XR-75/Staton NuVinci Build

She's a beauty Jakesus but I think a bike without mudguards looks like a house with no chimney. Take a look at the TransAlp range of spunky mudguards for MTBs. I think you might do wheelies on that bike!
It's an all time great project and worthy of the MBc Hall of Fame.

Actually I just put in an order for some nice front and rear mudguards. I'll have to customize the rear one to integrate with the rack but it should work well.
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=5997&subcategory_ID=6700
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=17606&subcategory_ID=6700

I also ordered some Ergon GP1-L Grips to give me a more comfy ride and better control at the bars. http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=20412&subcategory_ID=5251

Thanks for the good words... This things probably never going to be "done" for as long as I own it so i'll always be posting more pics. I hope to do some vids eventually too.

I did some work on my bike during my days off this week and got to take some great high res shots on the grass of my pride and joy.
I got the mudguards installed, dual LED running headlights to increase my visibility day and night, installed my new ergo grips. I also remade my bracket to hold my battery/electronics bag to include a cargo hook (holds a gas can or whatever else) license plate mount and taillight mount. I also reworked my electrical system in order to give me more cargo space in the bag and so it would be more easily expandable for whatever electronic accessories I may want to add in the future.
Still need to install my plate light, modify the dual LED hedlamps by adding 2 more led's per lamp and run them wired to the SLA. Just waiting on the LED's to ship to me for both of these projects. I've been lazy on wiring up and mounting the 12vDC horn. I have one that works great I've just been lazy on this front. Otherwise she's looking and running great.

The bagfull picture actually shows my toolkit which I made out of an old pair of my cargo pants simply by cutting off the 3 pouched cargo leg pocket and stuffing with tools and other essential goodies, below that I have a bike repair kit and multi tool... and another rag made from the same pair of pants.

That is an incredibly nece bike Sir jakesus and beautifully built. The hard yards have paid you back well. You mentioned handlebars earlier on - you could maybe put an adjustable stem on like the one in the picture below but that only gives a bit of travel and I still used high rise bars.
I am intrigued to know the following about your bike:
Why is the drive chain on the right? Must all NV hubs be driven from that side?
Is the hub geared like say a seven speed hub? If it is geared can you use those gears from the drive sprocket to drive the bike. Where is this gearbox you talk about? Is the gearbox made by Staton?
I'd love specific answers and I also want to congratulate you on the build - you have changed my opinion about rack mounted engines. I could probably put one on my Schwinn tandem. What motors can you use with this Staon NV kit?

Just wanted to say... Nice license plate, Sirjakesus!!

Irish John said:

Why is the drive chain on the right? Must all NV hubs be driven from that side?

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Yes. The dual freewheels are both on the right side. Hence, the gearbox is needed to change the direction of the driveshaft. At least, that's how I'm understanding it.

Irish John said:

Is the hub geared like say a seven speed hub? If it is geared can you use those gears from the drive sprocket to drive the bike.

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The hub is actually not geared. It's got two "bearings" that change the input/output ratio as seen in this video.

Irish John said:

Where is this gearbox you talk about? Is the gearbox made by Staton?

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His is black... it's between the engine & his new bag. You can see more pictures of it on Staton's site. I dunno if they make it, but they definitely sell it with the NuVinci kits... there's a few of 'em.

Irish John said:

What motors can you use with this Staon NV kit?

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Good question. Staton sells the NuVinci kits with the TLE43 & GXH50... which are prolly the best engines for motored bikes at this time it seems.

