...but with a motor too. I have not been here for a while. The motored bike forum is pretty lame and there isn't a lot of handbuilt stuff there. I like this group a bit better. I hope you don't mind.
I'll share my build so far.
I hate the Chinese kits with a passion. So I found an tiny little engine and I'm gonna see if it works. I took a piece of scrap pipe and bent a new downtube for a Schwinn I had laying around. After hacking out a section of the down tube I welded it in. I cut out a plate to mount the Briggs and Stratton and have started collecting parts for the rest of the build.
This evening I installed a different, rigid fork for tire clearance on the bike. I laced up a MTB disk brake front hub on to a Surly Large Marge rim. It's wider than any other MTB rim and with 2.4" tires they should be short and fat. I'm hoping the 24" wheels will give the bike a longer look without having to stretch the frame.
I took an old set of cruiser bars that had the right bend and chopped them off so I had a nice, narrow set of boardtrack looking bars and installed inverted levers.
That's about as far as I have made it for now.
194? Scwhinn Excelsior
26" Ross straight blade forks
1951 Briggs 1 h.p. with centrifugal belt drive clutch
Chopped cruiser bars
Time trial bar end mount levers (inverted or reverse levers)
24" Surly Large Marge DH rims
Disk front hub
24"x2.40 CST street tires
This is just a mock-up picture of the frame. Non of the parts are it are going to be used.
Engine
Bars-
Rims-
Inspiration-
-------------------------------------------------------------
I got the rear wheel laced up this morning. I'm using an ATOM drum brake rear hub.
Our shop camera sucks so the pics are a bit fuzzy.
I'm still waiting on the tires I will be using. They'll be a tad bit wider than the one I have on the front.
/DSCI0050.jpg[/IMG]
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I have done a little more work now.
The tires showed up yesterday and they are now mounted. I have about an 1/8th inch of clearance on each side of the stay. I'm gonna pinch the tubes a little bit for more.
I found a really short pair of cranks on a kids bike and put those in. I had to cut a little bit of metal out of the engine plate to clear the 28 tooth front chainwheel. I can now ride the bike!
I scored a disk brake caliper from B Rose at Shockspital. He is THE MAN for disk brake and suspension work in the ENTIRE US...not ..... Super good guy. He tossed in a disk mount so I can now run an 8", big ... rotor.
I cut up the stock fork dropouts so the wheel would sit up further in them. This way the brakes won't eject the wheel and it also lowered the front end an inch. It steepened the head tube angle and should get rid of the "chopper" feel it had. I was then able to weld on mounts for the disk brake caliper.
Pogo had a piece of steel rod (hood support for a Bronco) that was cut up and made into two fork struts. The struts mount to the top of the steer tube, up and over the bars.
I really, really need my own camera.
--------------------------------------------
Today's work.
Drilled handlebars for internal brake cables and baseball glove leather string for grips.
I'll share my build so far.
I hate the Chinese kits with a passion. So I found an tiny little engine and I'm gonna see if it works. I took a piece of scrap pipe and bent a new downtube for a Schwinn I had laying around. After hacking out a section of the down tube I welded it in. I cut out a plate to mount the Briggs and Stratton and have started collecting parts for the rest of the build.
This evening I installed a different, rigid fork for tire clearance on the bike. I laced up a MTB disk brake front hub on to a Surly Large Marge rim. It's wider than any other MTB rim and with 2.4" tires they should be short and fat. I'm hoping the 24" wheels will give the bike a longer look without having to stretch the frame.
I took an old set of cruiser bars that had the right bend and chopped them off so I had a nice, narrow set of boardtrack looking bars and installed inverted levers.
That's about as far as I have made it for now.
194? Scwhinn Excelsior
26" Ross straight blade forks
1951 Briggs 1 h.p. with centrifugal belt drive clutch
Chopped cruiser bars
Time trial bar end mount levers (inverted or reverse levers)
24" Surly Large Marge DH rims
Disk front hub
24"x2.40 CST street tires
This is just a mock-up picture of the frame. Non of the parts are it are going to be used.
Engine
Bars-
Rims-
Inspiration-
-------------------------------------------------------------
I got the rear wheel laced up this morning. I'm using an ATOM drum brake rear hub.
Our shop camera sucks so the pics are a bit fuzzy.
I'm still waiting on the tires I will be using. They'll be a tad bit wider than the one I have on the front.
/DSCI0050.jpg[/IMG]
----------------------------------------------
I have done a little more work now.
The tires showed up yesterday and they are now mounted. I have about an 1/8th inch of clearance on each side of the stay. I'm gonna pinch the tubes a little bit for more.
I found a really short pair of cranks on a kids bike and put those in. I had to cut a little bit of metal out of the engine plate to clear the 28 tooth front chainwheel. I can now ride the bike!
I scored a disk brake caliper from B Rose at Shockspital. He is THE MAN for disk brake and suspension work in the ENTIRE US...not ..... Super good guy. He tossed in a disk mount so I can now run an 8", big ... rotor.
I cut up the stock fork dropouts so the wheel would sit up further in them. This way the brakes won't eject the wheel and it also lowered the front end an inch. It steepened the head tube angle and should get rid of the "chopper" feel it had. I was then able to weld on mounts for the disk brake caliper.
Pogo had a piece of steel rod (hood support for a Bronco) that was cut up and made into two fork struts. The struts mount to the top of the steer tube, up and over the bars.
I really, really need my own camera.
--------------------------------------------
Today's work.
Drilled handlebars for internal brake cables and baseball glove leather string for grips.
