The ongoing saga of my motorcycle builds....

[gregintenn]

How’s that wallet holding up, Rob?

[Capbyrd]

Rob continues to make me feel inadequate.   All i did was paint a few more shiny pieces to be not so shiny and get rid of the license plate billboard. 

[Handsome Rob]

I finished up fabricating the foot clutch & top engine mount today. It's nice to know I haven't forgotten how to weld after a 16 year layoff

[Handsome Rob]

On 9/20/2024 at 12:48 PM, gregintenn said:

How’s that wallet holding up, Rob?

Not....ummmm.......not great. The $1500 engine rebuild was a kick in the knackers I could've lived without. That was my paint budget

[Defunct Ammo]

On 9/20/2024 at 11:27 AM, Handsome Rob said:

Things're moving on a-pace.....

Man. I'm not much of a bike guy (yet), but I'm looking very forward to the finished look!  I also loved the one you finished in June. 

[Handsome Rob]

It's looking significantly more motorbikey after yesterday. 

I'd only planned on stripping, shaving & polishing the forks, but there was an 'unscheduled, gravitational dismount' from the bench, so I ended up having to do a BUNCH of work I wasn't expecting. Rebuilt the forks with 6" over tubes, made spacers for both wheels, mounted & centered them, tacked on my (currently) asymmetricalt  handlebars, remove the jiffy stand & mount from the original frame, sandblast that, then drill & re-tap the threads for the spring mount & weld it onto the new frame plus I had to fabricate & weld on the steering stop. 

I managed to finally get my breakfast at 10:45 last night.......

I also found out that the guy who built my frame made a couple of screw ups. One fairly innocuous, one significantly less so There's no way of fitting both the engine AND oil tank in the frame at the same time. The mounts need to be about a half inch lower & 1 inch further back. No biggie, the guy built it without having my motor there & stuff happens, y'know? However, the one I can't live with is that I specified a 40⁰ rake on the front end which, with a 21" wheel & 6" over forks, would put the bottom frame rails parallel to the ground. After I got it all together I sat & stared at it. Pulled out my work book & redid, then double checked my maths. I didn't make a mistake. So I ran to a buddy's house (he was thrilled to see me at 10pm) to borrow his digital angle gauge thingy (one of which I now have ordered) & the neck is 34.8⁰

So, I'm going to chop the damn thing off & redo it myself, like I should've in the first place. I knew I shouldn't have trusted someone else

Edited September 26 by Handsome Rob

[aknifemaker]

Rockin it old school, sweet. Should look much better with the correct rake in the front. Looks like your having fun though.

[gregintenn]

20 hours ago, Handsome Rob said:

It's looking significantly more motorbikey after yesterday. 

I'd only planned on stripping, shaving & polishing the forks, but there was an 'unscheduled, gravitational dismount' from the bench, so I ended up having to do a BUNCH of work I wasn't expecting. Rebuilt the forks with 6" over tubes, made spacers for both wheels, mounted & centered them, tacked on my (currently) asymmetricalt  handlebars, remove the jiffy stand & mount from the original frame, sandblast that, then drill & re-tap the threads for the spring mount & weld it onto the new frame plus I had to fabricate & weld on the steering stop. 

I managed to finally get my breakfast at 10:45 last night.......

I also found out that the guy who built my frame made a couple of screw ups. One fairly innocuous, one significantly less so There's no way of fitting both the engine AND oil tank in the frame at the same time. The mounts need to be about a half inch lower & 1 inch further back. No biggie, the guy built it without having my motor there & stuff happens, y'know? However, the one I can't live with is that I specified a 40⁰ rake on the front end which, with a 21" wheel & 6" over forks, would put the bottom frame rails parallel to the ground. After I got it all together I sat & stared at it. Pulled out my work book & redid, then double checked my maths. I didn't make a mistake. So I ran to a buddy's house (he was thrilled to see me at 10pm) to borrow his digital angle gauge thingy (one of which I now have ordered) & the neck is 34.8⁰

So, I'm going to chop the damn thing off & redo it myself, like I should've in the first place. I knew I shouldn't have trusted someone else

I have a welder. Don’t have a pipe bender. I’ve always wanted to try making a hard tail frame, but I don’t know what I don’t know about it. I also lack a suitable donor engine/transmission as well as a few thousand other parts.

