Scrambler

Photo From Here

Surly left a comment about the tail end of the Yamaha Scrambler a couple of posts back. Get rid of the dorky looking piece below the fender and mount the license plate right below the taillight. What he suggested has already been done apparently. 

Photo From Here

They fixed the exhaust also. Not a high pipe per se but looks like it belongs there. The story of the build is at the link on the lower photo if you're interested. That bike looks proper. I could definitely live with that. 

Surly worked a little of his computer magic to show me how the new Scrambler would like sans the crap hanging off the rear fender. That's more like it.

He also shot me a photo with a tank more in keeping with the look. I was thinking of something along the line of the Harley XR750 myself. I was thinking Vee Twin, Surly must have been thinking classic Yamaha dirt bike. - both are lower and longer and would have a cleaner looking profile than the Bolt tank.

If the new Scrambler looked like the yellow one above, I'd be plunkin' down some cash this week. Don't know if I want to buy a new bike and then start making alterations to get it to look like that one, however. Wouldn't take much, though. Something else to think about.  

Axle

Surly and I did a late night bicycle ride Saturday night - started at 11:00 which is just about or a little after my normal bedtime. 15 miles on a warm and humid night. A good time was had by all but I didn't get home until around 2:30 and then another big storm rolled through. I had left my bike in the back of the truck but when the thunder and lightning woke me up about 5:30, I ran outside and grabbed the bike and brought it into the the laundry room.  I had a hard time going back to sleep after that, so I didn't feel like doing much Sunday. I did manage to cut the grass out front, even though it looked threatening all day, cleaned the intake screen on the hot water side of the washing machine so it doesn't take forever to fill and a couple of other piddly things.

What I didn't get done was finish the axle for the sidecar, however. I've got it turned to the proper OD and ready to thread but just didn't feel like finishing it up. I had to decide between cutting the threads or taking a nap. The nap won.

Even though the shaft is only about ten inches long, on my old South Bend it's tough to hold the size from end to end. The ways are worn to the point that there's about two thousands difference in diameter from one end to the other so you have to sneak up on the size and do some judicious filing to blend things. It's a nice sliding fit on the bearing now, however. One of the other disadvantages with the lathe is that I can't do metric threads. (Maybe I should think about buying a new lathe instead of a motorcycle - be more practical.) I could cut them with a die but I'm going to go with 5/8 fine threads. On one end I'll thread it for a nut and then weld the nut in place. The other end threads to hold it all together when assembled - making a long bolt basically.

After I get the axle finished I should be able to get the frame tack welded together. I can put the wheel under it and see how it's going to look next to the bike. I'll have to make some decisions at that point about mounts and making some handholds for the "monkey".

Bike Stuff

Photo From Here

One of my students sent me a link to this thing - Moto Guzzi V8 re-creation (sort of). While the engine is a standard Guzzi Vee-Twin, The bike certainly captures the spirit of the original. If you follow the link back there are quite a few photos of the bike both during construction and on the road. There are also other stories there of things auto and cycle that are interesting - Bonneville report, classic cars at Monterey, and Dougie Lampkin's plan to ride a wheelie around the Isle of Man TT course.

Yamaha"s new SCR950 Scrambler model. I like it except for the tail end. I would have put the tail light and turn signals down lower, and if you're going to brag about having steel fenders, why not have the fender extend all the way down instead of stopping short and then adding another piece? And of course, all self-respecting scramblers from back in the day had high pipes even if they weren't capable of much off-road work. 

But if you did that, then it would look like a Triumph Scrambler or one of the versions of the Ducati Scrambler. I priced a 2017 Triumph Bonneville the other day. It was just a tick over $12K with tax and fees. The Yamaha lists out at $8,700, add in $600.00 for the sales tax and any fees, and you'd be saving yourself $2500 or so but at that money the 2015 Versys is looking better all the time. 

The list price is about the same but Kawasaki is knocking off $1K on the 2015 and this model has a two year warranty rather than a one year as on the other models. The bags would be nice for carrying my lunch and other crap back and forth to work, and if I ever decided to take a little trip, it would probably be a bit more comfortable than some of the other bikes I've been looking at. When I get the SV back from Surly I'll see what I can get on trade.

I definitely don't need another motorcycle but if I'm going to buy myself a new one, I should get it and have it paid for while I'm still working. I don't want to owe anyone a nickel when I finally decide to call it quits. In the meantime, I'll keep working on the fleet.

