My new Indian -HuaSheng 50 in Schwinn Alloy Three

I was so pleased with the Schwinn Alloy Three and it's lovely colour scheme, having put a 66cc Grubee 2-stroke into one last month, that I thought I'd build another of my Indian Pacifics using the same bike. When I heard that Schwinn were discontinuing the alloy classic cruiser range this year I bought up all the old stock in Australia (there were only 5 left).
I used the HS engine this time and the old Mark2 gearbox (which I also bought up last year when I rightly suspected the G4 would be a total lemon) and I really like this bike. It is really a nicer bike than the heavy steel Schwinn Deluxe 7 (it is also half the price) and it runs pretty nicely although the difference between the HS 50 and the Honda GXH50 is actually more noticeable than I thought. I have to puff on hills and top speed is lower but it is still a great bike and costs much less because the engine is cheaper and I don't have to make the carb work for the throttle cable. The 3 speed Shimano Nexus hub just needs the centre hole drilled out but the clamp & bolt holes do fit over the spoke flange so I don't have to fabricate a clamp like I do on the Schwinn D7 with 7 speed hub. The clearance, incidentally, is 0.05mm for the bolt holes over the spoke flange!
I drill the centre hole out to 54mm diameter because that is the size of my drill bit that I bought for drilling the 7 spd hub sprockets and although it only needs to be drilled to 47mm dia. the extra space is really useful cos it allows me to centre the sprocket really well on the wheel. Those sprockets are never exactly round so a bit of play really helps to get the drive train set up to its best.
I've painted the tank with 2 pack & clear coat to match the dark teal of the frame and the engine cover I sprayed with a metallic blue colour that sort of looked OK. The black paint on the exhaust downpipe is to cover the weld where I split it trying to bend it cold last year - it is perfectly useable and I think the black stove paint looks OK and gives the pipe a new chance at life.
I don't know what I'll do for host bikes now that Schwinn have made their cruiser range unuseable but they do still make the Classic 1937 D7 but it is way too heavy for the HS engine and has to have a Honda which makes the whole bike really expensive.
I really must say that having ridden many thousands of miles on the alloy Schwinns I reckon they are a really tough bike and they have beautifull welds. The front forks are tapered steel tube and they have great twanginess for bumps - the new cruiser forks are flat blade forks and are stiff as anything. The alloy frame tubes fit the engine tray better than the thinner steel tube of the D7. But the D7 wins on overall looks - it really is a show pony!
In hindsight this bike needs a 52T rear sprocket but I only have a 50T and all the 56Ts I have left over from previous builds are just too large. Does anyone make a 52T and does anyone make a shell clamp to fit the Shimano Nexus 3 spd hub?
 

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John, I have a hard time understanding why you keep buying kits and/or engines you complain about
if I don't like something after buying it once, I don't throw my money at it again

screw me once, it's your fault
twice, and it's MY fault
 
John, I have a hard time understanding why you keep buying kits and/or engines you complain about
if I don't like something after buying it once, I don't throw my money at it again

screw me once, it's your fault
twice, and it's MY fault

I like the mark 2 gearbox Bill. It's noisy but I like it because it is relatively small and it works OK. I like the HS too but the Honda is much better but the HS is 65% cheaper. I went back to the 2-strokes cos I got offered warranty and they are much better since the importer went over to China & sorted out the defects. I haven't got the time of day for the G4 as you know and haven't heard of a single case of anyone getting it to work OK. I wouldn't touch the GT1 cruiser with a bargepole because once is enough. I have to work with what is available and that is always hard. I'd love to try the EZ GBs cos I read about your one puling your grandkids up mountains etc. I had to buy all the old Mark 2 GBs from Grubee when I learnt that they were being discontinued cos they were the only 4-stroke GB I could use. I once tried the hoot kit and that is where that HS came from - the GB went in the trash without ever being used.
I like things to be sustainable and that usually means they need to work.
I've been using Grubee for a long time (since 2005) but that doesn't mean I need to lie about some of their really bad products.
I knew the G4 was a lemon just looking at it but the guy wanted it so it was his money I threw at it. I try to tell it as it is but that sometimes offends people.
 
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