1915 Sears Chief Custom Motorbike (Complete)
At the beginning of the thread, I mentioned the initial challenge I faced of getting a 28" or 700c tire to function cohesively with a springer fork made for a 26" tire. The key was to make sure that the spring action would be kept to a bare minimum. What I ended up doing was place a nut and several washers at the base of the spring stays. After slipping on the springs and spring caps, I slid the steer tube bracket opening down the fork steer tube. Then, I took the cap openings of the steer tube bracket and pressed them down as hard as humanly possible onto the spring caps. While holding the steer tube bracket in place, I screwed the cap nuts onto the spring stays in order to mount the bracket to the fork hoop. Once the bracket was securely fastened to the front hoop as well as the fork steer tube, the bike was ready to ride!
Here are several photos of what the bike looks like at this point.
While taking the bike for a quick spin around the block, I noticed that the spring action was minimal at best. Even when the wheel hit terrain that caused the springs to naturally give, the tire and front fender did not rub at all. The wheels also rolled smooth like hot butter! Happy
was an understatement, but I had a couple of cosmetic kinks that needed to be ironed out.
The first issue I addressed was the ornament. I initially had a different ornament mounted to the headlight, which was much bigger with a larger thread diameter and required me to drill a bigger hole into the top of the headlight. I didn't like how it looked and replaced it with the one I have on it now. The smaller ornament appeared to be fastened securely when it was mounted to the headlight, but it began to loosen while cruising. Here's the recent modification that was made to add stability to the headlight ornament:
I mounted L steel clamps the headlight, drilled a hole at the base of the ornament and at the top of the rear clamp, and then mounted the ornament to the rear clamp. The front clamp was primarily for added support. The main thread of the ornament was then mounted to the headlight. I was opposed to modifying the headlight but had no other choice in order to keep the ornament from swirling while riding. It's safe to say that she'll be staying put this time around!
Another issue I addressed was the light above the bicycle plate. It eventually gave way to the rough patches of pavement and loosened as well. I simply drilled a hole and added a screw in the top middle section of the plate:
I welcomed this change with open arms. It brought the light much closer to the plate, which improved the overall appearance of the entire setup. I don't know why I didn't do this before. I guess better late than never! Now, she should be good to go!
At the beginning of the thread, I mentioned the initial challenge I faced of getting a 28" or 700c tire to function cohesively with a springer fork made for a 26" tire. The key was to make sure that the spring action would be kept to a bare minimum. What I ended up doing was place a nut and several washers at the base of the spring stays. After slipping on the springs and spring caps, I slid the steer tube bracket opening down the fork steer tube. Then, I took the cap openings of the steer tube bracket and pressed them down as hard as humanly possible onto the spring caps. While holding the steer tube bracket in place, I screwed the cap nuts onto the spring stays in order to mount the bracket to the fork hoop. Once the bracket was securely fastened to the front hoop as well as the fork steer tube, the bike was ready to ride!
Here are several photos of what the bike looks like at this point.
While taking the bike for a quick spin around the block, I noticed that the spring action was minimal at best. Even when the wheel hit terrain that caused the springs to naturally give, the tire and front fender did not rub at all. The wheels also rolled smooth like hot butter! Happy
was an understatement, but I had a couple of cosmetic kinks that needed to be ironed out.
The first issue I addressed was the ornament. I initially had a different ornament mounted to the headlight, which was much bigger with a larger thread diameter and required me to drill a bigger hole into the top of the headlight. I didn't like how it looked and replaced it with the one I have on it now. The smaller ornament appeared to be fastened securely when it was mounted to the headlight, but it began to loosen while cruising. Here's the recent modification that was made to add stability to the headlight ornament:
I mounted L steel clamps the headlight, drilled a hole at the base of the ornament and at the top of the rear clamp, and then mounted the ornament to the rear clamp. The front clamp was primarily for added support. The main thread of the ornament was then mounted to the headlight. I was opposed to modifying the headlight but had no other choice in order to keep the ornament from swirling while riding. It's safe to say that she'll be staying put this time around!
Another issue I addressed was the light above the bicycle plate. It eventually gave way to the rough patches of pavement and loosened as well. I simply drilled a hole and added a screw in the top middle section of the plate:
I welcomed this change with open arms. It brought the light much closer to the plate, which improved the overall appearance of the entire setup. I don't know why I didn't do this before. I guess better late than never! Now, she should be good to go!
