Spent to much time and money at a bar stool, so now haven't had a drink for 25 years. I have been really busy ever seance, trying to make up for it..........Curt
The Epic an electric tri car.
- Thread starter fasteddy
- Start date
Thirty for me this year Curt and my health is the better for it no doubt, though my story telling has suffered.
Rick C.
Rick C.
Gained the world and lost a little elsewhere, same here. Death bed was close when i stopped............Curt
Pickling and canning are done for the year so now it's back on the bike. The exhaust proved to be an adventure. Tried a number of different approaches but nothing seemed to work until I was looking through the bins of assorted parts on the shelf and found some 1" conduit 45 degree angles I bought years ago.
Since I had 1" conduit tubing for the exhaust I figured it might work if put together. The hold up was turning the exhaust downward from the cylinder into the 45 degree conduit. I remembered seeing some of the early bikes using what looked like a 90 degree cast black iron elbow.
Home Depot provided the answer after a quick visit. I used the belt sander to sand the flange on the elbow to reduce the size and remove China cast into the rim of the flange. I also sanded some of the lettering off the body of the elbow to try and get away as much as possible from what it was originally. I'll sand blast the elbows to give the sanded parts some texture.
The 1" conduit threaded into the elbows and the tubing coming out of the cylinders is 1- 1/16" tubing that the elbow slides over so I'll drill and thread a couple of holes in the elbows so I can bolt them in place. The conduit measures like pipe which on the inside and tubing is measured on the outside so the conduit elbow was able to to thread itself as it was turned into the elbow.
Steve.
Since I had 1" conduit tubing for the exhaust I figured it might work if put together. The hold up was turning the exhaust downward from the cylinder into the 45 degree conduit. I remembered seeing some of the early bikes using what looked like a 90 degree cast black iron elbow.
Home Depot provided the answer after a quick visit. I used the belt sander to sand the flange on the elbow to reduce the size and remove China cast into the rim of the flange. I also sanded some of the lettering off the body of the elbow to try and get away as much as possible from what it was originally. I'll sand blast the elbows to give the sanded parts some texture.
The 1" conduit threaded into the elbows and the tubing coming out of the cylinders is 1- 1/16" tubing that the elbow slides over so I'll drill and thread a couple of holes in the elbows so I can bolt them in place. The conduit measures like pipe which on the inside and tubing is measured on the outside so the conduit elbow was able to to thread itself as it was turned into the elbow.
Steve.
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Steve I used the same elbows for my V-twin also the Simplex and the Harley Peashooter. I'm convinced many of the early engine builders used the same plumbing in various sizes. Right off the hardware shelves. Why cast your own?
The motor is coming along great. The head fins are running in opposition, I favor the rear cylinders look, Though fins on the front cylinder would cool better. You don't require cooling. On the originals the rear cylinder was the one designers worried about running hot.
The tubes look rad & at the same time proper. Pipes ran all over the place on originals, typical of a make therefore covers a lot of ground that restorers agonize over but we don't have to. Typical for the type is more appropriate, with much latitude in execution. So I like what you've done!
Rick C.
The motor is coming along great. The head fins are running in opposition, I favor the rear cylinders look, Though fins on the front cylinder would cool better. You don't require cooling. On the originals the rear cylinder was the one designers worried about running hot.
The tubes look rad & at the same time proper. Pipes ran all over the place on originals, typical of a make therefore covers a lot of ground that restorers agonize over but we don't have to. Typical for the type is more appropriate, with much latitude in execution. So I like what you've done!
Rick C.
Very nice Steve!! Love the tight fit in the Monark frame. The Monark frame is just cool good luck with rest of build. Oh I had a very cool tank made for mine lots of cool angles.
HI Rick,
Thank you, I lost the direction the plate that the bolts are attached to on the front cylinder and welded it in the wrong way. The bolts are out of square by about and 1/8th of an inch. I'm going to have to see if I can cut it loose and turn it around somehow. Not enough meat around the bolt holes to just drill them out larger to fit.
Found my way into the problem and all I have to do now is find my way out of it.
Steve.
Thank you, I lost the direction the plate that the bolts are attached to on the front cylinder and welded it in the wrong way. The bolts are out of square by about and 1/8th of an inch. I'm going to have to see if I can cut it loose and turn it around somehow. Not enough meat around the bolt holes to just drill them out larger to fit.
Found my way into the problem and all I have to do now is find my way out of it.
Steve.
Hi MotoMagz,
Thank you. The gas tank on your bike is a piece of functional artwork. For me it's a toss up between doing the same style on the cheap and easy since it doesn't need to be working or using an old non functional Whizzer gas tank I have.
Steve.
Thank you. The gas tank on your bike is a piece of functional artwork. For me it's a toss up between doing the same style on the cheap and easy since it doesn't need to be working or using an old non functional Whizzer gas tank I have.
Steve.
