Gassy Gary

Still my same bike but my first thread is so old and it's come quite a ways since I first put it together, so I wanted to start over with a clean fresh new thread.

Here's my current build, based on a 1997 Gary Fisher Mamba.

Here's how she used to look:


And here's what started the change:

After this happened, one thing led to another, and, well...here she is.

PARTS LIST:

Engine
-66cc China Girl
--No-name billet head
--No-name MZ65 replica
--DIO reed valve
--19mm OKO carburetor (GENUINE, not the all-too-common Chinese knockoffs)
--Windowed piston
--Sick Bike Parts shift kit
--Jaguar CDI (on its way)

Front end
-Monark Type II front fork and headset
-Shimano HB-M475 front disc hub (on its way)
-TRP HY/RD hydromechanic front disc brake w/ 160mm rotor (have it, not mounted yet since my new front hub isn't here yet)
-Sunrace multi-angle quill stem
-Dimension cruiser bar
-Sick Bike Parts throttle
-Dual pull brake handle
-Shimano Tourney shifter (on stem)
-Genuine Honda PA50 grips (thought it would be a neat touch; I've owned 2 Accords, a Civic, and a CR-V, which should tell you where my loyalties lie)

Rear end
-Shimano 7-speed cassette and derailleur (may not be long for this world)
-Shimano center-pull rim brake (same as above)
-Rock Bros cargo rack
-Cloud9 cruiser saddle
-No-name rear mount kickstand

TO DO:

To get it running
-Make cables; the new bars are a lot taller and further out than the factory flat bars, and the NT throttle cable wouldn't fit the OKO. Will be using Jagwire compressionless housing for most everything.
-Lace new hub into front wheel...debating whether to attempt it myself or just pay my local bike shop.
-Wire up CDI

Once it's running
-Lights and horn
--I have a whole setup ready to go on (low-beam and high-beam headlights, taillight with brake light, horn, tach, plus handlebar switches for all of it), but I'm trying to figure out how to keep it charged. Ordered a little 12V DC motor to mess around with and see if I can turn it into a usable dynamo, but may just wire everything up as total-loss in the meantime.
-Sturmey Archer rear hub
--The 7-speed isn't really doing it for me; half the gears are useless because the ratios are so close together, and I've been left stranded a number of times after a goofy shift made the chain come off and tie itself in knots (if I was lucky) or just snap a link (if I wasn't). With an IGH, I could have a more usable ratio spread, even if I have fewer gears, and I'd be able to run a stouter chain (and not have to worry about it ever falling off).
--Related to this, the rear rim brake doesn't exactly fill me with confidence either. As long as I'm replacing the hub, I may as well kill two birds with one stone by getting one with some form of hub brake. My frame doesn't have any mounts for a disc brake caliper, but Sturmey makes a 3-speed with a 90mm drum brake (model XL-RD3), which should be more than adequate, based on the research I've been doing.
--I also ordered this really awesome stick shifter.
-New tank, very possibly this one.

 

[Captain Rainmaker]

All done. For now at least. Unfortunately the TRP hydraulic caliper was a no-go; the fork mounts it at such a weird angle that the cylinder can't adequately pick up fluid from the reservoir. For right now I have a Shimano caliper that I pulled off my non-motorized bike, and I have an Avid BB7 on its way.

Soon as it's all broken in and tuned up I'll start working on the lights and electrical. I gotta say though, with the new bars and seat, it's REALLY comfy.

 

[Chainlube]

If you bleed your brake off the bike it might be easier to get pressure, make sure the bleed screw is above the inlet.

 

[Captain Rainmaker]

If you bleed your brake off the bike it might be easier to get pressure, make sure the bleed screw is above the inlet.

The caliper is actually a mechanical/hydraulic hybrid, with the reservoir on the caliper itself. When I bolt it to this fork, the reservoir is almost completely upside down, so the cylinder gets starved for fluid. I have another bike I can use it on, so it's not a total loss.

 

[Captain Rainmaker]

Well, I just noticed my rear wheel has a couple busted spokes. Guess the Sturmey wheel's going on sooner than I thought.

 

[CrazyDan]

Well, I just noticed my rear wheel has a couple busted spokes. Guess the Sturmey wheel's going on sooner than I thought.

Dango, I see one in the pic. How'd you do that with a shift kit? Potholes?
Make sure you gear correctly with the Sturmey to have all gears usable, and watch out going over 35:1 at the rear wheel. I did accidental wheelies at 34:1 while making U-turns.

 

[Tyler6357]

Dango, I see one in the pic. How'd you do that with a shift kit? Potholes?

If you have loose spokes the vibrations can cause it to loosen more until they break. Some people put blue loc-tite on the spoke threads when they true the wheel but I don't know how effective that is. Also, if you put too much torque on the wheel, particularly from a dead stop you can snap a spoke not designed for that kind torque, this would be much easier to do with a shift kit,. And yeah, nailing an unexpected pothole at 35mph will break a spoke too, haha.

 

[CrazyDan]

If you have loose spokes the vibrations can cause it to loosen more until they break. Some people put blue loc-tite on the spoke threads when they true the wheel but I don't know how effective that is. Also, if you put too much torque on the wheel, particularly from a dead stop you can snap a spoke not designed for that kind torque, this would be much easier to do with a shift kit,. And yeah, nailing an unexpected pothole at 35mph will break a spoke too, haha.

I slam my shift kit from a dead stop, still yet to bend or snap a spoke. I even yank wheelies from a stop sometimes and nothing. Might be why I keep twisting my jackshaft plate.
I had a friend weld up a thicker jackshaft plate for me, haven't built the new bike yet so not sure if it's good enough... but it's almost twice as thick so I bet it's fine.

 

[Captain Rainmaker]

Dango, I see one in the pic. How'd you do that with a shift kit? Potholes?
Make sure you gear correctly with the Sturmey to have all gears usable, and watch out going over 35:1 at the rear wheel. I did accidental wheelies at 34:1 while making U-turns.

That wheel was almost as old as I am, so it was probably just done. But yeah, I noticed something was off when the tire was rubbing on the jackshaft plate.

 

[CrazyDan]

That wheel was almost as old as I am, so it was probably just done.

Quit making me feel old and done. I bet it is younger than me.

 

[Captain Rainmaker]

After lots of waiting for parts and some jury rigging, the new wheel's on!

Still need to figure out cables for the brake and shifter, which I'm missing some parts for, so I'll either have to wait longer for more parts or jury-rig more solutions. Also, the chain tensioner I got won't work, since part of it goes around the axle, and if I stack up both the tensioner and the anti-rotation washer, there's no thread left for the cap nut. One more thing to figure out. But I'm immeasurably glad to at least get this part finished. The driver chain is now 415HD like the engine chain, which makes me really happy; later on down the line I'll probably replace the mid chain and engine chain with fresh 415HD as well.