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?
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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