Machine Work

I've got the sidecar axle mounts just about finished. I just tacked the bosses to the plate so I have to finish weld them but that won't take long. I put them on the mill for the machining - pilot drill, 21/32" drill and then bore to finish diameter of 17mm. Would have been a little quicker if I had a 17mm reamer but it didn't take long. The same procedure for the aluminum spacer between the plates in the photo only on the lathe instead of the mill.

I need to make an axle yet - have to see what I've got around here for material. Eventually the space between the plates will be 7" wide instead of the 3-1/2" or 4" as in the photo. I could move them in closer but I might add a disc brake at a later date and I'll need the room if I do that. When I get the axle machined I'll make a pipe spacer to hold the 7" inside width, snug it together and then tack weld it to the sidecar frame tubing. I'm about ready to tack the frame together, by the way. 

Moving right along!

Blow Up The TV

The song seems to fit my mood and the weather of late. Both have been good and I've been eating a few peaches from the tree in the front yard - hard to beat that. 

School started this week. I'm teaching two classes this eight weeks - beginning stick welding - nothing too tough there. I've been getting out on the bicycle a bit in the evening but I'm going to have to start a little earlier. The days are starting to get noticeably shorter now. I stopped last evening about two miles from the house to turn on the taillight even though I was home by 7:30.

I got a little work done on the sidecar axle mounts. Coincidentally, while out on the bike ride I stopped to take a look at a Harley factory sidecar rig that was parked down the road from me. I was eyeballing the lead and toe-in on the sidecar wheel and if I could see if the bike was leaning in or out noticeably. I couldn't really tell much but I'm pretty sure I've got mine figured out as soon as I solve a little right triangle geometry problem. I need to get a couple of new bearings for the sidecar wheel and I'm going to order a couple of lights that slip-fit into the tubing for extra tail and brake lights. It's bad enough dealing with all the drunks in the county but when you throw in all the fools that are texting while driving, definitely the more lights the better.

Turn off the TV, get outside and enjoy the weather. Winter will be here before you know it.

Bike Shopping

Photo From Here

I went to Indy yesterday to check with a financial guy about a couple of my retirement things, so I made a point of going to the Stutz building to see the Stutz Black Hawk Special replica. Unfortunately, the car room is only open by appointment or on the first Friday of the Month in the evenings.  There were some other cars on display in the building like the Auburn here:

Pretty neat old building as well.Looks like I'm going to have to plan another trip down that way if I'm ever going to see the Stutz racer.

I stopped at several motorcycle dealerships along the way. A place close to home has a Kaw Versys with bags that looks like it would be a nice bike to commute or take a day trip on. I looked at some Triumphs - a Thruxton would be real cool but I'd be happy with the new 2017 Bonnie. Both of those are more money than I want to spend, however. The KTM dealer had mostly dirt bikes but no 690. The BMW shop in Indy didn't have the model I was considering, so no luck there either. 

The Kawasaki dealer had two Versys on the floor, both were 2015 models. The one with the bags was in white, which wouldn't be my first choice. The 2016 comes in an orange that looks pretty nice from what I could tell from the photos on the Kawasaki website. I've got my SV 650 on loan to Surly right now. When he brings it back I'll ride down and see what kind of a deal I can strike on the Kawasaki. I should probably check and see what Honda has and see if the local Harley shop has one of the 750 Street models in stock. Or, as little as I ride, just keep working on the rolling stock I've already got.

I'm Coping

Pretty productive day yesterday by my standards - some household chores, cut some grass, picked up a prescription for the Missus, got a haircut, and then cut and coped the tubing for the sidecar. It's ready to tack weld now. The windscreen is off my old vintage racer. It's an EMGO that's still available. I'll bend up a piece of tube or flat to fit inside it and then get some tabs or holes drilled to fasten it depending on what I make the supporting structure out of. I think I've got a piece of wood cut to fit the screen that I used when I was making the racer fairing that I can use as a pattern once again. 

I need to design the mounts for the wheel. The wheel needs to have some toe-in. If I get real creative, I can weld the axle bosses on a plate and then set them up on the mill and bore them at an angle. I was thinking about making things real complicated by building in a bunch of adjustment but maybe a little more thinking on the front end and I won't have to engineer in a bunch of adjustability. When I get the wheel mounted up I'll be able to get the height set so I can make the mounts to fasten it to the 900 frame. 

So far, so good.