"So & So" Motorbikes, I don't get it???
- Thread starter Joaquin Suave
- Start date
a plastic Gatorade bottle for that matter!
MotorBicycleRacing
Well-Known Member
Everyone likes peanuts. Whatcha got against peanuts? 
scotto-
Custom 4-Stroke Bike Builder
Everyone likes peanuts. Whatcha got against peanuts?
Don't like peanuts, peanut butter or peanut tanks.......peanuts taste like dirt!
KCvale
Well-Known Member
Ya, a barnacle as Scotto likes to call 'em ;-}
We can't all buy frames with a tank in them or make a good looking one ourselves YET...
... 3D printing out a custom tank to fit your beach cruiser frame is getting closer.
My first 3-D printed prototype is for the 29" Macargi Fatal Love.
A horrible name for a motorized bike but a heck of a frame and parts for under $250, I can fit most anything in it, and the upper cavity should allow over a gallon of fuel storage for distance between fill-ups which anyone with a 2L 1/2 gallon tank knows gets old fast.
I have my cardboard template with plumb line for 90 degrees.
And the basic CAD drawing is in progress.
I have help from some CAD savvy friends on my gaming web site that do this for fun making entire vehicles to play in the game which makes this 'just a part'.
There is far more to it than that I am doing in my own forums but the point is it won't be long before many can ditch the peanut for under $100.
If any of you versed in CAD for 3-D model printing in .STL format get ahold of me and join in the design fun as the more .STL files there are for different bike frames the better.
Davezilla
New Member
We could pretty easily make an STL file for the tank, then CNC carve it out of foam or wood to make fiberglass molds out of, then it could be duplicated as many times as needed.... EXCEPT... almost all the gasoline in America has ethenol in it which deteriorates the resin so the inside would need to be lined with something that's alcohol proof and the outside would need to be painted with an automotive grade 2 part clerar coat, gelcoat would work great on the outside as well.
Allen_Wrench
Resident Mad Scientist
Complete non sequitur: drove to a laundromat on a near-empty tank a few years back. Used the last of my detergent, but had a couple bucks in change left. Almost bought a soda (but it was a good thing I didn't). Loaded van with clothes and made to go home. Van starts then sputters and dies. Tried again but knew what would happen and why.
Went back in laundromat to thoroughly rinse Tide jug. Also made mental note to buy a friggin' gas can when I got paid. Made sure van was locked. Walked 1/2 mile to gas station. Got almost a gallon (those were the days). Tide jug held up fine. Put gas in van & drove home. Knowing just a little science has saved my sorry butt on more than one occasion. (It's also helped get me in trouble too, but I have this rug I sweep that under.)
DaveC
Member
Attachments
Dan
Staff
Allen, back when we were all on the DIY tanks with PVC and ABS pipe. I took an empty Tide jug, carefully washed it out. (lol, takes forever to wash soap out of a container. It is like trying to throw away a garbage can, sorta thing)
But let it sit for a year with gas in it and was just fine!
LOL, ya coulda told me about that fancy, book learnin' science stuff and saved me a lot of time, Buddy.
...and tide jugs have spigots. Add a vent and is a perfect gas jug, fer sure.
But let it sit for a year with gas in it and was just fine!
LOL, ya coulda told me about that fancy, book learnin' science stuff and saved me a lot of time, Buddy.
...and tide jugs have spigots. Add a vent and is a perfect gas jug, fer sure.
Agreed
Your tank doesn't look bad at all, it just the ones that come with the kits that could use some inprovment.
My son took his to welding class at collage and did away with the seam and welded in a little deeper tunnel, looks a lot better..............Curt
DaveC
Member
That's some serious welding skills. The metal in them tanks is hardly thicker than a beer can. To get one welded up without just blowing holes in them is quite an accomplishment
That's some serious welding skills. The metal in them tanks is hardly thicker than a beer can. To get one welded up without just blowing holes in them is quite an accomplishment
Yep took a while good thing it was done at school,i think he wood have given up other wise. and it will need some bondo and sealer. But looks a hole lot better.......................Curt
redneck82
Member
personally... i've used Gatorade bottles as well as 1 liter bottles from fuse juice drinks to carry extra fuel with me (premixed)... the only down side i've seen so far is the plastic gasket inside the cap breaks down a bit from the gas... but, on the bright side, they fit easily into a backpack and don't take up much space...
