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- Aug 27, 2022
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well its with a sad heart that I have to say the blue meanie project , once completed, got moved to the side of the shed and sorta didnt get ridden! I still loooked at it everyday, the build shake down vid I made now has 22k views!... thats unbelieveable for me LOL. so theres been an ongoing intrest in this bike.
So Now the drifters finished im going back to blue meanie for a bit and have modified the seat.... whats happened is the bikes sorta not looking like what I had in mind, everything was great apart from that back rest!, I never designed the bike with a backrest in mind, I always wanted a slick ,low, very different cruiser to ride to the shops, around the neighborhood and family walks etc, it was never intended to be an exercise bike or a daily commuter. it was always intended to be one of those bikes where you ride it and everybody stops and stare's or at least gives a 2nd and 3rd look with a smile to boot!....So the seat mods began!
1... original design and look I was chasing
2... the very fist backrest from the boat still on the flat bar spring that went to the project.
3...the finished project seat .
Next up was to make the new seat backing and anchor bolts,
1... An old plywood hatch cover off the old boat, got about 3 layers of fibreglass over it so it was a nightmare to staple through!
2...Back side of the anchor bolt system, just 2 stainless bolts cut to size and welded onto a stainless flatbar, 2.5X 20mm, works well!
3... turned over, bolts comming through other side,
4... final placement test sitting on the bike!
I made the first seat, its just got 3 layers of the wifes old YOGA and PILATES mat that never gets used...it does now LOL
I was expecting this to be easy as ive made seats before but this was fiddley and brain smashing! it I didnt get it good on one end i'd stuff up the other or vice versa, So I made a 2nd which came out better and cleaner but...... Hmmmmm its working and I like it LOL..... can anyone see the crack in the bikes seat, its off the mrs old exercise bike and it was a bit dirty so I got some stuff out, cleaned it up,,,went for a ride and it cracked! Grrrrr
So...1 is the first attempt
2... is the 2nd shot...I refused to make another, the finished version still looks a bit ruff n ready but its at least cleaner and a bit more balanced out, the first attempt had dags hanging off it and material was all folded under and all.
and there we have it, Ive managed to get the backrest down so far im almost at where I want this thing to look like but as I said I never wanted a back rest but its just too hard to ride without it, youll tire in 1 minute flat! every push on the pedals required you to pull on the bars coz ya kept getting pushed off the seat!
OK so the seats done, but what about that motor I hear ya'll saying....well thats not done n dusted and ive been using my eyeometer in the shed and I can see that the Predator clone motor, (mines a rodisen) has the shaft lining up very close to where the chain comes through on the back wheel! it looks to be a pretty straight line to the centrifugal clutch, this started me on my journey to motorise the blue meanie, The clone motor will fit but the bike needs a couple mods, i'll have to make room under the seat for the motor coz the clone motors are quite wide and it will impede pedling, heel strike on the motor! so it has to be way back under the seat, i'll raise the top tube a bit and im gonna drop the jack shaft down abot 5-6 inches to allow the room! my photo shopping skills got a workout today but youll get my drift,
it'll look cool and only have a top speed of 60-70km..... 35-45 mph, centifugal clutchs are good for this, a smaller 125 4 stroke with gears can hit well over 60mph/ 100km and lets not forget its a pushbike front end so anything over 60km is a real no no!
So Now the drifters finished im going back to blue meanie for a bit and have modified the seat.... whats happened is the bikes sorta not looking like what I had in mind, everything was great apart from that back rest!, I never designed the bike with a backrest in mind, I always wanted a slick ,low, very different cruiser to ride to the shops, around the neighborhood and family walks etc, it was never intended to be an exercise bike or a daily commuter. it was always intended to be one of those bikes where you ride it and everybody stops and stare's or at least gives a 2nd and 3rd look with a smile to boot!....So the seat mods began!
1... original design and look I was chasing
2... the very fist backrest from the boat still on the flat bar spring that went to the project.
3...the finished project seat .
Next up was to make the new seat backing and anchor bolts,
1... An old plywood hatch cover off the old boat, got about 3 layers of fibreglass over it so it was a nightmare to staple through!
2...Back side of the anchor bolt system, just 2 stainless bolts cut to size and welded onto a stainless flatbar, 2.5X 20mm, works well!
3... turned over, bolts comming through other side,
4... final placement test sitting on the bike!
I made the first seat, its just got 3 layers of the wifes old YOGA and PILATES mat that never gets used...it does now LOL
I was expecting this to be easy as ive made seats before but this was fiddley and brain smashing! it I didnt get it good on one end i'd stuff up the other or vice versa, So I made a 2nd which came out better and cleaner but...... Hmmmmm its working and I like it LOL..... can anyone see the crack in the bikes seat, its off the mrs old exercise bike and it was a bit dirty so I got some stuff out, cleaned it up,,,went for a ride and it cracked! Grrrrr
So...1 is the first attempt
2... is the 2nd shot...I refused to make another, the finished version still looks a bit ruff n ready but its at least cleaner and a bit more balanced out, the first attempt had dags hanging off it and material was all folded under and all.
and there we have it, Ive managed to get the backrest down so far im almost at where I want this thing to look like but as I said I never wanted a back rest but its just too hard to ride without it, youll tire in 1 minute flat! every push on the pedals required you to pull on the bars coz ya kept getting pushed off the seat!
OK so the seats done, but what about that motor I hear ya'll saying....well thats not done n dusted and ive been using my eyeometer in the shed and I can see that the Predator clone motor, (mines a rodisen) has the shaft lining up very close to where the chain comes through on the back wheel! it looks to be a pretty straight line to the centrifugal clutch, this started me on my journey to motorise the blue meanie, The clone motor will fit but the bike needs a couple mods, i'll have to make room under the seat for the motor coz the clone motors are quite wide and it will impede pedling, heel strike on the motor! so it has to be way back under the seat, i'll raise the top tube a bit and im gonna drop the jack shaft down abot 5-6 inches to allow the room! my photo shopping skills got a workout today but youll get my drift,
it'll look cool and only have a top speed of 60-70km..... 35-45 mph, centifugal clutchs are good for this, a smaller 125 4 stroke with gears can hit well over 60mph/ 100km and lets not forget its a pushbike front end so anything over 60km is a real no no!
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