homemade suspension fork

M

Mr X

New Member
#1
#1
well i took the dooglebug out for a 2 hour offroad ride today and it was pretty much terrible. i knew it would be but didnt think it would be that bad. i ran 20 psi in the tires though for most of the ride and after letting out alot of the air although steering felt heavy and weird it was softer to ride. so i got home and decided to make a suspension fork for it. i got a bicycle fork and was planning to scratch build a new fork and keep the original fork intact but i got too lazy and didnt have steel so i modded the stock fork and stuck some suspension legs on and welded it all together. it works pretty well and with the tires full of air and the bike steering well too.

the engine has a header, 8 degree advanced timing and a gx160 head. soon to come is a 90 size jet, gx140 emulsion tube and a high flow filter because i want more power.

another thing im planning to do to the frame is move the foot pegs behind the engine plate so its alittle more comfortable to ride and so if i ride through something rough i can stand up and soak up the bump.

now for pictures, here is what it loked like when i got it, i was planning on keeping it stock and just riding it around but that didnt last long.


and here is some build pics of the fork and the bike overall. it has the honda gas tank because the cap seals better. and im going to paint all the grinded metal after i finish modding the frame. also there is an extension added to the rear fender because its not long enough and when you ride through water it goes all over my back.






 
S

supernova

Banned
#2
#2
Nice work! I made some from a set of old Arco lowers and have yet to try them out, but they wont be as smooth as those mountain bike units! I'm not done yet because I'm lazy but here they are so far....
 
jeep2003

jeep2003

#5
#5
looks real good. dont feel bad to bad about butchering the forks i believe new ones are wikid cheap. I wondered about welding on bike forks i kinda thought they might be pressurized, I guess you didnt have any problems with that?
 
M

Mr X

New Member
#7
#7


here is the foot pegs mounted alittle further back. i havent been able to try it out yet because its too late to ride but sitting on it, it already feels better and i can stand up if i need to. and i can lean the bike alot before the pegs touch so i think it will work really good.

as for the muffler, thanks. i cut the stock muffler apart and took the flange out and made the hole big and d shaped. then got some fork from a tricycle that's 7/8 inner diameter and welded it on. then got one of those sausage mufflers and cut the threaded part completely off and took the rest out so its 7/8 holes at both ends. and then welded it on. the heat shield i had from some other random muffler i found in my garage and decided to put it on because i burned my leg by accident once kinda badly.

as for the fork being pressurized i dont know what you mean. but just alittle advice, clean the stock paint off very well before welding. i couldnt weld at all even if there was alittle paint on there.
 
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M

Mr X

New Member
#8
#8
supernova said:
Nice work! I made some from a set of old Arco lowers and have yet to try them out, but they wont be as smooth as those mountain bike units! I'm not done yet because I'm lazy but here they are so far....
Click to expand...
looks pretty nice, nicer then mine i think. but i always wondered do the old minibike forks just slide steel on steel? so once they wear out they are garbage? or is there some sort of replaceable bushings in there?
 
S

supernova

Banned
#10
#10
Mr X said:
looks pretty nice, nicer then mine i think. but i always wondered do the old minibike forks just slide steel on steel? so once they wear out they are garbage? or is there some sort of replaceable bushings in there?
Click to expand...
Yes these do, I'm gonna powdercoat mine chrome but to adress the metal to metal issue I'm gonna keep axle grease in the lowers to minimize wear, and there will be no PC on the slide part. They lasted 40 years on the Arco forks so there's no reason to think they wont last 40 more! I think yours look great BTW!:thumbsup:
 
S

supernova

Banned
#13
#13
Mr X said:
i dont mind it at all if i can stand up, i used to ride downhill mountain bikes and alot of bmx so it shouldnt be too bad now.
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Yeah and it's better than taking a beating with the rigid forks, some suspension is better than none. I'm gonna out a springer type seat on my blue DB and along with the spring forks I am building it should ride great by comparison. I'm tired of the rigid frame minibikes ride quaility but love to ride them anyway my next minibike purchase will hopefully be a swingarm minibike with decent fork springs as well! I cant wait to finish the forks and get the seat and install it!
 
M

Mr X

New Member
#14
#14



here it is with the fork and the rest of th stuff i grinded down painted. i know the fork looked better in black but i didnt have any black paint and i spent alot of time trying to find the same paint as the doodle bug. apparently you cant just go to a store and buy red paint anymore. the paint that the doodlebug uses is called safety red.

the bike is safe for now from more cutting and welding but i do have plans for it in the near future. i will post the crazy update hopefully before next week ends.
 
M

Mr X

New Member
#16
#16
nope the fork is from a crappy walmart bike well the legs are, the rest is just the stock doodlebug fork. so its a spring with some plastic bushings inside. i sealed it so if it brakes i would have to make a whole new fork which is ok because i think it will last for a while and if it doesnt i will just make a new one. i assemble bicycles at canadian tire and i can have anything i want from bikes that are written off due to manufacturers defect and there is alot of them
 
jeep2003

jeep2003

#17
#17
looks great! Thats what i meant about them being pressurized. Alot of shocks are oil filled for dampening and some are even pressurized so if you weld on them they can explode. But i guess thats not the case here. Just be mindfull of it in the future :smile:
 
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