I do a springer

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Joined
Sep 8, 2008
Messages
151
Location
Bartlesville Ok
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I was getting too many lumps on my 77 yr. old butt, so decided to finish the springer fork for my 6-1/2 HP 3-speed Rollfast. I may have opened a can of worms though. First thing that happened was the handlebars have an enlarged knurled place for clamping and the piece of steering stem I welded on was thicker than the rest of the fork stem. That meant find a proper goose-neck, which turned out to be a bike-cross unit. A 4-bolt cutie, but for 7/8" bar. Ground down the large part only to find out it wasn't a sleeve, but an enlargement. I can save it with a bolted insert later, but for now I have the bike-cross bars, which aren't to my liking., So far, it doesn't seem to have much action, so tomorrow I will ease the shoulder bolt pivots and see if that is the problem. I don't have a ready idea of how to stick a front brake on as the wheel travels up and down in the forks. I guess a Schwinn front drum brake might be ok but as I remember, they aren't too whoopee. Also a fender will be a challenge to mount. At least I can return to the original rigid setup. The flat stock (eg:links, spring perch) are 1/4" thick. Both forks are bent back a bit which serves my purpose regarding trail and rake. Was surprised to find the front end lower, as indicated by side stand too long. I will decide if this is a keeper before I shorten it or get the forks powder coated.
 

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An embarrassing incident--A guy in the kit forum noticed I had the gooseneck over the front fork so it couldn't function. (blush) Fixed that BUT--


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Well, did the changes, the spring rate looked good, went to test and barely got out of the driveway WHEN THE FRONT WHEEL RESEMBLED A PRINGLES CHIP. Nothing but pride and the crotch of my old blue-jeans hurt and the fact that neighbor kids were WATCHING. I think the Lord was determined that I was going to have a front brake before I sally forth again. With my butt onboard, the spring leaves an ugly void above, so think I will add a counter-spring to take up the space and keep it from clattering on the down-stroke. I did add a pair of O-rings to keep it from rattling. A bit of pre-load shouldn't hurt a thing. I grew up with plunger rear suspensions on cycles.
 

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Back to square 1 and a suggestion

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Got the rigid fork back on with the new (straight) front wheel and a meaningful caliper that works well. For now I am running the BMX bars and 4-screw goose-neck. Main reason for posting is the bars had rust in places the wire-wheel couldn't reach. I used a run-out 2" X 48" 3-M burnishing belt by hand and was amazed at the rust removal and bright surface it left. The machine it is used on I built using a spare Norton Atlas fork leg for the upper wheel mount with a 6" crowned plastic caster from HFT. The lower wheel is an 8" cast iron caster trued on the lathe and bushed to mount on a motor shaft. I worked in 2 places that had similar machines, and one did also use a bike fork, so it isn't original, just convenient. The aircraft repair place gave me belts that they decided were beyond their requirement, but were plenty good for me. They are a bit pricey, like about $20 each. The belt tracking is controlled by a blade mounted on the fender bosses with a set-bolt bearing on the motor capacitor cover. The top wheel comes with a beveled peak and works perfectly. I originally intended to make a work surface but it was so convenient to feed massive stuff in without it, I decided against one..
 

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wow. ive ridden off six metre rooftops and ive never gotten a wheel to look like that! impressive :)

what were you doing? :giggle:

nice linisher!

belt tension created from the fork? yoink! all i need is a source of semi decent motors! brilliant :) ideal for polishing tuned pipes. got hundreds of them scourer belts courtesy an ex abrasives employee :)

can you take a garage pic from the door? i wont feel so bad about the state of mine :)
 
The rear fork impacted the tire, stopping it and compressing it. A similiar thing happened when a front fender fork clip failed. The rear wire braces were anchored behind the axle and as the fender rotated, the struts shortened. That one looked like a pretzel shape and I came down hard on my shoulder and bruised a rib. Not bad for a 77 yr old guy. I was about 75 then though. I take lots of vitamins minerals and metals. It's worth it. FWIW- I noticed I called the bike a Rollfast. It is a Monarch. The Rollfast was a green one with a 3 HP Clinton.
 
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