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The Project Bike The Project Starts
There are as many reasons for building a bike as
there are people on the face of the planet. A custom-built bike is an
individual artistic expression, whether it’s put together with old used
parts or the latest and greatest bolt-on parts or parts that you fabricate
with your own hands.
While there are some self-righteous folks out
there who look down on people who ‘bolt together’ a bike from over the
counter parts I’m not that much of a fanatic and believe that any bike
assembled and or fabricated in any manner is a ‘built’ bike and in my
opinion still a ‘custom’ bike.
Cliff Vaughs, one of the first noted bike builders
from the early sixties was once quoted as saying that:
“A Chopper is the final romantic
expression left in this country. The cycle is the one thing you can build
from nothing, just a basket case, and make into something very beautiful,
and really put yourself into it.”
No truer words have ever been spoken.
This little article will be about putting together
a bike much like 90% of other people do and that’s by starting out with a
stock or manufactured frame. In this case we’re going to be using a Paughco
S139B Big Twin rigid frame with a 40-degree rake in the neck. This is a
popular frame used as a foundation by many custom builders and at most bike
shows you’ll see scores of rides using this particular frame. The nice thing
about this frame is that it has no ‘up or out’ stretch so it makes for a
well-proportioned ride no matter what ‘style’ it ends up being.
Speaking of ‘styles’, I’ve never held to the idea
that bikes have to fall into various categories or classifications and when
I hear people on discussion boards talking about various ‘styles’ of bikes
my eyes start to glaze over. My personal opinion is that bikes shouldn’t be
fashion statements but starting around 2012 the Yuppies, Hipsters and
Fashionistas began to adopt bikes as part of their ‘lifestyle fashion
ensemble’. If you’re in that brigade you probably won’t learn anything from
reading any further.
On the other hand, most of the material in this
article will be about what I call the ‘behind the scenes’ type of stuff
that’s dirty, boring and knuckle busting, but necessary to do. It’s seldom
shown in build videos or TV shows so it might be interesting reading.
Parts
Parts for the project will consist of stuff I’ve
scrounged at swap meets, parts from old rides, stuff left over from prior
projects, new stuff, things friends have given me and some handmade bits and
pieces.
Many people, myself included, feel like the glory
years for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle were between 1936 and 1984. After
84 with the introduction of the Evo motor the Big Twin became just another
typical road bike with nothing much to differentiate it from the imports.
For most serious chopper builders, the late model
bikes are not good source material and if you want to do your own wrenching
using the early model parts, components, motors and transmissions is the way
to go. Not only will you save money but you’ll have a ride you can build
without too many specialized tools.
As we go forward with this build-up keep in mind
that we’ll be using pre-84 parts, some factory original and others will be
aftermarket reproductions or replacements.
With respect to buying parts I personally think
that swap meets are the best source since you can see and feel what you’re
buying. I hate to buy anything I can’t personally inspect, even new parts.
The down side to swap meet shopping is more likely
than not the guy selling the parts has no idea what make and model of bike
the parts came from or how they were used in the past. Every now and then
however you’ll run into guys who are basically professional swap meet
sellers and also extremely knowledgeable about the stuff they peddle. It’s
amazing what some of these guys know and a lot of them will back their parts
if you have a problem.
Regardless of how you acquire the parts you still
need some basic knowledge about the various bikes you’ll want parts from.
There is no need buying parts from an old drum brake foot clutch bike if
you’re going to be building something using disc brakes and a foot shifter
for a simple example.
Beware of buying cheap parts just because they’re
a bargain. In the long run you’ll regret doing so everyday that you ride the
bike. It’s a far better idea to buy high quality used parts, even if they’re
well used and look like crap so long as they’re serviceable. You can upgrade
later as funds permit. In fact, there is very little you can do to a bike
that can’t be changed in the future.
Most of the riders I know have had their ride or
rides for well over ten years and in many cases well over 40-years and these
bikes go through numerous design and mechanical changes over time while the
basics remain the same. Kind of like having your favorite chair
reupholstered.
Manuals
Building a bike of any kind without factory Shop
and Parts manuals on hand is just plain crazy, especially since most can be
downloaded for free from the web. I refer to the Parts manuals all the time
and find that in many respects they are more helpful than the service
manuals. Almost anything you can imagine can be found at the Carl Salter
site (carlsalter.com).
Build Sequence
There really isn’t such a thing as a ‘build
sequence’ unless you’re on T.V. and shooting from a script or are wealthy
and already have the vast majority of your parts on hand and that’s a rare
thing. For most of us the ‘sequence’ is dictated by what parts we have at
any given point in time.
When I built my first bike, I was flat broke but I
had enough cash to buy an old swingarm ex-police bike frame. Over the course
of two months I managed to scrape up enough bread to build a hardtail for
it. A month later a little more bread could be coughed up to buy a broken
WLA springer which I extended using Ford Radius rods I already had on hand.
It was another six-months or so before I could afford some beat up rims but
I kept working on the ‘tire-less’ bike one part at a time and so it went for
about two years before I had a running ride.
So, I guess what I’m saying is to do whatever work you can when you
have a part available even if the sequence seems disorganized.
I have a kind of half-assed approach to most
projects that you could call a ‘sequence’ but to me it’s just a ‘routine’
and really doesn’t have anything to do with organization. I usually start
with getting the frame prepped and then scrounge up a rear wheel and tire,
even if it’s a Junker just so I have something to mount during the other
work that follows. I guess you could say that I start at the back and work
towards the front. Next comes the rear fender then the oil tank followed by
the tranny and remote oil filter if I’m using one.