Edited September 27 by gregintenn

[gregintenn]

Thanks for sharing this project with us. It’s inspiration for this loafer.

[Handsome Rob]

And more work.......

That raised front end was bothering my eyes.

So I took the grinder to it

Now I'm much happier with how she's sitting. Today was busy. Raked, slugged & re-welded the front end, fabricated mounts for the oil tank & rear fender & got those bolted up (which would've been simpler if I hadn't ROYALLY screwed the pooch & ordered the fender an inch too small. Lots of slitting, stretching & welding.....) sorted out the sissy bar & mounted it & fabricated the headlight mount. I just got done around 10:30 tonight! 

And of course, I've got the sissy bar mounted arse-backwards 5 minute fix for tomorrow before work.

[Handsome Rob]

Every day, it looks a little more motorbikey!

@gregintenn You'll be tickled pink to learn that this one is staying shiny. It wasn't going to, but I'm seeing too many ratty chops owned & ridden by 'Johnny come lately' hipsters & manbuns.

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I bought a tube of Flitz yesterday. I feel dirty.

Edited October 4 by Handsome Rob

[gregintenn]

2 hours ago, Handsome Rob said:

Every day, it looks a little more motorbikey!

@gregintenn You'll be tickled pink to learn that this one is staying shiny. It wasn't going to, but I'm seeing too many ratty chops owned & ridden by 'Johnny come lately' hipsters & manbuns.

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I bought a tube of Flitz yesterday. I feel dirty.

A man after my own heart! I knew you’d see the light. Seriously, I think I’m really gonna like this one once you get it on the road.

[BigK]

It's like watching an episode of Orange County Choppers, but w/out the fake drama, inflated budget, and even more inflated egos.

[gregintenn]

2 minutes ago, BigK said:

It's like watching an episode of Orange County Choppers, but w/out the fake drama, inflated budget, and even more inflated egos.

Rob has gained my respect.

[BigK]

I'm too old for rigids and they might not make kidney belts in my size, but I like the clean lines

Edited October 6 by BigK

[Capbyrd]

13 hours ago, BigK said:

I'm too old for rigids and they might not make kidney belts in my size, but I like the clean lines

The softtail beckons...

[Handsome Rob]

More fun: Very sexy little Prism Supply tail light arrived & was installed. 

I also had The Wife take a couple of 'position' shots so I could situate my shifter. 

 

 

Edited October 7 by Handsome Rob

[Handsome Rob]

I also resurrected a skillset I never thought I'd need again! I haven't had this forge hot in at least 16 years! 

Turns out, I can still do it!

[BigK]

How do you pull the clutch and change gears with the same hand?

[OldIronFan]

36 minutes ago, BigK said:

How do you pull the clutch and change gears with the same hand?

My guess would be foot clutch like many of the vintage bikes. 

[Johnny Rotten]

9 minutes ago, BigK said:

How do you pull the clutch and change gears with the same hand?

[Handsome Rob]

10 hours ago, BigK said:

How do you pull the clutch and change gears with the same hand?

Clutch has been transferred to my  left foot. 

[Alleycat72]

There's a reason they call it a suicide clutch. LOL

[Handsome Rob]

17 hours ago, Alleycat72 said:

There's a reason they call it a suicide clutch. LOL

It's only a suicide clutch if there's no front brake.

I considered a spool front wheel with no brake, but after riding the softail around for a few days, not using it, I decided that I'm to attached to this corporeal existence

Edited October 8 by Handsome Rob

[DJTC45]

Looks great, can't wait to see the finished product.