The first chain I tried fits! It has plenty of clearance with the tire but still won't catch low gear using the shifter. I'll have to adjust the derailluer more.
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- Thread starter Wildcat
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We went out and caught a movie yesterday. Furiosa. Lots of rat rod vehicles, I enjoyed it. Why all those people had to stay in the middle of a desert and travel to where anything was didn't make sense but made for plenty of roadtrips in some outlandish rigs! From an early 60's Plymouth Valiant to a couple of Caddys stacked on top of a big truck, they had everything. Even VW buses in tandem. My favorite is the Gigihorse:
That reinforced some ideas I had for this build. One of the bad guys rode a chariot pulled by 3 unmanned motorcycles driven by reins. That had to take some engineering. They weren't CGI, all these vehicles are real.
The sidecar portion of this build will be a chariot shaped thing. The back will be open with a curved front.
A pair of handlebars will be there to hang on with and will have the lever for the brake on the third wheel. That lever will be on the left side of the handlebar so the driver can reach over and apply the brake, while applying the other rear wheel brake. I have an idea for a front brake that needs some more thought.
I will make the framework to mount the extra wheel to first, then make another frame to attach to it for the chariot. The sides of the chariot will be about 24-30" high to provide protection from the spokes. I'm going to have the tire outside the body, unlike my earlier plan. I want highlight the big tires. So the width will be about 36".
I picked up a roll of expanded metal to use for trim, like a tank and inserts for the springer. Also for the sidecar. I have some other metal ordered also. I'm going for the Mad Max look minus the flamethrowers, guns, and exploding spears.
That reinforced some ideas I had for this build. One of the bad guys rode a chariot pulled by 3 unmanned motorcycles driven by reins. That had to take some engineering. They weren't CGI, all these vehicles are real.
The sidecar portion of this build will be a chariot shaped thing. The back will be open with a curved front.
A pair of handlebars will be there to hang on with and will have the lever for the brake on the third wheel. That lever will be on the left side of the handlebar so the driver can reach over and apply the brake, while applying the other rear wheel brake. I have an idea for a front brake that needs some more thought.
I will make the framework to mount the extra wheel to first, then make another frame to attach to it for the chariot. The sides of the chariot will be about 24-30" high to provide protection from the spokes. I'm going to have the tire outside the body, unlike my earlier plan. I want highlight the big tires. So the width will be about 36".
I picked up a roll of expanded metal to use for trim, like a tank and inserts for the springer. Also for the sidecar. I have some other metal ordered also. I'm going for the Mad Max look minus the flamethrowers, guns, and exploding spears.
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Awesome that you take inspiration from the Mad Max movies.
The Gigahorse actually had two working engines. Watching a documentary, keeping the engines from damaging from dust and sand was quite a challenge.
In the 2015 movie I enjoyed the Buzzard vehicles with a saw on the side. You could utilize a 'saw' of sorts as a floor planel
Love your ideas already, looking forward to more buildin'!
Motorcycle Chariot Racing Was a Real Sport and Every Bit as Glorious as It Sounds
https://www.thedrive.com/news/38365...-sport-and-every-bit-as-glorious-as-it-sounds
I dug out almost all my scrap and also some good stuff I could use to make the sidecar frame. I have more than I thought I did.
These shapes actually remind me of the XYZ Cargo bike:
Image link here
@Wildcat you have quite some tubes. It there a local shop for you available that supplies steel or CroMo tubing if needed?
I tried again to fit a disc brake to the front with no luck, and I checked the derailleur again. it doesn't reach far enough to clear the biggest cog, the little wheel rides up on it. I adjusted the stop all the way and positioned it back farther but there's no way to adjust the backward swing of the derailleur.
Do I need a different one or is there a way to fix this?
Do I need a different one or is there a way to fix this?
Looking at your custom axle position relative to the chain stay, I wonder if the axle mounting hole is in the right place? If that would be just a little too high (like 2mm) the top jockey wheel will probably rub on the lowest gear cog. Is your der hanger sitting down all the way onto the axle bolt? It looks like you have an actual Shim Tourney Mega range rear der, the bigger red jockey wheel on the bottom and a smaller black one on top. And you said the 'B screw' is turned all the way in, correct?
Finally, are you using a compatible shifter to the mega range der? These are specific, if it's grip shift it needs to be Shim compatible. It would be the SRAM MRX group of shifters.
These mega range rear derailleurs aren't nearly as 'dialed in' as every other indexed der / shifter combo.
Finally, are you using a compatible shifter to the mega range der? These are specific, if it's grip shift it needs to be Shim compatible. It would be the SRAM MRX group of shifters.
These mega range rear derailleurs aren't nearly as 'dialed in' as every other indexed der / shifter combo.
I've got another derailleur to try.
My steel webbing showed up. I was hoping it was thick enough to use as the base for the sidecar, and it looks like it will work fine. It's 2' x 4'.
