The Journey.

Well we have reached the end of the first part of our journey.  A point where I plan to rest for awhile on this journey and enjoy some of the fruits of my labor.  I thought it might be good to look back at where we started and what it took to get here. 

 

We started out with a $500 bike I found on Craigslist.  It would crank and run with a life line from a Chevy truck, but that was all I knew for sure.

 

Day 1, April 1, 2013

 

 

I had an idea of where I was headed.

 

Finding the space to work.

 

 

A laugh or two along the way.

 

The take down.

 

 

And Down!

 

 

Off to a bad start.

 

 

Working through some issues.

 

 

Scratching my head more than once.

 

 

Getting really excited about something really simple.

Some interesting uses of my resources.  Places I could work with and places I couldn't quite seem to get things done.    Then coming up with a result that was spot on!

 

 

Some exciting break throughs.

 

Test Rides. Lycan Ver. 1.0

 

 

Day dreaming and sourcing parts!

 

Planning.

 

 

 And more test rides. Ver. 1.1

 

 

Something fun.  Lycan Ver. 1.2

 

 

Something I feel pretty good about.  Lycan Ver. 2.0

 

 

 

Wow!  Better that the original idea!

 

         Looking at these pictures I realize it has only been three and a half months.  It seems much longer and much more involved.  I have accomplished what I set out to do in phase one.  Build a bike!  I used old stuff and I found a way to make it work.  More than a few items came from Lowes, WalMart, and Ace Hardware.    Several came from ebay.  I didn't just buy parts I had them fabricated or I made them myself.  How cool is that.   I pulled across the scales at the local land fill the other day and asked the operator what we weighted.  After subtracting me and the gear I had on,the bike is at about 325 lbs.  I have never been much of a fan of loud motorcycles but the bike sounds incredible.  The joke with one of my friends is that the bike is the "Sheep in Wolf's Clothing!"  Yes you read that right.  "Sheep in Wolf's Clothing!"

      

     I plan to ride the bike a little and get a true feel for it.  Maybe meet some like minded people that I have heard about in the area.  I also promised to stop by the local shops I used to let them see the finished project.  If you are reading this and you were one of the folks that helped me along the way.  Thanks Again! 

 

     Oh, by the way, I'm not done here by any means.  This is where the fun really starts.  Between working on the bike and riding the bike.  I hope to have more than a few stories to tell.



Cosmetology 101

The custom fiberglass seat cowl is a pretty long and drawn out process.  I wanted to make it myself and to have a custom fit and appearance on this bike.  In retrospect it might have been cheaper and most decidedly easier to purchase a premade unit from a supplier.  One option is www.hotwingglass.com .  I spoke with him at The British in The Blue Ridge Rally after I was pretty well invested in doing it myself.   $100 seems like a lot of money but when you add up the supplies, the time, and the mess, not to mention the quality of the end product , BUY ONE!

 

I started out with a trip to Walmart.  Yes Walmart.  I purchased Dry Foam in the home decorating department.  This is used by florist when they arrange flowers.   Painters tape, fiberglass cloth woven and non woven, fiberglass resin and hardener, paint brushes, and 3M spray adhesive.  I had to buy resin and hardener three times at $17 a pop.  I could have gotten a gallon but I didn't know how much I would need.  I spent about $90 by the time I was finished.  The process is as follows.

 

 

Foam and adhesive from Walmart.

 

 

Glue the blocks together in the general shape you want. 

Allow to dry for about 3 hours.

 

Using a marker layout the basic design you want.

 

Trim away the excess material.

 

 

 

Sand the end product down to get the finished form.

Then check fit on the bike.

 

Fine tune your design.

 

I cut out a recess for my brake lamp and that allowed me to mount it

directly to the cowl.

 

When you are satisfied cover the form with painters tape.

 

Use a good quality Carnuba car wax on the tape as a release agent for the resin.

 

 

First brush on a light coat of resin then begin to apply the fibered fabric followed by more resin.  When mixing the resin with the hardener mix a small amount at a time.  It hardens very quickly. 

 

I allowed an excess amount of fabric beyond the form.  This can be trimmed away easily after it has hardened.

One reason I wanted to make my own was to have a closed bottom area over the rear wheel.  The prefab units are just top shells.



 

Once the resin was hard I was able to remove the foam form I had made.  The closed bottom made it necessary to pretty much destroy the form to get it out.  After a little trimming and some sanding I was able to place the cowl on the bike and check fit. 

 

 

The fiberglass fit the bike like a glove.  The fitment was actually pretty gratifying but the finish was rough.

 

A lot of sanding and three additional procedures of laying fiberglass and resin then sanding and repeating gave me an acceptable if not perfect seat cowl.

 

I moved the turn signals to clear the cowl.  I also placed some 1/2 inch rubber weather striping on to the frame rails under the seat.  This helps to dissipate the vibration from the engine.   I also drilled holes for the brake light in the recess of the cowl as well as fabricating a mounting bracket for the light.   Oh yeah, new rubber mounted up and ready to ride!

Black gloss rattle can paint on the cowl, bracket, and the aluminium side panels.  

 

I had cut a piece of 1/4 inch plywood out to match the seat area of the cowl.  I had also picked up some black upholstery fabric at my local auto upholstry shop.  I used some 1/2 inch closed cell foam I had around the shop and stapled the fabric on with a neumatic stapler.  Note embroidered logo.  I used four bolts to attach the pad to the cowl from the under side.

 

With the cowl on the bike I was able to slide the aluminium side panels under the 1 inch side extention in the seat area of the cowl.  I then drilled through both panels and screwed both peices securly into place on the seat frame. 

 

Not perfect but not bad for my first try.

 

I've got a Cafe Racer!

 

 

The CRASH and The Functional bike!



 

       I have had and survived what will hopefully be my only crash related to this bike.  The old discarded office chair I have been using to sit in while I wrench on the bike suffered a catastrophic structural failure.   The resultant crash left me bruised and dazed.  On the up side there was no one else there to film the crash so I was saved the unending embarrassment of YouTube hell.

 



 

 

 

I finished attaching the new shorty reverse cone muffler.

 

 

New brake pads front and rear.

 

 

I had mentioned earlier that I was going to be able to  use the existing kick stand and bracket on the bike if I could work a few things out.  Well I did.  By reversing the bottom rear motor mount bolt and screwing it into the mount I was able to mount it on the bike as shown.

 

 

I then placed another bolt in the remaining hole to create an additional brace to support the weight of the bike.  Behind this bolt I placed a flat washer and a modified S-hook to attach the spring.

 

 

I then tacked a few beads on the back of the kick stand with a mig welder.

 

                               

I then carefully ground them down until the kick stand was in the proper position to clear the belt.   Really clean and affective.  Not to mention CHEAP!

 

 

A trip to my local Insurance Agents office and the County Tax Commissioners Office along with a few minor mods left me with what you see below.  A pretty decent little RAT bike.  I have been riding it around town and back and forth to work the last couple of days.   When it is parked I come out and folks are standing around and they inevitably ask, "What is THAT? "  I'm not really sure how I should take that.  

 

If I can get the seat cowl finished and the new tires mounted I plan to take a break and ride the bike for awhile, before moving on to  more serious refurbishments.  We are getting Close!