Reworking the lights, rewiring, top tube tank, etc

[Harold_B]

Thanks Allen! I'm glad it's coming together even though it's rather late in the season. It would have fun to have been riding all summer. The ride in this morning started with the idler falling off. I must not have tightened it after I reassembled everything. I'm glad I have a low gear so I could pedal slow looking for parts. Once, before the snow flies I will go for a ride and nothing will happen. The next three days are supposed to be rainy. I think I'll spend that time going over all of the nuts and bolts again. Might sound like I'm complaining but I'm not. The bike has a lot going on so there's a lot to attend to. When it's running right and the road is fairly smooth I am as content as I imagined I would be.

 

[Harold_B]

Rode in to work today. 48 degrees F. Winter gloves and a leather coat and my finger tips were white by the time I pulled in. Passed a field with a flock of about 30 wild turkeys, crossed over a bridge next some back water where swans were floating, and as a bonus nothing fell off the bike on the commute. Lots of waves and even a few stopping to ask questions. Cruised right past a Deputy. No issues.

Still running really rich and there's a few more comfort issues but it will get there. I'm ready for spring! My friend is still looking for his compression checker but in the meantime I took the carb and plenum off and re-installed everything while making certain it was seated properly. Until I can check the valves I'm going to step down a size on the jet and see if that helps. Last time I went with a smaller jet I went too small and the engine kept stalling.

 

[silverbear]

Good to hear of your successful ride to work, enjoying the wildlife along the way. Indian summer these past few days here in northern Minnesota. Jack Frost has not yet come through with his big annual art show, but the first leaves are changing and ash leaves have already dropped, Sumac turning red. My last fishing trip the loons were rafting up into thirty and more in a group, talking over the big migration plans I suppose and breaking in the rookies. This is my favorite time of year, with each day of Indian summer to be savored, all the more sweet knowing the ax will fall soon and with it snowflakes and a seemingly endless winter.

Even with cold hands, enjoy these last rides of the season, Harold, and be especially proud of that fine build. Thumbs up!
SB

 

[Harold_B]

Thanks again SB. The fall is a great time of the year. Last fall I had the bike in a state of rebuild getting it ready for some LED shows and missed several nice days. This year I plan to ride as long as the temps are above 46 or so and the sun is out. I've even grown a decent beard to keep my face warm.

I feel good about how the bike build has come along. Getting to where I can accept results that are less than what I had planned has been a major goal for me. Typically I would get to a point and lose interest if it didn't measure up. I plan to keep refining some things but they are minor. It's not perfect which suits me. Finding this forum and the members that are willing to share their knowledge has been very beneficial and is appreciated as is the feedback received. I hope I can give some of that cumulative experience back.

 

[Harold_B]

Night ride this evening. I'm glad I have 1400 lumens pointed down the road. The lo beam setting was nice to have when I encountered a couple of oncoming cars but the hi beam rocked in the areas without street lights. Still, I'm thinking about adding more lights upfront to illuminate the road directly in front of the bike. Air was cool, bats were out, only two cars. Pretty nice.

 

[silverbear]

You give back plenty, Harold. Unharried night riding is nice. I enjoy riding my local road to the state park then as there are few if any cars about. More deer than people and once in awhile a black bear out looking for a late night snack. "Boozhoo, Mukwa!" Hello, bear! Sharing the road...
SB

 

[Harold_B]

Bears? Thanks but no thanks! They come into town this far south rarely and that's fine. Too many people around here to be a frequent thing. Deer however are everywhere. I live in the 'burbs and they hang out in my yard to eat the landscaping. I kind of like it although our county and the next one over have the highest deer/car accidents per capita in the state. The white tail get big enough around here that I would just irritate them if I hit one while on my bike.

Replaced the #80 jet with a #75 and the bike is running better than it has to this point. I'm going to extend the exhaust pipe and put a cheap Briggs muffler on the end of it. The noise is starting to get to me.

 

[Harold_B]

A view on my ride home. The bugs seem to be getting worked out slow but sure....

 

[Harold_B]

A little excitement on my ride home tonight. There's a decent sized hill with a crossroad at the bottom just before a river. On the far side of the river is my turn toward home. As I was tooling down the hill at about 30ish a van passed me (in a 35 mph no passing zone) and then stopped to turn left. No problem. Apply the front and back brakes and...



The Ridley brake arm through hole is now a through "hook". Hooray for good front brakes. It's supposed to rain for the next three days. That will give me time to repair the arm. Made a bit of an unnerving "bang" when it let go and first thing that went through my mind was "fenders?". Whew.