I used my tube cutter to cut up an old car bike rack, and I had enough different odd size pieces for sleeves to snugly fit everything together. I didn't have to chop up any handlebars like I thought I would.
I'm going to use the steel webbing as a jig to hold the frame together when it goes for welding, then cut out a section for the wheel. This is laid out upside down.
Then it will serve as the floor of the chariot. I need to do a little bending for the curved piece in the front, then make up the cross braces and one more piece the length of the base, then wire it all together and take it for welding. I'm going to see if my neighborhood welder has been let back in yet.
It's 24" by 36". The tire is 30" so that leaves some leeway as to where the dropouts will go. Allowing 6" for the tire width, that leaves 18" for the rider's area and a total width of 36" for the bike.
My steel webbing showed up. I was hoping it was thick enough to use as the base for the sidecar, and it looks like it will work fine. It's 2' x 4'.
I used my tube cutter to cut up an old car bike rack, and I had enough different odd size pieces for sleeves to snugly fit everything together. I didn't have to chop up any handlebars like I thought I would.
I'm going to use the steel webbing as a jig to hold the frame together when it goes for welding, then cut out a section for the wheel. This is laid out upside down.
Then it will serve as the floor of the chariot. I need to do a little bending for the curved piece in the front, then make up the cross braces and one more piece the length of the base, then wire it all together and take it for welding. I'm going to see if my neighborhood welder has been let back in yet.
It's 24" by 36". The tire is 30" so that leaves some leeway as to where the dropouts will go. Allowing 6" for the tire width, that leaves 18" for the rider's area and a total width of 36" for the bike.
Could you use a longer deraillieur hanger?
The NOS derailleur worked out.
I laid out the sidecar to see how it looked in size. With the passenger area 20" wide and 32" long it looks large enough. I'm going to have a second frame that encircles the wheel and goes under the floor frame. From there I have to figure out the braces to the bike frame.
It's 20" wide with 6" more needed for the wheel and 6" spacing for the pedal, and another 6" width for the bike makes it 38" wide.
I laid out the sidecar to see how it looked in size. With the passenger area 20" wide and 32" long it looks large enough. I'm going to have a second frame that encircles the wheel and goes under the floor frame. From there I have to figure out the braces to the bike frame.
It's 20" wide with 6" more needed for the wheel and 6" spacing for the pedal, and another 6" width for the bike makes it 38" wide.
I did some bending and all the pieces fit snugly together, ready to weld.
It will need some cross braces and I was looking around hoping to find some more scrap tubing to use. I remembered the extra webbing and square stock from the building of the perimeter wall around the house. They just welded it up to the far wall. I think it's 4 x 8. I can use that, just to need to cut it down, and also a metal step I had replaced with concrete last year. Now I have plenty of 1 x1 square tubing and some more webbing. I drew some lines where the cross pieces will go with red x's for the dropout placement.
It will need some cross braces and I was looking around hoping to find some more scrap tubing to use. I remembered the extra webbing and square stock from the building of the perimeter wall around the house. They just welded it up to the far wall. I think it's 4 x 8. I can use that, just to need to cut it down, and also a metal step I had replaced with concrete last year. Now I have plenty of 1 x1 square tubing and some more webbing. I drew some lines where the cross pieces will go with red x's for the dropout placement.
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I used my angle grinder to cut the metal off the wall. I had to leave one corner, it was part of the support for the stairs.
I also found 11 feet of flatbar along with a lot of composite leftovers.
Since the webbing is welded already I may cut out a section to use as the base, it's a few inches wider.
I could narrow the standing area to 18 inches or widen the whole thing. I'm leaning toward widenening it.
I researched and found an answer to my gear problem. I needed to shorten the shift cable and also take a few links out of the chain. I may change the location of the shifter if it's in the way of pedaling. The shifting is excellent now.
I also found 11 feet of flatbar along with a lot of composite leftovers.
Since the webbing is welded already I may cut out a section to use as the base, it's a few inches wider.
I could narrow the standing area to 18 inches or widen the whole thing. I'm leaning toward widenening it.
I researched and found an answer to my gear problem. I needed to shorten the shift cable and also take a few links out of the chain. I may change the location of the shifter if it's in the way of pedaling. The shifting is excellent now.
I cut a section out and laid it out. The bike now will be about 45" wide.
That new section should work great!
Can't wait for the ride video
Can't wait for the ride video
I had to reset the flanges on the springer to get the alignment just right. The springs and the cage around them needed aligning and tightening to get it solid. I may drag it up the steps for a ride tomorrow.
I've got my angle grinder gadget thing set up to cut out some cross beams tomorrow. Then it should be ready for the preliminary welding.
I've got my angle grinder gadget thing set up to cut out some cross beams tomorrow. Then it should be ready for the preliminary welding.
Just saw this custom on FB and thought of your frame.
