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Duchess

Duchess

Joined
Jun 13, 2015
Messages
1,148
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2,143
Location
US occupied MA
Spaceliner with the conversion tank and these great Builtpoor! bars from sensor. The sketch is the rough idea, which I'm sure will change as the real thing goes together, but it will have a hard case fairing behind the saddle big enough to hold my laptop. I may be biting off more than I can chew as the build will involve customizing a saddle, leather upholstery (A skill I will need to learn), fiberglass, and fairly extensive electrical. I'm going to try to get the simpl(ish) assembly stuff done this week so I can get to the mock up stage and concentrate on the more custom things and refining the design. I'm still in the air about colors (not an unusual problem for me and I'll third guess myself even once I've decided), but leaning towards a darker variation of Gulf racing colors—a darker sky blue, light gray, and red since I already bought the paint (the best way I've learned to deal with my indecision).

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Interesting plan!!
 
Great sketch.
Digging the idea of a cafe racer with a TRM tank.
 
Another 'Liner convertible tank bike! You've got some cool ideas there. I'm thinking cafe racer vibe as well, but my color decisions are easy; rust, rust, or if I get really crazy, rust. :21:
 
Great art work like the idea for sure . A TRM tank I was wondered if some one would have the guts to use one in a build off , besides the master him self . Looking forward to this one .


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Oof, this was both easier and more work than I thought, even with all the planning I did in the time before the BO (measure fifty times and cut once). Just about nailed the head tube perfectly with the hole saw and the lower twin tubes needed some hand working, but not too bad. The back side that meets the seat stays was the part that really challenged my perfectionism. Got it, but it took a lot of refitting! I'll have to do some minor crack repair to the lower twin bar mounting section of one of the halves before painting, but NBD. These tanks are pretty solid! I highly recommend them to anyone. Though, now that I've done it once, I have it in my head that a second one would be even easier. Oi, I only have so much room for bikes. Ah, I just realized that I still need to drill out the headlight holes. Tomorrow is another day.

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This may or may not be of help for anyone else installing the TRM tanks. There are always multiple ways of doing something, and this is how I did it:

First I lined up the tanks on each side of the frame how I wanted them and taped them tight across the frame so that they would stay put. Then, using a triangle, I marked as best I could, where the perpendicular tangents of the tubes to the tank where the lower and upper mounting points intersected. After that, I took the tank off and assembled it, also tightly wrapping tape around the tank near where I would need to cut so that I the halves wouldn't try to separate when the drill went between the halves. So, I got the hole saw and a 10 or 12" long 1/4" bit for it. I found the center of my head tube marks (which actually measured out to almost the exact length as the diameter, which kind of surprised me) and drilled the top with as best aim as I could in the direction of where the center of the bottom hole would be about 1 1/2" forward or so, but I didn't drill into the bottom. I then did the same with the bottom as I did with the top. Finally, I used the two 1/4" holes as guides for the hole saw thanks to the long drill bit. I cut the top most of the way, but not completely (so I could use the top 1/4" center hole as the guide for the hole saw on the bottom), then flipped the tank over, drilled the hole in the bottom, then finished the top hole.

The other parts were pretty straight forward work with drill bits and files. I did end up having to fine tune the head tube holes a little as this isn't an exact science and the tanks sitting alongside the frame will be oriented slightly different when they are actually installed as the frame tubing variances change the angle slightly (FWIW, I had to rotate my tank up slightly at the back, meaning I had to open the top hole a little at the rear and the bottom hole at the front, but it's hardly noticeable and will be fixed later).
 
Good job, there's definitely a lot of patience involved in fitting it just right.
 
Upgrading to modern bottom bracket and 3-piece crank. Conversion kit does not simply bolt in.
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Files not enough on their own to clean out tube entrails:

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Next to change out the head set to FSA 1 1/8 threadless so this Surly fork will do more than just rattle loosely inside the head tube. It SEEMS like it will go in fairly easy. Saddle is a placeholder. I think I'll keep the tires.

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Thanks! The threadless conversion is necessitated by needing a clean way to route the front brake cable (through a hollow bolt stem) and the frame didn't come with a crank, so I figured I'd update it.
 
Good looking start on this build. Will be fun to watch

I ended up going with the truative bb conversion on an old firestone in February, had to grind down a couple spots to clear the attaching bolts, then had to work them in with a vise, tighten the bolts, reset the vise and repeat.... almost wanted to get out the 4lb hammer...
 
I got the idea for the bars from the Monark Superframe where the crossbar was the same diameter as the rest and didn't have the pinch on the bars (it had an early version of a bolt-on face bar clamp to allow for it). I'm going to size up the wiring and brake cable to allow for traditional bar mount, also, but it doesn't look as good and the ride seems like it will be upright enough as it is. I like, too, that I could use the forward part to mount big honking yellow lights (like the Duchess Subaru) or even a small windshield, but I probably won't have the time with the detail stuff, electrical, and rear end I have planned. I believe the shifter will be unique, though maybe not ergonomically ideal.

I already tore it down to start cleaning the old paint off, but here's the crank. It's a cheap knock off of ... a campy item? I forget, but I like the look of it.


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