Salvaged R65 Winter built

[Semper Gumby]

Hi Jon,

I was going to suggest lifting the front motor mounts to above the down tubes.  This does a couple of things: Gives you more ground clearence in corners and gets the tranny/engine directly in line with the drive shaft which seems to help not wear out the universal joint.  The guys that road race airheads do this to get better handling/more cornering.

It looks that your latest incarnation of the frame has done this.  If not please consider it.  Now where is that Barber pic of the R65 I saw there....

[Ed Miller]

Jon, any idea of what that bike weighs?

[Jon_P]

hey semper gumby have you been looking at my build plans? i am thinking about that, in fact i have a frame that i could take the right lower front mount from so i would have to try to cut down the left with the standard kick stand mount which i dont use anyways.

i havent weighted it yet but i know that the last set up was a lot lighter than stock. now mind you i am not the smallest guy and my wife says i look like the grape ape riding it but i can pick it up of the ground when it id upright. i can deadlift almost 550 lb. so i know it is less than that, that is as close as i can get right now. i do plan on taking it to a feed mill this spring and weight it when i'm done.

well a hour of cutting, drilling and grinding after work before the family got home and i got the other side done.



here is a shot from the rear

and no this isnt my disign for say, i am doing my version with the lower frame drop out like vanzen oldcro race frame. just wanted to say that so no one thinks i am taking credit for this disign.

[Jon_P]

work and a funeral slowed me down a bit this week. well i was able to get back on track aa little. i started with the swingarm fab today. i started with a hoop that ended up not matching the angular lines i had already so that went to the side adn made a new more angluar swingarm brace. here is what i ended up  with.

[Ed Miller]

Call me when you need a test pilot.

[Jon_P]

sorry ed here is my test pilot

this was done last summer, a friend of mine who is a photographer and he asked a bar maid he knew to add some beauty other than my ugly mug

[steve hawkins]

Not sure if it is just me Jon, but I am not getting to the pickies from your last couple of posts...which is a pity

Steve H

[Justin B.]

Yes, Steve, it's quite a shame!  

[Jon_P]

hit a snag, as my kids would say SNAP!

i was getting ready to pull everything down so i could do final welds. pulled the trans, it didnt just pop out but it did come out. the engine judt wouldnt come out. the new seat rails i put in where to low, so i had to remove them. cut a couple new pieces and put a bend in them so it would come up enough to enable the engine to be removed.

well now its off to final welds, then to the media blaster, then i dig out the powder coating gun.

[Jon_P]

well i havent been able to spend the time i needed on it the last couple of weeks. this week end i have been able to get started again. finalized how the swing arm is going to be done. i also didnt like the idea of just letting the final drive being held on by four bolts. so i made a mount to tie the final drive to the swing arm along with the normal mounting bolts.

i need to find a 14mm tap now for my uper shock mount. so i am getting closer to getting the mock up done.

[MrRiden]

Hmmm, just spotted your "test pilot" over on http://www.advrider.com/
rich

[Jon_P]

jeff the photographer hangs out over there. i will have to go comb the site and see what he posted.

[Justin B.]

I guess I don't understand what you are trying to accomplish.  I originally thought you were building a cafe style and the latest pics looks like you are building a chopper and trying to come up with a sprung swingarm that at a glance looks kinda like a hard-tail?

[Jon_P]

i am going for a more of a retro boardtracker with some updated items. the seat will still be floating like i had it, and smaller tank, spoker rims.

my back cant do hardtails anymore, and building a frame with rear supension is my next challenge in building.

[Justin B.]

I was just curious as from a distance this will almost look like a hard-tail and you have the springer front end, fat front tire, etc...