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First sketch for oil
tank design. |
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My WLA springer from the forties should bolt right up on the sporty. I will paint it black and put a new set och chromed springs on it. |
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I tried to mount the frontend and the fatbobs just to see what it would look like. I was a little affraid that it would become too long in the rear but I think it looks OK! |
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031111 - Started to tear the bike down. After this the frame was sent to my friend in Finland who was going to help me with the rigid rear end. |
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The second blue-print of the rigid ass. I put a little angle on the top tubes. Think it will be OK. |
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I borrowed a jig made for making hardtail ironhead-frames. The original frame pretty much bolted right up there. We just had to adjust the ground clearance and the distance to the rear axle. |
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The rear plates, made out of 6mm steel, in place. Time to fit the tubes. |
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Now the lower tubes are in place. That was the hard work. Took some good thinkin' before all the angles etc. were right. The tubes are 25 x 3 mm seamless hudraulic tubes. |
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With all the tubes in place my friend did as much as possible of the welding while the frame was still in the jig. |
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Voilá! This was the result. I still have
to weld two tubes between the two sides. I will do this when I know
where to put the rear fender as the fender will mount to the tubes.
I will also hide the rear top of the frame under some 2 mm sheet metal. |
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040114 My worst fear was that the bike was going to be too long. I tried to mount it w/o engine and I was really scared. Did not like the look of it at all. So I decided to put the engine in the frame and it looks better. (Made a battery and a oil-tank out of cardboard just to get the right size for them.) Still, I'm not 100% satisfied. I'm probably going to rework the plate where the rear axle sits so that I can move the axle an inch or two forward. That should do the trick! |
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040119 - This is just to see the difference when the axle is moved 2 inches forward. I am going with this. It means I have to redo the holes for the rear axle. This wil probably set me back a couple of weeks. But heck, I won't be satisfied with the other look! (I redid the plate in the rear in the photoshop in this picture) |
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huh, it's going to be tight to get a distance and a mount for the front brake-caliper here! |
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rim centered. |
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This side needs only a distance and hopefully also the speedo-thingy : ) |
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040204 - Left side. Hole welded shut and rear piece cut off. |
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040204 - Right side Hole welded shut. Made new hole, not done with the grindin' though. Still have to make the hole for the brake-shield bolt in front of the existing one. I will move the piece that I cut off in the back to the front of the plate. |
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040219 - Voila! The right side done. I will cut off some excess material later. |
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040219 - Right inside |
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040219 - Mounted the rear fender and tried to figure out the clearance and stuff. The clearance in the front is approx 3 cm and on top approx 6 cm but this wheel cannot be used since it's worn down. Hence the clearances will be smaller with a new wheel. Also tried to mount a 'sissy' : ) |
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040317 - Just put the rotor and my new (used) Brembo front brake caliper there to see what it looks like. I am happy and it was $150 cheaper than a new ISR caliper! |
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040317 - the right rear plate done! |
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040328 - Test mount #4. I just had to do another test mount when I got the risers fixed. Turns out that the handlebars are too narrow. I have to cut them in half and do them wider, or go with another set of handlebars. Might be a bit too high to : ) |
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040402 - The tought is that the left side of the oil tank will have flames in the sheet metal. This is the first test-run. I think it looks pretty darn cool! The flames stand out approx 1-2 mm. |
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040427 - Well we finally got started with the distance between the hub and the brake rotor. Here's the result after the first couple of hours. |
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040429 - New test mount. Now with the new (used) rear whitewall wheel and the new shotgun dragpipes. Also made some mounts for the rear fender. |
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040504 - The distance now only misses 10 threaded holes. Fits like a glove on the hub! |
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040504 - test mount of the distance. Looks fine! |
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040504 - I also mounted the new oil-filter setup. I bought the mountingplate at Bike-Line. The filter fits all toyota cars, ie. you can find one anywhere in Europe and is about 65 mm in diameter and about 70 mm high, smooth! |
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040525 - The battery-tray is finally finished. |
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040602 - Started the manufacturing of the oiltank. My friend did the flames and I welded : ) I think it will look pretty darn nice when it's done. |
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040618 - Bottom and rear wall welded on the tank. The filling tube is aslo there as well as the drain tube and all the connections for the hoses. But the tricky part is to get the bastard not leaking. Since I only use the MIG it's a PITA to get it done. This will take me lots of time! |
041113 - Long time no update. Actually the reason was that I was running out of server space at my isp. But now I have changed isp so now I can produce some more pics! |
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041113 - I am going with a small Bates-style front lamp. Bought it used as with lots of other stuff. |
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041113 - Huh! Tight fit there with the brake rod and the rear frame/brake shield. I am not sure this will work. I am affraid that it will vibrate too much and eventually something will crack! I will ride with it for a while. Maybe I will have to convert to some kind of a wire solution. |
