The Morgal Flyer! Aka DrHax's Steampunk Firestone Motorbike ( Front welded up.)

[DrHax]

Okay so now here comes the biggest thing. Planning this thing out. I have acquired a decent amount of parts (My family is going to be so happy receiving boxes upon boxs and my post man will hate me.) The wheels should be arriving tomorrow, the motor is anybody's guess. I got a bunch of parts coming from Falstaff which will help set this build up right. So parts are in the mail people!

Now here is what it all boils down too.
The size of the motor and the direction in which it rotates, (Also me getting the motor started. it apparently started 5 years ago, has compression. Maybe the points just need to be cleaned.) Figuring out how to mount this sucker up. Will the bike frame as it sits be long enough? If so where do I wide it?

figuring out the best way to mount the hub. All of this will basically take mock up time. ALso I need to figure out how to get the drum brakes set up! So much work!
But its so exciting!

 

[Fv2]

That engine should have 4 holes in the mounting plate, I'd have to look through my pile to see what design I would come up with. I'm not a fabricator by any stretch, but might come up with something helpful.

That hub mount is something I'd have to figure out after the engine was mounted, either way I'm curious to see how it all plays out.

 

[DrHax]

Wheels should be arriving tomorrow. Now I need to figure out brake levers and cables. Been so used to coaster brakes for years, so this is going to feel different.

 

[DrHax]

Quick question. Vintage handle bars on these bicycles are 7/8 correct? If so I have no need to purchase motorcycle handle bars since the brass ones are all made for bobber and boardtracker style of builds. Which is not what I want. The reason why I ask is because if the standard monark (because my bike was made by monark) of this era are 7/8th then I can just go ahead and get myself a set of these for the brakes.
or these
and to operate the clutch mechanism a thumb lever


The only thing I have yet to figure out is throttle. The transmission will be shifted by the 3hub's twist shifter. brakes via inverse levers, and the clutch via a thumb lever. Throttle I am not sure.


A quick google search turns up that people have had success taking a twist shifter and then removing the element that locks it into place. Since I picked a shimano style hub finding shifters for those are easy.

I would prefer not to disassemble a NOS one in this case, so if anybody has
a white shimano 333 shifter on a parts shelf, or a bike you're converting into something else let me know. If it comes with the cable that'd be great too.
Here's the hub I purchased that's coming in.

Here's a new old stock one.

If nobody has one I may just buy a NOS one to use a shifter then modify the old one coming with the hub as a throttle.

 

[Fv2]

Pretty sure your bars are 7/8". Using the grip shift as a throttle should work, but I'd check the bay again for a used one before taking the new one apart.
That should help keep with the era you're trying to reproduce too, early motorcycles had choke and throttle grips.

 

[DrHax]

I went with the universal parts levers since they were cheaper. I'm going to see who can give me the best price on the shifter so far eBay is winning with a nos one.

 

[DrHax]

Ended up with a shimano shifter no cable on ebay. Gave the guy an offer last and night and woke up to ebay knocking on my door cracking it's knuckles declaring I pay now. Jeez ebay let me have a cup of tea first all right?

Now I need to figure out the throttle cable.

 

[DrHax]

Came home after a wonderful day... Night? At work to be greeted by a massive box!

What's in it?

It's from NC! The engine? How big is it? The box is massive!

It's tiny!


Its literally the size of a boot! Has very audible compression too!
And it has spark! Ask me how I found out


It has spark, compression that means I bet if I get it some gas it'll fire right up!
I am so happy right now!

I am continuing this post here from my intro page! This engine shows nothing but promise! I have worked with modern briggs engines in a highschool class. Those are very BIG compared to this. This engine is very narrow which is excellent. This means I will NOT have to modify frame at all. Which is a blessing since I do not want to start hacking up the frame.

What might happen is I will need to weld a plate with some holes drilled into it to mount the engine onto. Once I get the engine mounted then I can start mocking up where the drive train will good news The engine's orientation is output pulley is on the left side when facing forwards. That is perfect!

That means then everything will work without jack shaft nonsense or other complications!. (That is of course unless the engine operates opposite of the kick start direction?) This is excellent! I am so excited. It is a very light weight engine too! I am impressed with this 1930's engine. Also for those curious the kick start is a joke. There's no resistance at all.( You can turn it over by hand) I feel the kick start was made so the lady of the house could hold her basket of clothes drive her heel down and start up the machine. Seriously it's that easy!

(Unlike those .... pull cord briggs which always FIGHT ME AND WEAR OUT MY ARM!)

So the only modification that may be needed is to extend it out a bit so it doesn't hit anything when I'm jumping on it.

Today has been an amazing day!

 

[DrHax]

Turns out modifications are going to be needed to the firestone's frame. The engine is a bit too wide and the curved frame does not allow for a nice location to put the engine. So where do I start?

Just like all good people with stupid questions we must go to the elders!

In this case a 1909 harley police bike!
And just like any good artist you look at things done in the past for inspiration, (And engineering in my case)

Observations I have noticed about all antique motorcycles. The pedals are always behind the engine. (makes sense.) and the seat tube is placed at angle (which is already done for my firestone!). This allows for more room for the engine and placing the rider directly over the pedals. So I need to stretch out my frame.


But where and how. I'll let this boil over as parts come in. Stay tuned for another episode of "Steampunk maniac struggles with preplaning of a motorbike! WILL HE SUCCEED? WILL HE FAIL? WHAT WILL HAPPEN! Stay tuned for more!"

