Finally pics of my first build - Delmar

I have about 300 miles on my motorbike now. I'm still debugging some things. I did some welding on the frame with more planned. I will disassemble the bike again at a later date and paint the frame. I replaced the downtube with a heavier gauge, smaller diameter piece that I bent up to mate better with the motor. It cruises easily at 25mph. Goes 30mph on the flat and almost 35mph with a good tailwind or slight downhill.

I laced a Sturmey Archer drum brake to the front rim. It performs OK. No improvement over a typical rim brake. A disc would offer better performance.

 

[cspaur13]

nice build, mine looked just like that cept i ddint have a kol headligt and i ddint keep the rear fender on

 

[DJEEPER]

looks good! watch the rivets in the fenders! they tend to vibrate out, wrap under the wheel and cause a nasty spill...

 

[Scotchmo]

I read the horror stories about the fenders. Before I ever rode the bike I ground the old rivets off the bike and replaced the brackets with some that I made out of some .09 thickness angle iron. I will probably replace them with 1/8" thick angle later but they seem to be holding up so far.

 

[cspaur13]

make sure the small bracket on the front fender that bolts to the frame has some support. mine broke off and then the fender is useless cause it vibrates like a jackhammer and rubs the tires.

 

[jtmiyake]

similar build to mine. Nice job. Curious on the Sturmey Archer hub. Mine is awesome. I only use the front the brake now.

 

[Scotchmo]

cspaur13 – I replaced both front and rear center brackets from the fenders. I still have to replace the struts for the fenders and rack. Two of them have already cracked but their failure has been uneventful. I have 350 miles on the bike and there is a good vibration buzz in the thinner metal parts at speeds over 25mph. And lately I’ve been driving over 20 miles per day at over 25mph. I also broke one of the thin brackets that holds the gas tank. I plan on changing those also.

jtmiyake - When I said that the Sturmey Archer drum brake was no better than a typical rim brake, I should have said V-brake. It is better than most of the cheap side pull calipers. And definitely better than the coaster brake.

 

[javelina1]

Wow, that looks awesome. I'd love to have my first build come out like that. (but I plan to use an old MTB for my first one).

Nice work!