Jim's 1937 Columbia replica, with 66cc Flying Horse engine

Today, I returned home and for the first time, mounted my Flying Horse 66cc engine and I am very disappointed with how un-level the carb. is. The rear mount is solidly mounted and the engine is as low in the rear as possible (very near the chain guard) so, I'm not sure how to correct the tilting problem??



Add to that, the carb. is too close, and even under the horizontal tube, a full 1/2".. making the high performance air filter impossible to use.





I'm happy with everything else. I'm just not sure how to correct the tilted carb?

I wonder if I'm just overlooking something?

Any solutions would be greatly appreciated...

 

[PocketBiker]

A Major Milestone Today

My work takes me away for a couple weeks, so I wanted to get some goals accomplished on my bike, before I left. I don't know if anyone is really interested in this, but I guess I'll continue to post until is finished and I'm happy to have a good update today.

Even though the bike looked almost "ride-able" in the last post, NO, not even close! There were about 4 major things I needed to tackle this week.

First of all, I wanted to do a lot of work on the rear axle mount. Movement was not an option. I'm extremely happy with the solidity of the result. (I have a thread on it, in the discussion section, so I won't post a photo of it here) I feel, as far as the axle mount, it turned the cheap Wallmart bike into a more substantial bike, that I'd bet my life on!

Next, I came up with a solution to secure my muffler. So easy in concept.... but for me, it was so difficult in practice. Three different dia. tubes, running at slightly different angles to each other, yet, I wanted the muffler mounted solidly to the down tube?? After running through different approaches, I visited "an old friend" once again...... JB Weld Steel Epoxy Putty. The engine was anchored like a rock and the exhaust pipe was also solidly mounted, so it was a matter of waxing the two pipes and forming the putty between the two! It partially "wraps" around the two tubes and with the addition of the worm-drive clamp..... It's just what I wanted; a custom fit. The JB Weld is rated at 250-300 degrees, but I still decided to lay a buffer of steel between the muffler and putty, just to be on the safe side. The putty will be painted with the high temp. black paint.



As I mentioned before, the replica, antique leather seat needed a tremendous amount of work to want to stay in one place. All three axis had to be dealt with and additionally bolted, but I really like the seat so much..... I was willing to do whatever had to be done. Interesting that the seat (including the $20 seat post) cost as much as the bike itself! LOL It's funny how uncomfortable the seat looks, but it is surprisingly comfortable! Crazy design though..... Talk about a challenge to modify.



And last, but not least, I saved the most "foreign" task for one of the last jobs; the drive chain. When you think about it, I've spent a ton of time, during the last month and a ton of money, and today, for the first time, I drop the drive chain between the two sprockets (that are like the Rock of Gibraltar) and pray, they are inline!!! I would say, I was cautiously optimistic....... more caution than optimism! As difficult as everything else was on this project, I was pretty sure there would be a major issue or two that I would have to address...... but there wasn't! My goodness!! The chain went on, like the bike, engine, sprockets were all made for each other. (far from it) About 1/4" of clearance between the tire and chain! And, my chain-braking went well. It's as though the bike just decided to give me a break and cooperate 100% for this final, all important fit. Boy, was I grateful!

 

[KCvale]

Spiffy.
Looks ready to ride except the left side chain guard.

 

[PocketBiker]

Spiffy.
Looks ready to ride except the left side chain guard.

Ha.....ha............ Thank you Brother! It's always great to get a compliment from "the master" himself.

It's Monday morning.... I had every intention of starting my drive through Phoenix this morning, but my project in the garage held me hostage yesterday and I'm running very late to get out of here. I'll give you a call later.

In two weeks, it'll be "connection time." Gas line, fuel gauge tube, brakes, clutch cable, throttle cable and all electrical wiring. I already filled my tank "with water" the other day, to measure and mark the various levels at four quart intervals. The tank holds 18 cups. That's 1 gallon and 2 cups. At 100 MPG, that would be 112 miles on a tank. For fun, I put a red-line at the 1 cup level.... that takes me 6 miles. I'm smiling, because I really don't care that much if I run out of gas.... if I do.... I pedal to the nearest station. One of the benefits of a MB, right?

Jim

 

[PocketBiker]

Test Ride

Finished my bike Sunday at the stroke of midnight. The list of things to finish included a registration, re-dyed the brown leather seat and tool container BLACK, installed head and tail lights, a twelve volt 1.5 amp. car horn with a custom built 8-AA rechargeable battery holder (giving me the needed 12 V), analog old school speedometer (then removed), lengthened stock chain guard, ran and secured all brake and fuel lines,

Yesterday, was "bittersweet" as I was mixing the 20:1 fuel, my inspiration for building the bike, drove his car into my driveway to tell me, someone stole his chained-up motorbike. (Reinforces my support for the death penalty!) That was a huge heads-up for me! Well, I poured in only 16 oz. of the fuel. I could mark the low level next to my fuel-tube-sight-gauge. If there was going to be an engine problem, I would only have to drain one pint of fuel. So, I opened the valve and saw the fuel progress through the line; blue in the vitta fuel line, green in the filter.... and blue again. Hopped on the bike and started pedaling. It took about 4 tries with the clutch and China Girl fired up and I have to say, after reading about the roughness of the new engine, I was actually surprised how smoothly and quietly she ran. I was also a little surprised that there was little noticeable smoke.... (which I also expected from the rich mixture)

After the test ride



My fuel gauge. Shows 1 pint of fuel (in an 18 pint fuel tank) Time to head for a station (within 6 miles) BTW, the bike is on the center duel-stand and tilted onto the front wheel in this photo. There are actually three indicated fuel levels; When leaning backward, forward, and when both wheels are on the ground. As you see here, when the bike is tilted onto the front wheel, the fuel level is very deceptive.



