New project idea

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It has been quite cold so I haven’t been riding my latest full suspension rig a whole lot, but I am very satisfied with it and I am continuing improvements and refinement.

I have a simple but excellent 12V lighting system, with bright lights front and rear. Yesterday I completed my brake light, rigging a bright red led to a simple 12V battery pack (4 AA batteries) to a simple switch attached to my rear brake lever. I soldered a metal spring and attached it to the throttle body with a small zip tie. I soldered a small metal washer and attached it to the brake handle. Another zip tie leads the washer to the spring when I squeeze. Simple and effective.

My financial situation is expected to be much better next year and my thinking is to buy a small motorcycle. But I have one more motorized bicycle idea:

I have a 140cc 4 stroke, taken from a lawnmower. I intend to convert it for horizontal use, welding on a oil slapped and closing and opening some holes. Should be very reliable. Would have to grind the drive shaft down from 7/8” to 3/4” for a chain driving centrifugal clutch.

I just snagged a motorcycle triple tree stem for a few bucks! I have a couple of nice springs that will fit the big tubes needed for the project so I am foreseeing a kind of plunger tube within a tube. I can make that work by chopping a headtube off a derelict steel bike and welding it to a cafe racer frame of my own design.

Researching pieces, I see that motorcycle fork tubes are very expensive.

I’m thinking that I can rig all this up, add all lights and mirrors and get a motorcycle tag. Has anyone done this?
 
I’ve welded up my two hubs and, after some polishing, I’ll be ready to build my wheels.
This 24" 3" wide Kenda Flame tire would be good to build to.

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Triple tree disc brake front forks.
36h 24" disc brake front wheel that stands 26" with those Kenda tires.
SA disc brake 5-speed internal shifter rear wheel.

Those balloon tires would fit your bike.
 
This 24" 3" wide Kenda Flame tire would be good to build to.

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Triple tree disc brake front forks.
36h 24" disc brake front wheel that stands 26" with those Kenda tires.
SA disc brake 5-speed internal shifter rear wheel.

Those balloon tires would fit your bike.

SAS Halos are my plan but that keeps me at about 2” wide. What kind of rims did you use for that build?
 
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Those are certainly beautiful bikes, real showroom stuff! I am sure you have many happy customers out there!

I’ve always had bad luck with stock rims warping. Once I found the SAS Halo, all that stress went away. 2” tires are ok, but I would prefer 3”.
 
Wait until you see my fuel tank scheme/ idea!

Thanks for your comments.

I’ll be ordering seal bearings and spokes to complete my wheelset, order my shock absorber, and order handlebars and throttle body in order to make an end of August deadline. May as well snag a set of disk brakes for front and back. Oh, and a hub adapter for my 44T sprocket...

I still have some welding work: maybe one more gusset for the frame, brake caliper brackets and welding on my gas tank and fittings.

Then there are mirrors, headlight, taillight, brake light, turn signals, and chain. Maybe that’s all???
 
Front end is complete. Still need to weld on a disk brake caliper mount. Front wheel is built, ready for the road. Tomorrow I plant to put in the kickstand. Haven’t quite finished the bracket for that.

Handle bars are on order. Mono shock is on order. Spokes for my rear wheel build are in transit. I’ll have a rolling chassis soon.
 

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