but back on topic, i got into this hobby back in april... i've yet to build anything with a jackshaft just due to lack of funds, but i've scabbed together a couple different builds so far and have come up with quite a few of my own designs on things and such... my goal at this point is to open a local shop here in new hampshire at some point over the next couple years...
you guys raise good points on both ends of the spectrum... when i built my first bike, i showed it to a friend of mine and we got tossing around the idea of putting an xr50 motor on them... in doing some research into parts needed and such, came across Motopeds... so clearly we weren't the first ones to come up with the idea... sad thing is we had pretty much an identical concept and they had already patented the same style of jackshaft that we were thinking of using... i'm not looking to rip off anyone elses product... so we decided to do some things differently...
in thinking about the shop, compared to the amount of "issues" these current builds give me on a regular basis... it seems like it would be next to impossible to warranty the work and even brake even... people would be coming back constantly for labor and such just for tweaks even just during the brake in process...
i know i'm still a ways off from actually opening a shot, but you guys in here have given me a whole lot to think about...
this started for me as just the cheapest way of getting around after my licence was revoked, turned into a hobby, and has now grown close to an obsession...
i'm in these forums on almost a daily basis, reading and learning everything i can so that when it does come down to it, i've got a solid knowledge base combined with experience from working on my own bikes to back it up.
so to that, i say thanks guys!
and as far as the xr50 plan goes... i'm still planning on building at least 2... i'm going to build one with the xr50 and also i found direct swap upgrades for them to a 125...
also, after doing much research into parts and components, i also see why the going rate for just the rolling chassis of the motopeds cost so freakin much...
anyway, thanks agaiin
but back on topic, i got into this hobby back in april... i've yet to build anything with a jackshaft just due to lack of funds, but i've scabbed together a couple different builds so far and have come up with quite a few of my own designs on things and such... my goal at this point is to open a local shop here in new hampshire at some point over the next couple years...
you guys raise good points on both ends of the spectrum... when i built my first bike, i showed it to a friend of mine and we got tossing around the idea of putting an xr50 motor on them... in doing some research into parts needed and such, came across Motopeds... so clearly we weren't the first ones to come up with the idea... sad thing is we had pretty much an identical concept and they had already patented the same style of jackshaft that we were thinking of using... i'm not looking to rip off anyone elses product... so we decided to do some things differently...
in thinking about the shop, compared to the amount of "issues" these current builds give me on a regular basis... it seems like it would be next to impossible to warranty the work and even brake even... people would be coming back constantly for labor and such just for tweaks even just during the brake in process...
i know i'm still a ways off from actually opening a shot, but you guys in here have given me a whole lot to think about...
this started for me as just the cheapest way of getting around after my licence was revoked, turned into a hobby, and has now grown close to an obsession...
i'm in these forums on almost a daily basis, reading and learning everything i can so that when it does come down to it, i've got a solid knowledge base combined with experience from working on my own bikes to back it up.
so to that, i say thanks guys!
and as far as the xr50 plan goes... i'm still planning on building at least 2... i'm going to build one with the xr50 and also i found direct swap upgrades for them to a 125...
also, after doing much research into parts and components, i also see why the going rate for just the rolling chassis of the motopeds cost so freakin much...
anyway, thanks agaiin
redneck82
Member
buddy of mine is a welder fabricator, the two of us are going to be building our own frames and i've got my own design plans for jackshafting etc... i'm pretty psyched to learn the welding trade in doing this... but yeah it's the high end components that nickle and dime it to death lol
KCvale
Well-Known Member
Heck, the good stuff $50 and $100's you to death ;-}
Best of luck on building a custom frame with a built in jackshaft, now that is something I would be interested in buying, especially with a built in gas tank.
redneck82
Member
i hadn't actually thought about a "built in" jackshaft, but i'm on it now! and my buddy introduced me to balloon welding... i'm curious to see what kind of things we can come up with for tank styles... not sure about it being built in, simply because the frame is only going to be a single tube... but it may very well end up permanently welded in place... i have a feeling though, that the first one's just going with xr50 plastics... can get the whole body kit for like $20 including the tank...