 

[Harold_B]

Got a better look this morning. Might take a bit more work to repair that brake arm than I first thought. Apparently it is in a wad around the axel!

 

[Harold_B]

Still not sure why the arm wound up wrapped around the axel but it was a mess. Disassembled the hub and nothing was bound up inside. The grease was pretty black and getting thin likely from getting hot so I cleaned it all up and re-packed with Park bearing grease. I'm making my own arm using what is salvageable of the old one which is pretty much just the spline.

 

[silverbear]

Harold,
Don't remember what your hub is, maybe I have an arm I can send you. I have several old Bendix, a couple of New Departure, Hawthorne, maybe some other stuff. Let me know if I can help.
SB

 

[Harold_B]

Much appreciated SB. It's a splined Shimano CB-110 I believe. I have to admit this was a little disappointing given the nice weather the last few days. My plan is to use the spline end off the existing arm that I cut off, torched and hammered flat, then bolt that to a steel plate. That should get me through until the snow flies and then I'll save my pennies and returnable bottles for a drum brake rear hub. Maybe that will be the motivation to make another go at running the engine through the Dana or perhaps trying my hand at a belt drive. I'm not very good at leaving things alone.

Thanks again SB but I think I'm good this time!

 

[silverbear]

I didn't have an extra CB-110 anyway, Harold, but it sounds like you've got yourself covered.

A drum rear brake sounds good and belt drive to a rear sheave sounds good, too. It would definitely give it the right retro look to go with the motor... kind of 1950's. Belt is supposed to be a nice, smooth transmission of power. I'm working on my first belt drive ("Kindalikeawhizzer" thread) and there is a bit of a learning curve. My engine is shaped much like yours, but is a little bigger I think and has the carburetor inconveniently located at the bottom which makes for some head scratching and long stares. It is a 147CC Jacobsen 2 stroke made in Wisconsin in the 1970's for a snow blower. Just now mocking up the engine to figure out how to mount it. Initial drive will be chain from the centrifugal clutch to a jack shaft and from there belt to the sheave. I vacillate between feeling like I'm in over my head with not knowing what the heck I'm doing and then thinking, "this is gonna be a great bike!" Fun stuff to keep the boys inside us alive and happy.

I sure like what you've done with your bike, Harold. You're the only kid on your block with one like that!
SB

 

[Harold_B]

Definitely the only one on my block anyway! The positive feedback when I ride is a real mood booster and a big contrast to my normal commute by car. Waves and smiles are not a part of my typical drive to and from work.

I've been reading your threads and trying absorb as much as possible to determine what I might take on over the winter. Your Whizzer inspired build is really my motivation for considering belt drive. Adding a longer pipe and a muffler has given me more appreciation for quiet as I ride (I'm not startling the wildlife so much anymore) so now it's down to chain noise. Considered a side car but my cat isn't interested in riding the bike let alone goggles.

 

[silverbear]

Good, if you do the belt drive we can compare notes. You go first and then I can do what you did. Ha!
SB

 

[Harold_B]

I think you might want to consider just taking a look at what I do, note the parts that break and or fall off and adjust your plan accordingly SB! Although at the pace I move you'll most likely be replacing worn out belts before I figure out how to get going on a design.

The bike is back on the road though. A couple hours, some scrap pieces from the bin and a little coercing with a torch and bench grinder and presto, a new brake arm.

 

[Harold_B]

The rebuild seems to be holding up fine. Perhaps this is an easy alternative to all of the heating and bending of the stock arms for use with the Sportsman's Bike sprockets and others. There's probably a cleaner way to do it with fewer connection points and if a person can weld all the better (fewer fasteners). The ride into work this morning was in a little heavier commuter traffic like the ride home usually is so I rode a little faster. Still, seemed to stay together and stop fine. This morning it was 40 degrees F. I need to find goggles that fit over glasses.

 

[GearNut]

I have a pair of these and they are worth every penny.
http://www.amazon.com/Guard-Evader-...=1381816315&sr=8-2&keywords=guard+dog+goggles

 

[Harold_B]

Thanks GearNut. Do you wear them over glasses? I can see about 4" without mine and since I started wearing bifocals that's like plus or minus about a half inch so going without isn't much of an option for me. Have you swapped out the lenses or do you use the smoked lense mostly (I could save a whole $13 going with just smoke but wouldn't have any options so maybe it's worth a little extra)?