 

[Fv2]

Definitely have your work cut out for you.

 

[DrHax]

I'm juggling between leaving the rear geometry the same and extending the front, Or leaving the front geometry the same and extending the rear out to place the engine back a bit.

Another option is to go halfway remove the seat post tube ( suckers seized in there anyways. ) extend the front out an inch .

Or if I get another frame in the style of the Firestone I could make an Art Deco frame by continuing prexisting lines. This would create a very fluid look which would be fun to weld up.

 

[DrHax]

Wheels arrived today! Suckers are heavy duty! The drum brake for the rear is impressive. It is exactly like a car's drum brake to a T! Looks exactly like a scaled down version of the rear brakes of a vw bug. The Wheels are solid as all get out and the tires on them are good too. White walls as well! (I would expect domestic taiwan tires to be good since how many people in asia use bicycles as daily transportation! )

I was worried about making this bike get up to speed, but if somebody can take a factory modern mountain bike up to 34mph and not kill themselves with rim brakes. The me shooting for 50mph and not killing myself seems quite plausible with these rims.

The front brake looks like a motorcycle. The speedo drive gear is plastic.. But that's okay I got a mint condition (if not NOS) vintage 80mph french huret moped speedo coming in from canada with its matching drive gear

To be honest having all of these parts arriving is a bit overwhelming I've dove in head first. Now I have to finish this. (I've got a chunk of change also invested into this tiny little dream.)

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Everything is sounding pretty awesome so far!
I would extend in front of the cranks myself, depend on your height and arm length though...

Luke.

 

[Fv2]

Overwhelming is good in these parts.

 

[DrHax]

I'm a very small guy. I weigh 125lbs soaking wet and I am about 5'9. Issue is I want this to be comfortable as possible. Unlike most builds i've seen I am not willing to sacrifice comfort for style.

There's a hidden motive to this bike build as well. If I can get this thing to go up to 55mph I will be riding it to work, and if I build a side car for it. Then me and my fiancee can go grocery shopping with it. When I said I am going for 1900's motorcycle vibe here I mean it. This thing isn't going to be gathering dust. Well it may as it goes down the isanti dirt roads

I'm going to be measuring the diameter of the tubing tomorrow. I will see what menards has this weekend. If they have the right sizes (including something I could slide in there. (If I am extending out the bits I may go reinforcing stuff by smaller diameter tubing all the way to the head after drilling some holes along the way. If I want a hotrod look I could go swiss cheese look (Something for those rat rod types to consider. Take a smaller diameter copper piping slide it through your speed hole drilled frame.Polish the metal to a bright shine clear coat, or let it rust the matte coat it. Would look sick with the frame style of my firestone. Imagine then making a spider web tank out of copper wire. Or barb wire ) But considering how I am going for strength and piece of mind with overkill I would probably do a few plug welds going from the top.

Part of me also wants to once everything is mocked up measure it all out for gussets to be installed. A single cylinder engine creates a lot of vibration, and not to mention to mention vibration from the road. Our bicycles were never designed to go faster then what we can pedal them. I plan on shattering that and then some.

I have a few plans, I just need to figure out the best way to keep this thing structurally sound. I am used to dealing with hotrods and cars. So this world is different to me. Actually most motorbike builds aren't focused on this type of deal. They either focus on speed, or cheapness. Some do reliability, But I have never seen one focus on safety. I think the maytag flyer is the only one which did that. Over engineered because it could be, even though its speeds were made to be slow. Me I want speed, reliability and safety.

This is a daunting task considering this is homebrew. That is also why I am buying the good parts. I learned at a young age that if you buy quality you cry once, if you buy crap you'll cry more then once. This will be a summer time driver.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

(Something for those rat rod types to consider. Take a smaller diameter copper piping slide it through your speed hole drilled frame.Polish the metal to a bright shine clear coat, or let it rust the matte coat it. Would look sick with the frame style of my firestone. Imagine then making a spider web tank out of copper wire. Or barb wire )

Awesome idea! Hope to see you use it on a future build!

Luke.

 

[Fv2]

I'd go with the safety way, speed holes are cool but you have to do it proper. Reaching 55mph on a bicycle isn't unheard of, roadbike riders go pretty fast. There's even a bike in the bicycle museum of America built by M.I.T. students, that according to the plaque did 135.

As far as buying the good stuff, you're right. Good ain't cheap, and cheap ain't good.

 

[Fv2]

Here's a future project for you.

Sent from my LGL34C using Tapatalk

 

[DrHax]

I think these wheels will do the trick!

 

[DrHax]

Here's a quick documentation for those who are looking to make a throttle for their motorbikes. Seriously this is asburdly easily.

First off you're going to need a stuffed lobster and a copy of Audels welders guide (the 1939 edition,) and of course a shimano 333 shifter!

Remove the two screws!

Remove cover with extreme, yet delicate vigour.

Remove shifter from mechanism like so

And there's a ball bearing right there. Have that roll away onto the floor, I mean purposely and carefully extract it

Reassemble, making sure the shifter can rotate ( can only go one way.) And tadaah! you have a shifter via removing 1 ball bearing.

Also if you want to have more throttle travel grind away this bit here since that is the side that limits travel. The groved side DO NOT mess with since that where is your cable goes!