Building a mini from scratch

[Backyard Builder]

Today I made a bracket to hold the brake caliper. It has slots to ajust its position in both directions. Next time I'll install the return spring and the cable. The disc will also be straigthened on a surface grinder.

To be continued :hammer:

 

[Qucifer]

Nice work, you are a very innovative builder. You should consider engineering as a career.

 

[Backyard Builder]

You should consider engineering as a career.

I did, in fact!

But it was just not for me. I quickly realized that sitting behind a computer screen all day would drive me crazy.

I am now an industrial maintenance student and I couldn't be any happier. I am doing a little bit of everything (mechanical and electrical stuff, hydraulics, pneumatics, welding, machining, programming), which is what I enjoy the most.

 

[Backyard Builder]

Houston, we have a brake!

Well, almost. I still need to change the plastic brake lever with a metal one.

Somebody sent me a pm to ask for some pictures of my seat, so here they are:

 

[offroadwhatever8]

Wow man, that is awsome. You put alot of effort into it thats for sure. Good work :thumbsup:

 

[Backyard Builder]

I have a lot of new pics this time!

First, I plugged every unnecessary holes in the frame and cleaned all the welds.

Then, I applied a coat of Tremclad red oxide primer on everything. I changed my mind on the color. This mini just NEEDS to be red :smile: The secondary color will be beige. I think it will look great.

To be continued :hammer:

 

[Austin T]

FINally it has a coat of paint!!! (even though its primer)

 

[Backyard Builder]

FINally it has a coat of paint!!! (even though its primer)

Yeah, its funny how these projects always seem to take forever to complete!

The frame and forks are now done. It will take couple of days to paint all the other parts because Tremclad paint takes about a million years to dry ( it's bombproof though). The color is not as white as it seems, probably because of the flash

 

[Backyard Builder]

Hi guys!

This should give you a pretty good idea of what the finished product will look like. What do you think?

 

[delray]

looks good Backyard Builder, i like the belt set-up...........:thumbsup:

 

[dave dickson]

Kind of takes me back to the younger years of mini bikes, bares a strong resemblance to some of those old military bikes or the early factory scooters, like the cushmans, looks great with color, good job and have fun!
dave

 

[Backyard Builder]

Here its is, finally: the finished product!

Thanks for your interest and support everyone! I'll probably have a new project this summer... the multi-speed belt drive :smile:

 

[milo]

a work of art !

 

[Hent]

very cool.

glad to see you got it finished.

 

[Oldsalt]

Love that drive system...Have you tried it out .....I wanta know how it went. Also the throttle system is Cool. When you get time post some more sketches of a multi-speed belt system!

 

[hayden]

hows it ride?

 

[Backyard Builder]

hows it ride?

Everything works fine. The clutch works well and the brake is powerful enough to lock the wheel.

It's as slow as a bulldozer though :smile:

 

[x-90 rider]

Looks good, it is always fun to start with nothing, get creative, and end up with a new toy. :thumbsup:

 

[TheRedNova]

Great Job on the mini! Its a work of art! Question, What are your brake pads made out of? The look to be peices of metal??

TRN

 

[Backyard Builder]

Thanks guys :smile:

The brake pads are made out of aluminium. The disc is a piece of 1/4 mild steel straightened on a surface grinder.