Kimjon

Just doing a bit of Google research on tank sight tubes that don't suck. Yeah, yeah..."blue and green should never be seen" (together). But both these bikes pull off a sight tube that looks okay. Still not ruling it out...

Yeah, I'm on the fence. I like the retro idea...but I'm not married to the idea yet. Will park it and see how I feel in a few weeks time. Moving on with other things that are within my control and don't cost money to do because I'm brokeass right now: Bending the kickstand, so it both leans the bike over more and tucks up higher when not deployed, for extra ground clearance. Its sitting tight now. Only about 3mm gap. Before it was about 15mm from hitting the drive belt cage. The tip has lifted up about 50mm from the ground. Calling it a win!

Toying with the idea of a sight tube, so I can see where my fuel level is at without having to run empty, or stop and look into the tank. I don't think I'd purposely ride past a gas station without stopping anyhow... 1340cc big cammed motor Vs tiny gas tank = stopping often. However having a visual of my fuel level can only be a good thing? Something like this (just mocked up with inappropriate parts for a daydreaming session). I'll give it some absorption time, and come back to it later if I still like the idea?

Thanks @Lord Gruntfuttock for the good advice. I kind of knew that I was pushing the limits with those short leads. I cut them down in stages trying to make them as short as possible...but was probably asking for trouble down the track going that short. And tadah! So I made some new ones out of my old impala HT leads. Thanks Mike, for leaving them with me after generously giving me a new set of leads a while ago... kind of cool these leads are now living a new recycled life on a harley...

Yes, I think they are an inch too short. Oh well...guess I'm going to get lots of practice making leads eh...

Short answer is yes, totally legal (will need cert obviously). And thanks, admittedly its dragging on a bit - progress wise. But it's a weird project in the fact I really don't need this bike, so I'm taking my time and enjoying the journey. I've always wanted to build one since seeing one in an easy rider magazine about 30 years ago... to be fair I was more into the naked girls within the covers of those magazines (pre internet days), however a rigid chopper caught me eye and I was in love! The single most important thing is the straight line from the bikes neck right back to the rear axle, this to me was what caught my eye all those years ago and makes these bikes what they are. The secondary things I like are the proportions. By playing with the amount of stretch in the frame, the amount of lift in the frame, the length of the forks, the gaps between seat, tank and neck, the size of the tank, the amount of rear fender you choose to keep...all those things drastically change the look. This is my all time favorite bike. The builder (Superco Custom, Trevelen Rabanal) pushes the proportions to the edge, but in my opinion has built a masterpiece. I've taken a lot of inspiration from this bike...but still trying to achieve my own vision too.

More inspiration shots: Things are falling into place. The progress is slow...but at least shits gettin done.

Bit more fab work done today. Getting down to the stuff you don't want to admit a motorcycle needs to run. All the ugly stuff that detracts from your previously clean lines. Oh well, its gotta have it...so may as well face up to it and get it done: Welding more brackets to other brackets, that were welded to yet another bracket? I drilled a few holes in it. One for function...the other for looks. Test fit. Then I made my own HT leads up. I'm pushing it...but I wanted them as short as possible. Just scraping in, definitely wouldn't want them any shorter. Booyah!!! It works.

If you're handy to the waikato you're welcome to use my mini lathe if you don't have access to one already.

Added a clutch to a goped, so it's no longer direct drive. I can come to a stop and the engine can keep running, then go again. Normally gopeds are direct drive, so if the motor is running you have to be moving too. If you stop completely, then engine stops. Until now: This is something I've wanted to do for over 24 years ever since getting my first goped, but price and availability were always a bit of a barrier to achieve. Pictured are the clutch internainternals mounted in place. ADA make a kit that converts it to a 54mm clutch, and a cnc machined adapter that gets it to go back onto the frame with the right spacing. Sweet bit of gear, pretty high end stuff. I had to make my own spindle to convert it to take a 3rd bearing support, but it was a pretty easy job having done a few of them now. Weird lifetime goal to have...but i feel like I'm clocking life right now!

