Long-Bow - Motorized Touring Rocket

[wileydavis]

I'm building this one up from scratch. It's my first frame build, so we'll see how it goes. Built from .035" wall 4130 tube, it's a very long wheelbase bike meant for touring and riding long distances. Trick is, it'll have a 35cc 4-stroke engine slung underneath that long downtube. The engine will drive a left-side crank, giving max power through all the gears. Anyway, I'll post more pics soon, as a few more things have been done.

 

[hotfoot]

Looks cool so far, any photos of the motor?

 

[user 135]

Wiley,

Glad you made it here. This should be a cool build.

 

[wileydavis]

Here's a pic of the engine. It's a Subaru/Robin EH035 35cc 4-stroke. About 1.6hp. It will be mated to a staton 18.75:1 gearbox mounted inline with the frame, close to the configuration seen in the photo.

Here's another pic of the frame. Got the chainstays brazed on the other day. Seatstay material arrives tomorrow.

 

[wileydavis]

Wiley,

Glad you made it here. This should be a cool build.

Yeah. Thanks for the heads up about the site. And to answer your question from the Posterous blog, yes, those Fat Franks are destined for this bike. AS for fnal use, if I can get it done in time, I plan to ride it on a Mojave trail trip with friends, then to ride it from San Diego back to Bozeman, Montana. About a 10-day ride if I take my time. If I can finish it in time, that is.

 

[wileydavis]

Also, I designed the geometry around a surly 1x1 fork, but evenetually I'm going to make a truss fork similar to this one, but with integrated low-rider rack and out of steel instead of titanium.

 

[wileydavis]

More like a bike. Fat franks have plenty of clearance and the motor/gearbox will be in this general location.

 

[user 135]

Sounds like an adventuresome trip on a bike.

 

[deorman]

So, will you be using some long pull backs on this thing, or more of a crouch? :|

 

[wileydavis]

So, will you be using some long pull backs on this thing, or more of a crouch? :|

A mix of both. I'll be making the stem and bars, so it will be short and/or reverse stem with swept back clip-on like bars. I'm 6'4" tall, and I'm used to riding sporty bikes, so it won't be too bad, but the bars will have some significant sweep to them to get me into a normal road bike/drop bar position. The bike is big. That seat tube is 63cm long. The wheelbase is about 1400mm, almost as long as a Surly Big Dummy. The grips will end up about 100mm behind the headtube and a little below the saddle height. Certainly not a cruiser.

 

[user 135]

That is crazy how long this will end up being.

 

[jOe]

I am digging this build already. Maybe when you're done, you can motor-pace some stayer competitions?

 

[FunkyStickman]

I'm loving this, can't wait to see it rolling!

 

[wileydavis]

The bikes a roller now. Rode it around the snowy block a few times and it seems to handle quite well. Here are a couple of shots of the gearbox and primary drive components. The angle iron is just a temporary jig while I fab and braze in the actual mounts.

 

[Pinche]

I think it would be really cool to fab up some rearsets for the rear brake and the shifter. Could mount some pegs on the rear axle and give you a more stretched and tucked in position. Very cool build. What is the transmission setup from?

 

[wileydavis]

Pinche,

That would be cool. Although rigging up an indexed foot shifter to work with the rear derailleur would be tricky. A fun challenge, though. That's where my gearing comes from. The gearbox itself is a single-speed box made by Staton-inc. Originally designed for motorized wheelbarrows, they now sell them for motorized bikes. It's an 18.75:1 reduction. This will get me close to 90-100rpm cadence (what I like to pedal at) at peak engine power. The downside, of course, is the requirement of pedaling while the engine's engaged. It should be fun and interesting to ride.