Steve Mags bike shows how great a frame tank looks in this model. The fact is that a faux tank only requires three sides be enclosed. This permits zero welding on the tanks exterior. Use of 24 gauge steel sheet allows easy bending on the tri-fold forming the tank top & two sides therefore seamless. The tank end caps can then be tack welded from the inside. These end caps can be as complex as your skill of origami allows, all welds on the interior. prior to joining to the tanks main body. Once this is done a slightly recessed bottom plate is added (inside of the side panels) to conceal tack welds, or by adding L tabs threaded and then welded inside the tank sides, to allow screw on removal of the tank bottom.
This will be my choice for a wide style battery box on a future build. I like copper rivets on tanks & not having to worry about sealing leaks and all that entails lets a guy's creativity flow!
Of course the Wizz tank is quick and simple.
Heads to suit you, sounds that's settled already.
It's a good project you've set your hand to!
Rick C.
This will be my choice for a wide style battery box on a future build. I like copper rivets on tanks & not having to worry about sealing leaks and all that entails lets a guy's creativity flow!
Of course the Wizz tank is quick and simple.
Heads to suit you, sounds that's settled already.
It's a good project you've set your hand to!
Rick C.
Terrible case of gas tank envy here Rick. That tank is a fine one and just typical of MotoMagz builds. Everything is perfect. Having seen how well that tank worked I'll make one based on the cardboard one I made for the bike. In frame is definitely the way to go.
I think I have a fairly easy way of turning the cylinder head around but I'll have to check it out tomorrow.
Steve.
I think I have a fairly easy way of turning the cylinder head around but I'll have to check it out tomorrow.
Steve.
Got a painted picture I found...I miss this bike.....can’t keep everything.
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Hi MotoMagz,
Fantastic tank and bike. So true that you can't keep them all and if you did most of them would sit in storage and not be used. Better to let someone else enjoy them.
Steve.
Fantastic tank and bike. So true that you can't keep them all and if you did most of them would sit in storage and not be used. Better to let someone else enjoy them.
Steve.
I was able to get the plate with the head bolts cut out of the cylinder and turned around so the head now faces the proper way. Didn't take long and it came out without a lot of damage.
Steve.
Steve.
Love the look of your engine with the pipes/elbows added, Steve.
I made an intake and didn't like it so I cut it up to modify it. The brass parts for the carb are on back order.
Steve.
Steve.
Thanks Pete. I hope to have them permanently mounted tomorrow.
Steve.
Steve.
Now that I have my head on straight I had time to get the exhaust mounted and bolted in place. Used some rather low quality bolts so I'll have to try and find some button head bolts or order them from Amazon. Our local Home Depot doesn't even carry stainless steel bolts ect so anything unusual is hard to find . No going down to Ace Hardware here and Lowe's is 20 miles away through heavy traffic.
Our area is so wealthy now that most home owners call "The Guy" to do repairs. New house across the street sold about 3 months ago for $2.75 million and houses that have been for sale for at least 2 years are now selling. A lot of Hong Kong money is finding it's way here with the unrest there.
We have rain forecast until Sunday so it's garage clean up and checking to see if the head on the Indian Tri Car is still leaking. I'll try and find time to plot how the chain will go to the jack shaft and then to the rear wheel. I want to make a chain cover to the jack shaft and them make the jack shaft cover look like a magneto.
Once that is done and the exhaust is welded together I can prime everything and start on the tri car section.
Steve.
Our area is so wealthy now that most home owners call "The Guy" to do repairs. New house across the street sold about 3 months ago for $2.75 million and houses that have been for sale for at least 2 years are now selling. A lot of Hong Kong money is finding it's way here with the unrest there.
We have rain forecast until Sunday so it's garage clean up and checking to see if the head on the Indian Tri Car is still leaking. I'll try and find time to plot how the chain will go to the jack shaft and then to the rear wheel. I want to make a chain cover to the jack shaft and them make the jack shaft cover look like a magneto.
Once that is done and the exhaust is welded together I can prime everything and start on the tri car section.
Steve.
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You had me look and see if I got the two similar projects your doing right. The leaking of a 0:0 compression on the electric faux would be difficult to fix. Though I have for 3 years had the valve cover gasket on my trucks engine not leak. It leaked for a few days to a week once. I looked to see what a repair would cost or I get the parts and do the labor. Then it is no longer leaking? I suspect a gasket has a spot with some gumbed up oil or what ever filling a very small deviation in the valve cover gasket. I needed not use an additive that mentions miracle on the can.
The Indian Tri Car had a reused head gasket after the machinist who the cut key way in the crank shaft made a copper gasket for the motor which leaked worse that the reused gasket. After a lot of research I found out the copper gasket had to be heated and allowed to cool or the copper wouldn't allow the head to seal on the cylinder since the copper was to hard.
Found a gasket on eBay installed it and then got busy on the electric tri car and haven't tried to see if the new gasket sealed or not. The problem finding parts is they made the snow throwers the engines came on for three years at the end of the 1970's. The company was purchased and the motors style was changed and almost nothing interchanges.
Steve.
Found a gasket on eBay installed it and then got busy on the electric tri car and haven't tried to see if the new gasket sealed or not. The problem finding parts is they made the snow throwers the engines came on for three years at the end of the 1970's. The company was purchased and the motors style was changed and almost nothing interchanges.
Steve.