Yes, 1:1 ratio motor to jackshaft, then clutch to axle/wheel. Sorry, I was assuming that you were doing that.

Yes, as long as gearing to jackshaft is 1:1 ratio. If that's the case it's no different. If gear ratio differs, then your engagement rpm will reflect the difference. It may still work fine, but something that you need to consider. I normally cut about 10mm of spring out on my lower powered drift trikes to raise the spring tension and in turn raise engagement rpm up for the clutch. This is similar to raising rpm on a car and then dumping the clutch = faster take off and wheel spin goodness.

@Muncie have you seen this kids channel on YouTube. He makes cool stuff, especially given his age. Think your motor is the same or similar?

Is your temp gauge reliable? My LT1 motor into a VN commodore conversion had massive overheating issues, I did everything you could think of and couldn't solve the problem... Then out of desperation I purchased a cheap temp gauge from repco and hooked it up. Yeah...turns out I was trying to solve a problem that didn't exist. It was the original temp gauge that was the problem.

I stole the wheels off a goped that I got for $10 at kumeu a few years back. It's called a "Know-ped" and was made by go-ped as an environmentally friendly version for California without an engine. Anyways...I wanted its wheels for my other gopeds, so I just converted the know-ped to use these cheap scooter wheels. Calling it a win! Turning the 3/8unf straight bolt down to 8mm to take the scooter bearings. A spacer made from aluminum. Sweeeeetttt!!!! All done. Calling it a win/win. I get the wheels for use on the motorised gopeds, and still get to use this one with the kids.

Another goped build. Needs tuning to run right, but I lack the space to get it up into powerband where it wants to run. Its showing real potential though with a newly found ability to drift it. It's going to end badly, probably with another broken arm like last year when I taught myself how to do goped wheelies until failing epically...but yolo✌ Specs: Model - Goped Sport Engine - 23cc Zenoah G23LH (rebuilt with new bearings, seals, cylinder, plug, gaskets, piston and rings) Carburetor - Walbro high performance 167A Exhaust - Dominator expansion chamber Spindle - ADA 0.75" (way to big off my small driveway). Other - velocity stack, air filter, aluminum tank mounts, upgraded engine bolts etc... Nothing over the top, but given room to work the powerband it will be a weapon!

Okay, I'm starting to realise I may be pushing the limits here. There's a lots of motor on this scooter now. It's all but done, but I can't start it as the current pull start can't handle the compression. I tried to start it with a drill and fucked my drill!!! So I've ordered a different "easy pull" that I'll adapt to fit this motor. Basically it shifts the diameter of the pull start outward to increase torque in your favour. So...more waiting on Aliexpress to deliver the goods...

Improvements made to bracket. Looked "a little heavy" for my liking...so off to Jenny Craig's she goes! Nice hole, with a cheeky peek up her skirt. Rounded all the corners with a generous radius. Ready for paint now. Much happier with its appearance. If something is ugly, it's best to not draw attention towards it, so by doing these extra steps hopefully it'll become less visible and go unnoticed.

Did more work on this very neglected and long forgotten project Finally finished welding all of the various frame parts. Fitted chain guards to protect the rider from a flailing chain blow to the kidneys! Two motors....mmmmmmm....tasty!

A small package with lots of mandarin writing on it that I can't read arrived today. I get pretty dam excited by these, it's like Christmas everytime...as I've usually long forgotten what it could be inside, so its always a fun surprise opening them up. Ah yes, I remember...a choke cable. No, not the one my wife ordered from the 50 shades catalog (we're still waiting on that one), a choke cable for the harley. Looks easy enough to install, I'll just unbolt the old fucked one and put it back together with the new replacement as it's a direct factory part eh? Ummmm no...no I won't...cunts!!!! Someone in china decided that they'd mix imperial and metric. To be fair Harley's already are, been a mix of American and Japanese parts as is. But then the Chinese get involved in the aftermarket parts world and fuck with it again. Yup, wont fit. My engine steady/choke mount is 5/16UNC in size. The part supplied is M10x1.0!!!! WTF???? Who makes a M10x1.0 bolt for a non specific application??? No one in their right fucking mind is the answer. This isn't the be all in tap and die sets, but its fairly comprehensive. Nope, no M10x1.0 in here, nor in my other 2 tap sets either. So fuck it...drilling it out and getting rid of the thread altogether. I looked at it and thought "hmmm, why does it even matter", it's got a collar on one side and I can use the nut supplied on the other side...then drilled the fucker out to 10mm. And it works perfectly. So problem averted.