I was thinking about an adjustable stem or at least just a longer one so I could raise the bars up higher but they're actually not bad right now. I've been riding MTBs my whole life so I'm used to a bit of a forward position while riding, it doesn't make me sore and it functions really well for when you need lots of weight over the front wheel for stability or just getting down low on the bars to cut wind resistance.
As for your Q's. Yes the NuVinci drives from the right as it was originally made to just replace normal bicycle gearing. Everything is freewheeling on the kit though so theres no drag from the engine while pedaling or coasting. It's internally geared kind of like those old 3 speed hubs only you have a much wider range of gear ratios and its continuously variable so you're not stuck with a set of fixed gears. The gearbox is made by staton, it's sandwiched between the engine and my battery bag. If you follow the mounting hardware up from the bike it connects to the gearbox. The gearbox is the central part of the staton kit and basically just acts as a gear reduction of 18:1 so you don't have to use a tiny sprocket on the engine side and a massive one on the wheel like the GEBE system. The gearbox is a bit heavy but I know it's made to last a lifetime and when compared to the hardware used in production mopeds it's still lightweight. Quality, pure quality. As for motors you can use any engine with a 76mm clutch. I've seen them use Honda GXH50 (with 78mm clutch adapter), GXH35 Mitsubishi TLE43, TLE33 Robin Subaru EHO35,EHO25 and Tanka 33 through 47r.
Like many members of this forum I thought the frame mounted engines were the best way to go since they keep the weight very centered on the bike and were very inexpensive. Over the years though I saw their many limitations. Limitations on the frame, brake systems, wheel systems, tire sizes and the general quality limitation sent me in another direction. The staton nv setup may be expensive but it's the most versatile and durable kit on the market. Got a full suspension frame, no problem. Dual disc brakes? CAN DO! Need a new chain? Just check out any place that sells bike parts. Engine died? you're not dependent on ordering subpar parts from china anymore and the best thing is that if I ever want to upgrade my bike in the future the whole system will be a cinch to unbolt and put on another bicycle. These things are worth it, even if you have to pinch your pennies for awhile longer invest in the best and have a great system for the long run.

I photoshopped the plate just in case there are some stalker lunatics out there Hoping to do some videos soon, have been experimenting on attaching my micro tripod onto my handlebars... so stay tuned!

That was a brilliant answer Sir Jakesus. Thankyou. I think you've sold me on the rig - especially because of the quality but where do my panier bags go with my wet weather gear and tools and my grocery shopping? I'll need a front rack for them I guess. I want one like yours but dual suspension and double dics and wipers on my spectacles!

Theres plenty of space to mount cargo on the rear rack. When I got the kit the whole left side of the Staton rack was unused so thats where I balanced the system out by putting my electrical system and storage (see earlier pics in this thread). You could even mount cargo underneath the engine without a problem. Keep the panniers for one of your frame mounted motoredbikes and rig something else up on the Staton bike. My whole rack used to hold the bag, jerry can, taillight and license plate were made from a single 4ft length of 3/4in wide x 1/8in thick x 4ft long piece of aluminum stock I bought from Lowes. I bent, drilled, riveted and painted it into the final bracket you see in the pictures. I did it all with a vise, bench grinder, dremmel and drill. It was a bit time consuming to get everything bent just right and to get all the sharp edges ground down and rounded out. Its tough though and should hold anything I would dare to stow as cargo. The weight of the battery and cargo rack even out the balance of the bike left to right very well, with engine only hanging off the rack it's obviously a bit heavier on the right. The extra weight on the back of the bike makes it really easy to swivel the bike 180* by holding the rear brake and pulling back on the handlebars, obviously while off the bike. Works well for turning around in the garage.

Newest update, I have my HORN installed perfectly to my liking. This sucker is LOUD at 105db. She sounds like a car or motorcycle no lie. Great for making your presence known to the cagers but I find its just fun and safer to give a few quick chirps to people waving at me rather than taking my hand off the grips to wave. This sucker only cost me 20 bux for horn, button and connectors and was easily wired to my electrical system. You guys gotta get one of these I was laughing my arse off when I first heard how loud it is.

Video tour of my bike. Action video as soon as I come up with a good mount for my camera. Also posted on MBc tube.

I hope you enjoy my gameshow announcer voice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIkSZIrcQ8U