The 12V car horn a la Roadrunner "Beep Beep" (It's as loud as any car horn with the small rechargeable 8-AA batteries seen mounted below.



I found out immediately, how important the tension is, as I had to scrub grease off of the white wall. With only 1/4" of space on both sides of the chain, tension is critical. I'm interested in changing the tensioner to a spring loaded version possibly mounted to two frame supports. Any advice for a good system would be greatly appreciated.

Well, I hope some of you have enjoyed my build.

Jim

 

[KCvale]

That is an awesome job bud, better looking than mine, a real showpiece, be proud ;-}

 

[PocketBiker]

That is an awesome job bud, better looking than mine, a real showpiece, be proud ;-}

Thanks KC. Nice of you to say that but I have a saying, "You can't compare the copy, to the original"! But thanks!

I did stick a couple of my own bells and whistles on her but your work gave me the confidence to tackle it.

I would like to install a light spring tensioner on the 410 chain and maybe a stronger spring tensioner on the 415 chain. Then, I think I'll be SET. I REALLY don't ever want to have to deal with a thrown chain. (if I can help it)

I was thinking that I could use the tensioner below with a standard bolt-on bracket for the 410 pedal side. What do you think? Do you know of a complete bracket for the pedal chain that you'd recommend? Jim

 

[Wolfshoes]

The bike really turned out nice. Early on, it seemed you wanted a low price bike; but ended up making a showpiece. Nice choice for headlight. It fits the antique look of the bike. As far as your tensioner question; I was waiting for a rider who would advocate using a spring loaded pulley type tensioner. They are sold, but I have not seen anyone say they thought it was superior. I was not happy with the ability of nylon pulley type tensioners in taking out the side sway of a 410 or 415 chain. The nylon pulley is too wide for the chain allowing the chain to slop from side to side and overall were a bigger problem then they were worth. I prefer sprocket type tensioner wheels, having experience with two types. One type was purchased from ebay and was probably made for tandem bicycles. This sprocket was steel and fit a 410 chain. This assembly did have bearings, but they were not sealed. I have since eliminated the tensioner from this build. Another bike uses 410 chain and a aluminum idler sprocket with sealed bearings, probably from Bikeberry. In making this sprocket, the computer must have been set to make a drive sprocket not a idler sprocket and the teeth engage the chain too aggressively. This sprocket works well if the teeth are rounded over by filing or grinding. A big pain in the a--.

I have my Schwinn Del Mar dressed up, but not as well as your bike. For exercise, I ride my motorbike to a Dairy Queen in a neighboring town. I have to pass through farm country and get past being chased by a good size farm dog. Good thing I have one of those racey 36 tooth rear sprockets. States with a 20 mph speed limit using 44 tooth rear sprockets must have dogs no bigger than a Chihuahua. The Dairy Queen is in a old storefront town on a main highway. Being three doors down from a biker bar, it makes for an interesting mix of roller skates, kids bikes and Harleys. A motorbike fits right in. Being next to a biker bar, you certainly would not want the bike to be underdressed. Perhaps that is what went wrong in Texas recently.

 

[PocketBiker]

The Tensioner

Hey Wolfshoes,

Thank you...... I was about to send you a PM as I was wondering what happened to you. Yes, in the beginning, my goal was to build a MB for around $350 (very basic) I soon realized, that I was becoming a bit passionate about the project, so I was constantly raising the "bar" for myself. (my new definition of a hobby.... you ignore the ever growing pile of receipts) It took a pretty healthy home shop; a lot of metal work and even quite a lot of woodworking (though, you don't see it) I am amazed, as I stand back and look at the bike, how "unaltered" it looks! It even looks to me, like the parts just arrived in the mail, and were "bolted on." Counting contemplation as well as the actual building, I know that I have well over 500 hours into it.


I'm waiting for a 1 3/8" dia. rubber wheel from Hong Kong which I am using for my DIY pedal chain tensioner. I'll show you a photo of it when finished. You're going to like it....... NOT A LOT......... but, you're going to like it! ha...ha........


The 415 tensioner is an interesting problem! I recall about 5 different solutions. Many of them can be seen at Custom Motorized Bicycles: http://custommotoredbicycles.com/pa..._chain_tensionerswhite_idler_wheel_415_chains

The basic kit tensioner seems fairly good (especially with the 4 bolts, instead of just two) but I was wondering if an improvement couldn't be found. There is a nice spring-loaded system sold on eBay that mounts to the drive sprocket case cover. Not pricy for the quality. I believe, because of the small amount of travel possible, it is best used in conjunction with the kit tensioner and used to take up the remaining amount of slack. Then, there are versions with a spring loaded lever (like a spring loaded teeter-totter) mounted to the chain stay, but they look a bit "underwhelming" to me....... I thought, I would really like to find a very simple, strong, positive, single spring-loaded arrangement. I came upon this photo. I don't know who's bike this is, but I think it is possibly the best spring-loaded solution I've seen. Look how simple, and the spring encourages the bracket to stay straight.




Loved the story of your ride to the Dairy Queen/Biker Bar! If all of those bikers in Texas rode our MBs, there would have been no fight!


Jim

 

[Wolfshoes]

This is a tensioner design I was looking at briefly last winter. I have since been working on a system that eliminates the tensioner.



This tensioner uses the steel idler sprocket mentioned earlier. The assembly moves up and down at the side of the wheel, not into it. Therefore, it can not fall into the spokes and does not connect to the frame directly so the paint is not even scratched. To adjust tension just reach down and give it a tug. If the hillbilly appearance is faithfully maintained; it may also keep away pesky women and their expensive alimonie.

 

[butre]

on that particular bike you could completely omit the tensioner by using a half link