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041113 - The work on the front end break setup is slowly progressing. Here's a picture of the right side distance. The axle will be cut and re-threaded later. I also changed all the bushings and bolts on the lower end of the fork. |
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041113 - Since the distance is made out of aluminum we helicoiled the holes so I won't strip the threads. On this side I am using M8 bolts. On the other side I will use the original brake drum bolts. For this I have to borrow a tap so I get it right. It's not so easy though to find a 3/8-20 tap here in Sweden! |
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041113 - Well I was not going to get the oil tank leak-free with the MIG. So a buddy at the club soldered it from the inside. Now I only have to fix the lid for it. |
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041113 - In order to keep my original papers for the bike. I cannot touch the frame around the engine. This means that the rear upper corner will stick out a bit. I cut a piece of sheet metal and bent it over the hump. Voila! it will hardly be noticeable when it is painted and the seat in place. My plan is also to put the on/off- and start-button under the seat. Hopefully they will only stick up a bit over the sheet metal. |
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041113 - So this is what the rear end looks like right now. I'm not totally satisfied with the rear fender. If somebody want's to get rid of a old springer front fender I'd be happy to buy it cheap! The budget does not allow a new one : ( |
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050106 - Took the bike down from the bike stand today. I just had to sit on it and se how it felt... Super nice stance : ) |
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050108 - The left side distance is now done. The inner end of it slides into the star-hub. On the outer side the arm which holds the break caliper will slide. The right end of the axle is also lathed down and now it only has to be cut and re-threaded |
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050226 - Well this is the distance on the left side and the bushing. |
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050226 and this is the bushing mounted. Now I have to start fabricating the mount holding the brake calipper. |
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050226- So I started with a piece of cardboard and went from there : ) |
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050226 - This is what the cardboard dummy looks like. The guy helping me out is Henrik. He has done almost all of the work om the front end. I am forever greatful for that. |
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050415 - Some scetches on how I could cut the brake caliper mount. : ) |
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050601 - I had some fancy plans going there but I think it will be cut down to be as small as possible. I think I have to bend the mount a little so that the caliper will align right with the rotor. |
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050601 - I bought a repro BT springer front fender and got rid of the ducktail. I had to do some extra cutting to get the fender where I wanted it and still get the battery in place. |
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050601 - This is from the chain side where I cut the side of the fender so that the chain and chainguard will fit |
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050601 - So this is what it looks like right now. As you can see I now have the sportster tank on her. I am not sure at all which tank I will go with. But since it is a bobber a sportster tank is totally right! I will also try to find a 3,5 gallon fatbob (I have a 5 gal.) to see wich one I like the best. I really like the new fender |
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050614 - I bought a new upper bearing with an inner diameter of 29 mm. Then my friend Henrik cut down the crown nut in the lathe so it fits the bearing. The nut had to be shortened anyway. Then we froze the nut and put the bearing in the owen. We put it together with a new chromed dust shield between them. This came out really well! |
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050614 - I continued working on the piece holding the front brake calipper with a hand grinder. I will do some more cutting when I know exactly where to put the hole for the shackle holding the unit in place. |
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050615 - This is what it looks like under the seat. I made holes where the bolts holding the oil tank are and also holes for the on/off-button and the starter button. |
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050615 - And this is what it looks like when the seat is there. The oil tank is rubber mounted at the top with four mounts. |
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051006 - I like the shape of the sportster tank but I don't like stopping for gas all the time. That is one of the reasons I wanted a fatbob tank. But it turns out that the 5 gallon fatbob is too fat for the style of my bike. So either i get a 3,5 gallon tank or I get a king size sporty tank. Suddenly I stumbled over a king size. My friend had bought one for his showel chopper project but he will not use it so it's for sale. Click here to see the full comparison. |
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051102 - The front axle cut and rethreaded |
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051102 - I also made the passenger footpeg mount. |
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060219 - Getting closer. I will lift the bike down and sit on it so I can get the right angle on everything before I cut the shackle |
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060219 - I made a chain tensioner so the chain won't grind on the top of the frame. I have not really found the right position for it yet though. |
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060301 - We got the bike down from the stand and heck did it look great. It is PRETTY LOW! Now I will cut the brake shackle and weld the chain tensioner in place. Then I will tear the bike down again and get all the final welding done. |
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060301 - Of course I also had to 'test drive'. Oh man I want to ride this bike soon! Totally comfortable! |
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060316 - The brake is finally done. To get here it took about 60 hours in the garage! |
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060316 - Here is the final picture before tear-down. The chain-tensioner is in place and the brake assembly is done. The only things not in the picture are the sissy bar and the luggage rack. They will be fitted later. I think I will paint her matte black with glossy red outlined flames on the tank and the rear fender |