I always run chain final drives so a sprocket
comes next and a brake rotor if I happen to have one on hand. I know that
the tranny and motor mounts are aligned, which we’ll talk about later so I
can center the rear wheel and fit the rear fender and build a sissy bar if I
feel like it at this stage of the work. With the exception of the chain
guard and rear brake caliper that kind of finishes up the back half. I
typically skip the motor, saving that till last but I do like to get the
kick stand, front forks and front wheel installed next. With the addition of
some spare bars you’ll now have a roller and can actually start to design
the bike.
The Design
Before starting it’s also a good idea to have some
rough idea as to what you envision the bike looking like once it’s finished.
Notice I said ‘rough’ because your design idea will probably evolve over
time as you start building the thing. Sometimes the parts will dictate large
portions of the design and sometimes you’ll have almost total control. A
simple change in gas tank for instance can sometimes completely change the
look of the entire project and lead you in a different direction than you
thought you wanted to go. Stay flexible.
A long-Haul bike is a way different beast than a
Bar-Hopper so try to define your objectives for building the bike in the
first place with respect to functionality.
To be honest when I started this project, I had no
design concept in mind. I’ve had the frame sitting in storage for over five
years and then one day I just decided to see what I could make. We’ll see
later what we end up with. It may be something like I usually build or
something completely different.
Ed Roth taught me over fifty years ago that you
can’t really ‘see’ what a project looks like while you’re working on it up
close and personal. You have to step back, 10 or even 20- feet away and walk
all around the bike looking at it from different angles and perspectives.
If you’re starting with a bare frame then scrounge
up a rear wheel and tire. Block the frame up on cribbing and run a broom
stick down the steering neck pull up a chair, grab a beer and just look at
the thing from a distance. It’s during these moments that your mind becomes
creative, not when you’re thinking about the details. Absolutely don’t let
friends influence your decisions about anything. In a like manner don’t give
to much credence to things you read on the discussion boards. There is good
sound advice being given on the boards by experienced builders but
unfortunately there is also a ton of crap being pushed out there by idiots
and sometimes it’s hard to separate the good from the bad.
We’ll be talking about some things in this article
that are almost never mentioned in the various chopper books or magazines
and never brought up at the discussion boards so hopefully every reader will
learn something new.
Paper Work
No matter what state you live in it’s a good idea
to start up an accordion file folder and start saving every single receipt
for every part you buy no matter how insignificant. Make sure you get a bill
of sale for the larger serialized parts like frames, motors and
transmissions. If you buy parts from overseas save the NAFTA papers that
come with them.
If you’re working with a titled motor or frame and
it’s not already in your name get it transferred immediately. Use a title
service if necessary. Don’t wait until the bikes finished. Remember that as
of 1970 and on up the titles on Harley’s go with the frame and not the
motor. Any frame you’re working with (unless older than 69) needs a real VIN
number on them and not just a maker’s serial number.
Some DMV’s will ask you to present all receipts
for anything costing more than $50 so if you don’t have paperwork on your
handlebars, as an extreme example, it might hold up your registration.
Another legal issue you might face is having to
temporarily rig up turn signals, a ‘conforming’ taillight, a horn and
emission carb, maybe even a ‘muffler’, to get past inspection.
Every state is different and even within a single
state DMV offices vary significantly in their ‘enforcement’ of title and
registration law so it might pay to ask around shops and find out where the
‘best’ offices are located.
I was sent away from the Carson City DMV twice but
on the third trip I happened to hit upon a clerk who looked at the very same
paper work that had been previously rejected and he accepted everything
without question while muttering something about stupid co-workers under his
breath.
If at all possible, try to get ‘antique’
motorcycle tags for your bike. In most states this is possible for anything
that’s over twenty-five years old (based on the VIN).
Along with legal and financial paperwork I also
save the ‘labels’ that come from the packaging of parts I purchase from
retail outlets. These labels usually list the supplier or manufacturers
business name, their unique part number and the OEM part number. Sometimes
‘fitment’ info is listed as well. These come in handy when you’re trying to
remember what parts you’ve had success with in the past and what parts
you’ll never buy again.
Power Plant
A lot of people I know start a project by buying a
motor which to my way of thinking is the last thing you want to do but
regardless of when you decide to shell out the cash for motive power keep in
mind that motors can have long term ramifications that you’ll have to live
with and first cost actually ranks pretty low on the score card.
Evo’s are relatively cheap nowadays but if you
wrench on your own ride, you’ll find that they require a lot of specialized
tools. Evo’s don’t look ‘cool’. No two ways around it. The motor is the
central visual element of a bike and while they’re basically just a
fundamental mechanical object how they ‘look’ matters when it comes to
resale time or show status. Someday, perhaps in the not to distant future,
old Shovels will be worth what Knucks are today.
High on the motor score card is ‘how easy’ the
motor can be maintained, overhauled, modified and repaired. Almost all
builders will tell you that in these respects the old Shovelhead is still
king. That’s why you can still buy a ‘new’ Shovel today from several makers
and most of the problems that plagued old Shovels have been corrected by
after-market part manufacturers. Just something to keep in mind as you’re
shopping.
Along with the motor another big ticket item will
be the transmission and you’ll read all kinds of stuff about how it’s
absolutely imperative that you have a whiz-bang five or six-speed under your
butt but the money you save by running a four-speed will go a long way
towards buying some rims. Remember, everything can be upgraded down the
line.
Do you really need an electric start bike? If you
do then you’ll be spending even more money, adding on a significant amount
of extra weight and creating a complex electrical system. Give it serious
thought.
This article was originally prepared in several
different ‘sections’ to be posted as separate articles on the web site so as
you read through each section you’ll find some material that is repetitive
but I decided to leave them as they are since some readers will no doubt
skip some sections.
For now, we’re just going to concentrate on
preparing the frame since that’s the foundation for the project. |
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