Fat Tony157's - Wards/Gilson - (Vintage Open)

#61
Wow, nice! Check out that ground clearance. I love the stance :thumbsup:
yea.. it sits way higher than I had planned... The more I put it together, the more silly it looks. I'm not really liking how it is turning out, but I guess I can always change things later.

I took it for the first ride today. No brakes, controlling the throttle down on the engine, no seat, etc lol. I just wanted to make sure the jackshaft and and torque converter work okay together. I quickly realized I had the sprockets backwards on the jackshaft. Once I swap them, it will be a 6.1 gear ratio. With how it is now, it's at 3.1. Woops! Other than that, it rode pretty well.

The front is sitting higher than the rear right now. The shock tubes are hitting the handle bars so I can't lower the front anymore. I have some risers for the handle bars that should let me drop the front another 1-1.5inches.

 
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#63
I don't think it looks bad at all. It will make a super comfy cruiser. I would ride it. Bet it will handle awesome. Once it is all done you will change your mind, hopefully.
 
#65
Nice job---just wondering if you need to rig up a chain tensioner for the drive chain. That's a long centerline between jackshaft and axle.
Thank you sir. I set the chain tension and then cycled the suspension and the chain tension never changed. We'll see if it gets worse as I ride it but so far so good.

Monday I spent half the day finishing up all of the frame modifications, then dropped it off over at my local powder coater. It should be ready for pick up this afternoon. Can't wait to see it!
 
#66
Well, t took a whole lot longer than I was promised, and it's a bit darker than I wanted.. But overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It's a dark grey with some metal flake in it, but I catch some green in the right light. It should look nice once I have it out in the sun. Now it's time for me to scrambled and get it done!





 
#68
Well it looks like I might make it after all! I've put in a ton of hours and it's starting to pay off. I got it to the point of being able to ride it, but there is still a decent list of stuff to do. I rode it with just the rear brake, and still running the throttle by hand. This mini bike is rowdy as hell!! It tries to buck me off the back every time I goose it. Can't wait to take it on a decent cruise.

I also built a custom muffler for it. I plan to ride this through my neighborhood quite a bit so I needed it silent. I took two sausage mufflers, cut the threads off of one, then welded them end to end. I wrapped the assembly in fiberglass mat so I didn't rattle, then slid it into a 2.5in stainless pipe. Welded a cap on one end, and put a tip from a pocket bike on the other. I would say the sound is about as loud as a stock predator muffler, but the flow should be much better. I'm going to make a mount for it at some point. Seems to be okay for now. I didn't take too many pictures of the process. If you want to know more about it just ask.

To do:
Hand throttle
Front brake
Seat (still in the mail)
Foot pegs
Torque converter cover

I'll be out of town all weekend, but I should be able to get a video together before next weds.







 
#69
Nice job on the muffler! I look forward to hearing your video sound track. I don't suppose you just happened to have some cherry stainless 2.5 inch pipe laying around, as well as the cap that fits so nicely, but then every once in awhile the stars do align.
 
#71
Nice job on the muffler! I look forward to hearing your video sound track. I don't suppose you just happened to have some cherry stainless 2.5 inch pipe laying around, as well as the cap that fits so nicely, but then every once in awhile the stars do align.
This was the only piece of straight 2.5" stainless I had laying around. The aluminized stuff they sell at autozone should work alright, it just won't be as shiny. For the end cap, I just traced the pipe onto a piece of sheet metal then cut it out with an angle grinder. The cap on the end fit by pure chance. It was just something I had laying around that I had been meaning to throw away but never did. Now I know why!

Good stuff Brother , I like it a lot :thumbsup:
Thank you sir. I'm out of my league in this build-off, but at least i'm finally getting this thing built!
 
#72
Yeah Tony, I have to agree with the others, good job on that exhaust. It looks like you're working a way out to support it as well, to prevent the studs from working the aluminum threads on the head. Whole bike is coming along great.
 
#74
Thanks guys!

Well, I barely made it. She is officially done! Thank you guys for putting on this build-off. There is no way I would have had the motivation to finish this mini bike without signing up for this build-off. I'm looking forward to next years!

The only thing I have left to do is make a mount for the muffler. I won't be riding it much until that is done. The few times I have ridden it though, this thing is an absolute riot. It has tons of power, but doesn't lift the front end because of the long swing arm. The big disc brake in the front, and drum out back stops this thing like I am dropping an anchor. It rides exactly how I hoped it would.

[video=youtube_share;uuhq101N138]https://youtu.be/uuhq101N138[/video]









 
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#78
Wow! That thing looks sweet! I just started mine with a Gilson frame, stock 10" wheels and a Predator 212. I'm currently pondering how to set it up with a 30 Series Comet but I noticed the clearance issue with the jackshaft. This thread has given me some ideas and a little more hope. :punk:

I'm curious if you've weighed it since you've completed it. I wanna say stock-they were 140 lbs... I'm guessing yours is up around 175...
 
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