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060413 - All the final welding done and all welds tidied up for paint. |
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060413 - I also cut down the mount holding the forwards. I made this once quick as hell and I left it that way, all square an ugly. Now it looks a little bit better |
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060424 - Frame hand painted with brush and Alcro Serva-paint. |
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060426 - Finally! The re-assembly has started. Some of the guys at the club helped me put the engine in the frame. Just some minor scratches on the frame : ) |
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060428 - I put the front fork together with new springs - looks mighty fine! |
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060428 - This is the mount for the passenger footpegs. I drilled and tapped two holes so I could bolt the mount to the frame |
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060430 - Today I mounted the starter and the solenoid and planned how the oil lines will be placed. I also painted the gas tank red. Now I will make flamed outlines with 4 mm tape and after that paint it matte black. |
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060503 - Now the rear fender is painted red and I have striped the flames with 4,2 mm tape |
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060503 - The gas tank is also ready for the matte black paint |
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060503 - Tank and fender painted black. Now I just had to wait for the paint to be dry enough before I could remove the tape |
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060503 - Removing the tape. This was scary as hell. This is the first time I have ever attempted a stunt like this. I had to stop halfways to drink a beer! And then with a steadier hand I could continue. |
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060503 - This is the fender when it is painted and all the tape removed |
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060503 - The tank done! |
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060503 - The tank and the fender hung up to dry and waiting for final mount : ) All in all I am very satisfied with the result considering I have never tried this before and that I used unly rattle-can paint. |
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060507 - Been working on the electrics for a couple of days now. Since electrics is not my area it is going slow. But I am getting there... soon. Took a shot with the gas tank and fender mounted. |
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060516 -It wsa a really tight fit with the brake caliper so I took it apart just to see if I could grind it down a little. There was enough material so I ground off a couple of millimeters. Now there is no risk of interference between the caliper and the rim. |
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060516 - It has been a PITA right now. I have only a couple of days left to my deadline and things are going too slow. We cannot get the friggin oil tankto stop leaking. Right now it is a a firm which fixes radiators. Hopefully they will get it fixed. I have tons of stuff I have to do before I am done... Hopefully I will get there! |
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060525 - The bike is down. I was pretty exhausted here due to all emotional stress : ) Now I really have to clean my garage clothes LOL |
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060525 - First testride around the block. No brakes and it was rainin so I only rode in 2:nd gear. Have you ever seen a wider grin?! |
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060525 - Parking her nicely for the first time. All the commotion is gone. It took me and three frineds a couple of hours to get her running. I had squeezed the cable for the ignition so there was no spark. And I can tell you that it is not easy to find out where the fault is when it is as tight as it is! |
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060525 - The beauty parked. It has been two and a half years since I started the teardown. Right now she is street legal and ready for inspection. |
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060526 - Again a very tight fit. I had to put three fiber distances to get the carb to clear the petcock. When I have time I will fabricate a new mount for the wire so I can move the carb inwards |
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060526 - Note the neat placement of the oil/preassure light. |
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060526 - The oil-tank looks really great. I especially like the clear fuel-hoze where I can see if there's oil or not in the tank. |
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060526 - A photo of the left side. Now it is street legal with license plate mounted centered on the rear fender. As soon as it has passed the inspections the setup will be moved to the left of the rear wheel where I will also have my sadle bag. |
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060526 - A somewhat dark pic of the right side. After the inspections the pipes will be replaced with my shotgun dragpipes. |
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060526 - The 'outlaw bobber' Whole Lotta Rosie parked behind chains and bars : ) |
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060701 - It did not pass inspection. So there's some alterations I have to make. But what the heck, I can do that later. For now on I put the shotguns on and I am going to ride it like this this summer. |
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060701 - I put the saddle bag on it too and mounted the licenseplate and rear light on the bag. Hopefully I will get the sissybar done in a couple of weeks. |
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Latest news, late 2006: Well it did not pass inspection in the summer 2006. I rode it anyway and got into trouble... The generator broke down and the front fork broke too! Fortunately it was the rear leg on the uppe side of the tree so I did not even notice it when it happened - lucky me! After that I really lost speed. Lots of other things got my attention and I have not had the time nor the interest in finishing it right now. I'll get back to it when the spirit is there again. |
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100208 - After years of collecting dust in the garage the bike is actually getting some attention again. I Have renewed all the rods for the brakes. I have also made a new bracket for the front brake. |
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100208 - I also removed the petcock which had me move the carb 3 cms out and it was a pita to ride the bike since my right leg had to curve around the aircleaner. Now it is much more closer to the engine. |
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100208 - I found a nice old-style aircleaner which I fitted to the carb. I think it looks very nice! |
| more later on ; ) |
