RIP CranRambler / new start on a BTR

[olsmokeybeard]

started messing around with LEDs today and just finished wiring up my front headlight. used the headlight case from the old bike, which was one of those cheaper ones you can find online that comes with a taillight and a generator for the front wheel.

used 12x 3mm 9v bright white LEDs w/ 12x 520ohm resisters (came free with the LEDs). really my first time doing this, looks messy, but it pretty solid. I'm powering it with the same 9.6v RC car battery from the old build and it's pretty darn bright. not as bright as i would hope, but i really just need to find a new 3" lens cover and paint the inside of the headlight a little more reflective, maybe.

Doing a burn-in now, just to see how long they last. I think with 2x regular 9.6v light bulbs i got 2+ hours off a full charge on this battery. It's half charged now so i'm gonna run these LEDs til the battery dies and see what kinda time i'm looking at.

Next I need to find something to put my tail light/brake light and then 4x blinkers in. Trying to look for a cheaper more DIY alternative than buying actual moped/motorcycle blinkers and brake light.

 

[Mike B]

You could probabily connect the 12 LED's as 2 parallel strings of 6 in series and then feed the array with 6 of those resistors connected in parallel in series with the LED array.

That would save a lot of power and be just as bright.

 

[Radfletcher]

I will go back to your drum brake arm question... the arm secures to the curved part of the fork, the one that links with the head tube. and by the way it looks in your photo I am pretty sure the wheel needs to be flipped around in order for the arm of the brake to be all lined up with the fork parts. (Got the same brake with the same type of fork on one of my bikes.)

 

[Radfletcher]

OH! one portlander to another, incidentally! ;D (just noticed)

 

[killercanuck]

Looking sweet so far! Depending on the heat from the led's, flat white is more reflective than tinfoil or mylar. Maybe you can cut out a disc to fit in behind them and paint? Might help, and be cheap too

 

[olsmokeybeard]

thanks for the advice mike! so far we're running 5hrs and no loss of brightness! crazy! that's already passed my needs since i never ride more than an hour at night, usually just on my way home from work.

radfletcher, thanks as well. i think it all lines up pretty well with the arm being on the right side of the fork. infact, the brake arm lines up perfectly with the curved fork arm. on the last build i used a U-Bolt to hold it on, but this time i'd like something a little more secure/less ugly. any tips on that? i mean, the fork is a little too thin to drill into IMO... so not sure how i'll go about this.

also, you're in the opposite Portland! but still, one portlander to another, hello!

and thanks killercanuck, i've got plenty of flat white paint, so i'll give that a shot!

 

[curtisfox]

VERY INTRESTING. Thats a long time. How about if one took a flash light that runs off 3 triple AAA's 4.5 volts and hooked it to 6 volt bike generator. Would it be to much voltage?.....Curt

 

[olsmokeybeard]

curtisfox; if the flashlight is LEDs they would burn out immediately, and if it just has a small light bulb, that would get hot and burn out after not long. you could do some research on what kind of capacitors/resistors you'd need to downstep the voltage. i'm quite a newbie at this... so. i just say... research?

 

[curtisfox]

Yep its LED. Its a Bell+howell with 32 leds in it realy bright and small I would like to use it as a head light. Thanks I will do some more research...........Curt

 

[olsmokeybeard]

well, she's coming along. got the analog speedometer working!

gold braided cable housing (brake/clutch/throttle) is on the way.

also got all new aluminum bolts for the engine (sickbikeparts).

at a flea market today i found an old 6" motorcycle headlight for $5 that is now in the process of receiving 30ish bright white LEDs... should be fun.

still trying to figure out what to use for my rear brake/tail/blinker lights, been thinking some old little red glass bottles would be nifty... just not sure how much the glass would diffuse the LEDs.

 

[curtisfox]

For what its werth I found out that the best to do with a generator is use a small battarie and charge it and run a resister from there to LED's......It can be any small brush type motor for a generator.......Curt

 

[frozenveinz]

It's looking pretty good so far. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[andrewflores17]

http://motorbicycling.com/f3/pvc-tank-how-21154.html

this is the build for the pvc tank i used i did mine and have had gas in it for a few months nothings hapend to it yet ive been draining the gas out every month as im still working on the transmisson isuses on mine the first time i emptied it their was a few little pvc flakes that i didnt get out while trying to wash it out so use a good filter and i would recomend that you fill it up then slosh it with gas and empty just to catch and nastys u may have missed i do think your version is realy cool looking though i considered something like that have one on each side of the rear bike rack but just went with a single tube.


coool loooking build man im gona keep a eye on this build

 

[choppercrazy]

love it if i had it tho i would cut seat post holder thing lower get laid back the get vintage bars and flip em

 

[olsmokeybeard]

curtisf: i'd thought about that! i do have a small bicycle light generator, but that produces somewhere around 6v i think, and my battery is 9.6v. but if i bought a 12v generator i could then put a resistor on it to downstep it, yeah?

frozenv: thanks! it'll still be a few months. taking my sweet sweet time on all these individual parts.

andrewf: thanks for the advice! i did read your post before i'd even started with my tanks. they are slowly coming along. i'm going a little crazy with the JBweld on these, but i should have them test-ready by the end of the week.

chopperc: sadly i can't lower the seat any more as the springs then rub the tire. though it would look pretty sweet to chop the seat tube down that extra 2 inches. AND there is already a 4" layback post, that i got from PirateCycles that is made of solid steel. pretty awesome piece, so i'm sticking with this setup. also i'm pretty content with these BMX style handlebars, not too much of a drop and they angle forward pretty nice to give me more distance to lean.

 

[olsmokeybeard]

update:

--having problems getting the rear drum brake to behave. seems to loosen up/come out of place every time i get the wheel mounted and turn the pedals a few rotations... the whole wheel gets wobbly.

--slight chain clearance issues with this new pirate cycles sprocket adapter. but... i think it'll work out fine in the end.

--carburetor clearance is not doing so well either, so i bought an offset manifold, which i will still have to chop so my carb will mount at a 45 degree angle to the engine (but still level horizontally).

--also having major fuel line clearance issues with the tanks being so close to the engine. might have it figured out, as long as gravity treats me very well and allows the fuel to flow freely in a drop loop scenario. not sure how that will work with a fuel filter..... but i'm sure i'll figure this out pretty easily once i'm actually ready to do it.

--is my silicon fuel line connecting the two tanks going to melt being only 3/4" from the top of the engine, or should i look for some more heavy duty fuel line?

--not really digging the possible angles with these handlebars... sure it's comfortable, just doesn't look as good as i'd like. thinking i might cover the exposed chrome in black handlebar tape or paint it flat black.

--still haven't fully got the seat mounted to the steel plate(seat post). but i think i've figured that out as well... just gonna require destroying more cheap drill bits.

--also still havn't added any air-intake to the gas tanks. probably going to add a curly-q of copper tubing to the brass caps.

--along with all these issues:
-mount the chain tensioner
-still have to officially mount the CDI in place
-shorten the pedal chain
-redo/install all the cabling. got some custom gold braided cable housing for the brake/throttle/clutch.
-figure out my tail lights/blinker situation.

my crazy goal is to try to get it started on my birthday 3/3.

SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO DO!!

-danial