Thanks...auto correct strikes again. Fixed it...

Okay, it's no secret I'm into some pretty niche things. Gopeds, drift trikes, lowrider bikes, skateboarding, gokarts, tallbikes, etc...etc... none of them are popular in NZ by any stretch of the imagination. Now this is about as niche as it gets. 39cc of polini awesomeness! It puts out 6.5hp and sounds like an angry beehive!!! Pops wheelies when the powerband kicks in...its mental. I picked it up a few years ago, with the goal of cutting it up and putting the motor on a goped. As it turns out, its basically the grandfather to the pocket bike craze and is highly collectible in Europe, some selling for over €2500. So needless to say, I won't be cutting it up anytime soon. The clutch fucked out, so I brought this "high performance" clutch. Well if the goal is to add excess weight to the rotating assembly, shift the engagement rpm down low where it's not making power and decrease speed, fun, your will to live as much as possible...then yes, this clutch excels in all those areas. I had other goals, like simply returning it to being awesome like it once was. So, I brought a Chinese clutch for a 49cc kids motorbike, that didn't fit either, then modified it to fit the polini by adapting the new clutch arms to fit the polini hub center. I cut the arms down in the lathe, to fit the polini bolts. Drilling to lighten the arms, this raises engagement rpm. Shortening the springs to put more tension on the arms, this further raises the rpm. Drilling the arm spring pockets to remove the shit casting marks to allow smoother operation, and allow the much fatter polini springs to fit. Back in and running like a dream! I know its ridiculous...I know. However its definitely one of those things that fits the saying "don't knock it until you try it". Not in the way someone may say having sex with men feels awesome "don't knock it until you try it"... no, nothing like that. This is more in the have you ever driven a rotary category... it's only purpose is to make you smile.

Fuck yeah, that looks awesome as is. Those proportions are spot on! I'd leave those wheels on it just like that. My mum was an avid designer/landscaper and she always said it really doesn't matter what or how something is made, as long as the proportions are right, it'll look amazing. That's why certain cars look so good, yet they are just cheap crap cars...and other cars that have had hundreds of thousands spent on them look like shit. If the proportions/scale is wrong, it'll never look good.

My exhaust had a terrible bracket on it that sucked! My OCD couldn't handle the fact that the two pipes weren't parallel. Over a 400mm section where they run along side each other, the gap was out by 10mm from front to back. I saw this as an opportunity to fix two problems. 1) make it look right to the eye 2) raise the lower pipe by 15mm and the upper pipe by 5mm. This will really help with ground clearance, maybe not completely solve it...but certainly won't hurt. So: Marking out, lifting the holes by 10mm. And looking at the pipes for nice sweeping parallel lines. Success!!! So, lower pipe is now 15mm higher than before, with nice clearance around all the bits you don't want a hot exhaust touching. Happy as fuck! I'm probably going to cut the lower pipe mid span and shorten it by about 40mm to bring it inline with the upper pipe and my frame angle where it heads up to meet the axle. But that can wait for another day.

They are a bead lock system. Its likely missing the internal bit, which is just a tab that clamps down on the bead. It's for hardcore karts that have so much power they'll spin the rim inside the tyre. By hardcore I mean shifter karts like 250cc 2 strokes etc... I wouldn't worry about it, as it's not going to be a problem with less than about 40hp. On mine, I mixed up epoxy and glued them in to seal. Then cut the protruding thread off on the inside rim section with an angle grinder. You could use thread sealer like loctite if you happen to have it on hand? Held air for like 6 months or more ...no leaks at all.