Utility Bike from Scratch

#1
Im building a Utility bike from scratch using a 5hp honda gc160 and torque converter. The tubing is all 1.25" mostly from a couple pressure washer frames. The frame will be rather intresting. The giant swingarm will hold the engine and everything and there will be a tray above the back wheel to haul stuff with. The front half will pivot at the heels and thats what will give it suspension. its geared nice and low at about 14.5 :1 with a 21" tire. I have the same setup on a gokart so I know itll work well for this bike.





 
#2
Once again, another cool rideable creation emerges from your imagination Jeep.

And the way you see uses for things most would not even think of.....Wow !! :thumbsup:
 
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#4
Thanks there was definately no planning on this bike. I was just looking at my scrap pile one day and it popped into my head. Its alot of fab work but fairly simple design. I like working with these big tubes
 
#5
interesting..can't wait to see it finished...made me think ..have you ever thought of building a Nacho Libre cargo bike?..those are cool..maybe a beefier version
 
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#6
Looks like you are going with a band brake on the back of the driven. Any close ups of how the drum attaches or brackets? I know using torque converters and having brakes on the fat tire bikes can be tough to figure out sometimes.
 
#7
interesting..can't wait to see it finished...made me think ..have you ever thought of building a Nacho Libre cargo bike?..those are cool..maybe a beefier version
well maybe someday. but a trike takes up alot of shed space and if its going to haul people in front it has to be able to climb the big hill on my property and with all the weight on the front it probrobly wouldnt work so well. but that would look cool nice and low with fat tires
 
#8
Looks like you are going with a band brake on the back of the driven. Any close ups of how the drum attaches or brackets? I know using torque converters and having brakes on the fat tire bikes can be tough to figure out sometimes.
yes I took the clip off and welded on a big washer with 3 studs that the drum bolts to. I thought i might have to make a new shaft but its not 5/8 all the way though on these chinese tavs. I didnt take measurements but its stepped up probrobly for metric bearings. So I had the idea to just weld the washer on the end i think it should work well. I havnt yet made the mount for the band. I was looking at how they made the bracket for the front band on super broncs I might make one like that if its not too difficult. I was going to put a big band on the back wheel but then id have to bolt the wheel and sprocket and band all to the axle and that would be a mess. with this setup i just welded the sprocket to the hub and now the axle will float freely. much easier to service
 
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#11
I made the front part it only took 3 times to make the seat mount lol. first time the seat mount was too high so i cut it lower like 1 1/2" but then decided i didnt like the curve it just didnt match the rest of the bends so i made it with sharper bends and straights to better match the rest of the bike. Then i got the shocks mounted and made up the steering neck part now im working on the top tubes






 
#12
There you go Jeep...

I kept wondering 'how is he going to keep this long swingarm half of the frame, from folding in half' ...:laugh:

I could not visualize how you were attaching the shocks...now I see...that is so cool man.

Keep up the good work....:thumbsup:
 
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#13
Yup I guess it should work lol. I have 2 pairs of shocks the yellow pair on it are fairly soft. I have a stiffer pair the same length if it needs it
 
#15
yeah this ones a beast its going to be like 7ft long. I got the top bars on and the tank mount done today. Im not sure what ill do next maybe finish the upper shock bracket and start on the rear rack. Or maybe do the forks because theyre fairly simple. But I dont know how im going to do the front suspension yet so I should probrobly hold off until i get something figured out
 
#16
My 2 cents (so its worthless) but with the rear suspension pivot so far forward I don't think you will need or notice any suspension on the front forks. It will more or less act like both front and rear suspension.
 
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#17
I know what youre saying i also thought about that but I think youll still get alot of jolting through the handlebars expecially with the relatively stiff front tire. And with the rider weight more forward I think itll help quite a bit with front suspension. The more the merrier i figure. I think itll be alot easier on the bike and less likely to bend the forks. The trails I ride have alot of roots and I dont need to dodge them so much with a good front suspension. I think im going to use a thumb throttle from a kawasaki klt trike iv been kicking around
 
#18
Iv gotten alot done. Top bars and tank mount, seat base and mounts, floor board and mounts, finished the rear shock upper mount. I built the triple trees today and got the fork bars welded in. I kicked around a 2 or 3 suspension designs and ended up going with bicycle forks. They are a little softer than i would have liked im not sure if they are going to be bottoming out alot but im going to find out. I want to make the back tray out of conduit because itll be alot easier than welding a bunch of bent pieces together into the shape i want. But I tried bending all the pieces i have and they just kinked because they are rusty inside. So im going to pick up a couple new pieces and hopefully itll turn out the way i want.






 
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#20
Thanks OND its going very well! Today i got the forks done I think the bicycle shocks will work quite well they are stiffer than i thought when sitting on the bike i cant even get them to bounce. Im sure they will when running into stuff riding it but theyre definatly not too soft. I added some springs over top of the shafts just for looks because the boots were ripped up. Theyre too soft to do anything usefull. I ended up bolting on the handlebars. No particular reason for that I just thought it would add a little something. Plus if somebody wants to store it against a wall or something they can take them off and itll tuck in nicer. I also got some new conduit and started on the basket. Im not sure if im going to add a front rack. I might save that for a future project. Also put a kick stand on it. I used a super bronc stand and extended it 2 1/4"




 
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