My Project So far

Fixing front end of motor to downtube

Firstly I love your bike - are those colours the final colours or just the undercoat. In semi-gloss finish those colours would look great.
Uncle Punk says not to drill a hole in the downtube and I agree with him but only because it is a vintage bike. Structurally a neat hole to take an 8mm dia bolt (not chinese - US hard steel only) would not weaken the downtube to any significant ammount - especially at the lower end of the downtube where there is less stress than at the very top. Even on a good alloy frame it is OK if done properly and if you maintain the engine mounts so they are always held firm and stay away from really bad pot holes. I've mounted many engines this way on several bikes and I sometimes use a 6mm dia bolt. Because aesthetics are important on such a beautiful bike however you fix the front end needs to look tidy and not like an afterthought. If you can fabricate a spunky looking bracket as per Uncle Punk's suggestion it could look really good but I worry about welding onto the tube. I wonder is it alloy or steel tubing. I attach a photo of the set up I'm going to use on my Schwinn cruiser to take my 70cc 2-stroke until I get the 4-stroke I'm wanting. I've used another engine spacer and made 2 special length bolts to fasten the clamp through the spacer to the engine block. The clamp has an 8mm bolt through the middle of itself and straight through the tube. The whole thing is held tight with a large diameter thick washer and split washer and nylock nut on the far side of the tube.
I've never had a front fixing bolt fracture but I've had a few rear fastening studs breaking over time because there is more vibration off the 70cc motor and the rear studs have to be 6mm dia which is just too small. I've learnt to spot the breaking bolts as soon as I feel a change in vibration through the saddle. I have never had a downtube fail - I've done 1200kms on the same bike with 4 engine changes. That's on a good Merida alloy frame. Anyway I thought I'd chip in my opinion but Uncle Punk's idea is the go if you design the bracket to look good. From your colour sense and general good taste I reckon you could draw up somthing that all us cruiser owners would want to copy. Good luck and keep the pictures posted.
 

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Thanks John
The colors you see are just primer I did give some thought in keeping it that color and lay down a layer of clear satin but for now while I build its just to keep rust at bay. The front mounts are done as a matter of fact I had the same idea for the front as you did in your photo a second set of mounts worked nicely. the rear mounts are spacers that I made from PTEF "polytetraflouroethylen" Teflon (Say that after a few beers) anyhow the teflon will act as anti vibration and is just experimental at this point.
As for welding or drilling on these bikes simply put "I wont ever do that"
see photos
 

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That is really good looking solution

Your fixing method is just great. Where did you get the fabricated cylindrical piece from? Did you buy the engine spacers or are they left over from kaput engines like mine? The two extra slat spacers ar the rear - I suppose you made them all yourself. I notice you are a chef in real life which probably explains your resourcefulness & presentation standards. Must be a good restaurant! I'm now challenged to improve my own fixing method.
John

Sorry, I notice you answered my questions. I was so excited about your paint job & pictures that I forgot to read the rest. Silly me!
 
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Thanks John ,, to answer your question I went and bought some more mounts and made some xtra long engine mount studs. the cylindrical piece is a small peice of aluminium round bar that is coated with PTFE Teflon .The spacers in the rear are also PTFE Teflon they are painted silver to match the engine.

And yes I am A chef in real life and no I will not cook you lunch LOL

Your are correct The presentation of the bike is very important to me, each bike I build takes between 3 months to a year to finish. this is the first time I have build a motorized bike so I want it to be as nice as possible.
The paint theme I have chosen for this build is jet black satin with old school red and white scallop graphics "the rat rod look" Im not sure where I got the idea for it but I like the look
 

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Another photo

Heres another photo I just took everything is going well.. My wheels were sent off to get powder coating. The tank is in place but Im not too sure about that seat,,,, I guess I will leave it on for now.

Comments?
 

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Fantastic! Love the hairpin saddle, if you find it comfortable I'd keep it. Did you custom make that tank?
 
Gas tank

Its a small aluminium tank I found it on ebay I think it was for kart racing. I fabed the mounts from aluminium flat bar (still needs tweaking) I will get nicer looking hardware after I paint the bike
 

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Tank

Its a beautiful little tank with heaps of character. Thomas the Tank Engine would be proud of it. I thought that the tank was that special one-off between the top bars or is this a different bike to the blue and grey CW?
After seeing your handiwork I feel a tad jealous and disheartened!!
 
I thought that the tank was that special one-off between the top bars or is this a different bike to the blue and grey CW?
!!

This is the same CW bike The Tank your asking about is in there between the top bars inside the horn tank it is very small to small for a gas tank. I thought of using it as an oil tank or a reserve tank it will only hold 18 oz of fluid.

Tomorrow I will start the muffler mods and maybe the chain guard.

thanks for all your kind words

Chris@KanesKustoms
 
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