts I turned up! Four new saddles, 2 sets of Fat Frank brick pattern tires, 2 complete motors, 3 new wide wheels, 2 suspension forks (1 mountain bike and one dual spring Monarch), various handle bars & pedal sets, two Manic hub drive adaptors and half a dozen final sprockets, throttle, brake and clutch sets & disc brake rotors with calipers and spacers etc. I could set up a bike shop! I've got to get better organized and start using some of this stuff as well. Rick C.
 
Ha! My garage is a mess but there's no treasure buried in there! Between CL and RatRodBikes you shouldn't have any trouble finding a frame. I'll assume it will be another very cool build but I'd like pictures anyway.
 
In my opinion the straight bar Schwinn frame (commonly referred to as a Panther) is one of the best looking bicycle frames ever designed and one which lends itself well to a vintage motorbike build. It also has fair amount of room for a motor without having to alter the frame. I already know this build is going to be a beauty.
SB
 
Harold_B said:
Ha! My garage is a mess but there's no treasure buried in there! Between CL and RatRodBikes you shouldn't have any trouble finding a frame. I'll assume it will be another very cool build but I'd like pictures anyway.
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Thanks Harold my garage is still a mess, but I'll get there...separating stuff leads to "I could possibly" day dreams that slow me up considerably. Both the Simplex and Harley builds started from castoffs & the Simplex was just a bare frame that a guy dropped off at my door. The Harley concept began with the Simplex fork (which arrived after the frame) that I didn't use on the Simplex Copper gator, another cast off in the way for over a year just gathering dust. That fork just looked so early HD to me that it lead to the HD Peashooter build, both builds in this thread 'cause the HD utilizes more original Simplex parts than the Simplex Copper gator did! Perhaps the similarity of the two forks was not just a coincidence as the founders of both HD and Simplex were friends and admirers of each others products.

Harold the pictures will come, but in a different thread. I'm not certain if I'll start the straight bar/Panther style build first or begin the Simplex sidecar addition, maybe build both concurrently. I'll continue the Simplex side car in this thread.

Most probably use a replica frame rather than mess up an original Schwinn bike unless I locate just a bare frame in good condition with no sheet metal. I have a very nice aluminum tank that was built for the Panther, but never mounted...guy I know was going to build a bike but lost interest and I bought a few of his parts for cheap, no frame as he sold the pedal bike complete.

Start dates on either will probably be late April or May as I have a lot of stuff scheduled which entails quite a bit of travel starting next week and most of April...just has to get done. May through August are also my busiest months business wise, so I'll build when I can.

I guess the Sportsman/Predator Leaf Spring Indian build will be a Fall or Winter project unless I find that perfect V twin engine which would jump to the head of my projects line for sure. More projects than I may live to see built, but need to be constructed by someone, so.....Rick C.
 
Rick, Don't get too busy. You should think about going to Portland in July. We went for the first time last year had a blast. Soooo much to see, it was amazing. What really surprised me was the amount of bicycle stuff. All those hard to find parts, right there and decent prices. All different kinds of motorized bicycles and customs. This is a show and swapmeet for everyone on two wheels. Bob
 
silverbear said:
In my opinion the straight bar Schwinn frame (commonly referred to as a Panther) is one of the best looking bicycle frames ever designed and one which lends itself well to a vintage motorbike build. It also has fair amount of room for a motor without having to alter the frame. I already know this build is going to be a beauty.
SB
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Thanks Silver bear I was almost certain you would approve of my frame choice, though it will most probably end up a "Schwinn style" rather than original Panther as I really feel bad when I chop up vintage metal. I may not alter the frame much, but like the freedom to do so without guilt. Case in point was chopping the loop from the Sportsman frame & altering the down tube angle for my Harley style "Keystone/Peashooter" bike...ouch! I like the results but hated that part of the process.

I previously listed a bunch of parts on hand located during cleanup (kinda') and to that list I add one highly modified China doll motor that wasn't lost, just sitting in plain sight while hiding. I ran this motor for a few hours on my Grubee and it just refused to run well until the revs were way up and then it was quite impressive. So I replaced it with a more modestly prepared motor that I love all 'round. I will swap out the head, jug and piston...modified with less aggressive timing, porting, ramping and compression for a more comfortable day to day riding experience.

Silver bear I know I paid current pricing over the years for most of the found parts, but I feel this one is almost a freebee garage find, with the frame being the only major part missing. I'm sure you and the "bike camp gang" will give a nod to this frugal build.

I'm pretty sure this "straight bar" will badge as just a Schwinn...maybe an "August".

Hope to see some updates this Summer on your projects. Rick C.
 
Bob53 said:
Rick, Don't get too busy. You should think about going to Portland in July. We went for the first time last year had a blast. Soooo much to see, it was amazing. What really surprised me was the amount of bicycle stuff. All those hard to find parts, right there and decent prices. All different kinds of motorized bicycles and customs. This is a show and swapmeet for everyone on two wheels. Bob
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Hi Bob, great to hear your trip was such a great time. I've pretty much signed my life away again this Summer. Portland and Davenport are two destinations which I must take part in someday, but I've been saying that for several years now.

Your comment about the Portland show being for everyone on two wheels is very compelling to those of use who have favorite bikes but also love scoots and cycles of any marque. Guys like me who build mix and match bikes also like shows with lots of pre-owned shop and swap opportunities and both are well known for such activity. Rick C.
 
I ain't taking you round Newark Autojumble then, the things you can find, the plane back would never take off with all your excess baggage.
 
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