Well, I have nearly 200 miles on my rig now. Yeah!!! Tonight I adjusted the lean out on my bike a little. It was pulling to the right just a tad. I think Toe is right. The hack tire still has the little rubber hairs in the center So It can't be off too far?
I read somewhere that sidecars were " More smiles per mile" and they were right. Both for the pilot and the people around you. They get a lot of attention!!! I need to get my scrap book built now. Our dogs have been "inside" dogs their whole lives. They lack any sort of outside "Survival skills". I'm taking it easy with them one at a time. I don't think it will take long before they will be going on longer rides:o) I'll try and get some pictures soon. We still need to get a couple pair of Doggles.
I'm having fun!!!
Wes
It looks great!
I was thinking how nice it would be to have some polished aluminumn edge molding all around the tub, say 3/4" X 3/4". It would look good and protect the corners where the wood joins. Just a suggestion.
Nice work!
I had thought bout some sort of molding,but I think I'm liking the way it is now. Don't want to hide my craftsmanship 🙂
I've had a few questions about what I'm going to use for a windshield. I had the glass cut out a couple weeks ago. The brass channel that I made last weekend will hold the glass. I'm making some bulkhead fittings that will bolt through the body. The bolts for the windshield will fit through these. This way I can take the windshield off and on and not mess up the body. Here you can see the windshield, the brass strips, and a template that I made for the side pieces. They will be cut out of Oak.
I hate my new camera!!! I can't seem to get good closeups? I took over a dozen pictures and this is the only one that turned out.
More later.....
I still have a lot of work to do to my sidecar? But today I made some more progress/ I layed out the holes in the pieces for my spinner that I made a while back. Here is the hub part. I had to bore the inside out a little more to clear the cotter key.
Here is the cap I made on my old 1935 LeBlond lathe. She still does pretty nice work!!! You can see the lines I scribed to lay out the holes to be drilled.
Here are how they go together.
All polished and ready to roll /
Those bulkhead fittings took a back seat today. At least I'll have something to do tomorrow.
You probably already have plans for this but.......I think you should get on that LeBlond and make some plugs to match the spinner center piece and fill the holes in the two frame members. My eyes are drawn to those open ends of the frame rails.
Hello Wes,
in regard to George's comment: unless you powder coated or painted the inside of the frame or plan to use these 2 tubes for to host harpunes.
May I suggest to rust protect their inside before you plug the frame openings.
Generally water comes into something but not out!
So if you maintain large enough holes (wider then a drop may seal > diam 1/4") are helpfull.
In my engine block I had to mount a drain hose because after wading through rivers the ignition and generator coils corroded frequently and failed twice. Since the modification although a few drops get in, the engine can dry very fast because of the breather.
Best wishes with your beauty.
Sven
I'm still at it. But production has slowed slightly due to recreation These things are fun!!! I have close to 500 fun filled miles on my sidecar. It still pulls to the right just a tad. After I get the windshield on I'll readjust it again. I have the bulkhead fittings ready for polish. The holes in the brass channel needs to be counter sunk so the screws won't contact the glass. The wood mounts are cut out and I sanded their final shape tonight. Tomorrow, I'm going to get a new round over bit for my router so I get a good finish. Then I'll round over all the exposed edges. I'm thinking about setting the wood up in my mill to drill the mounting holes. Should make things nice and straight.
Wes
May I suggest to clamp the plexiglas with some cushing from both sides over a wide area. (tip I used a cork/rubber compound for glass doors thatworked verywell.) The countersunk screws are a glasbreaker with just a little vibration.
Best Luck and enjoy your new eye catching boat!
Sven
It's actually Safety glass like used in car windshields. The screws will be below the level of the brass so they'll be away from the glass. It will have that gooey rubber stuff to hold the glass into the brass channel. I should make some good progress this weekend.
Thanks for the advise, Wes
all you need now is some really bad weather!, to keep you indoors to get it finished. mind you i cant blame you for riding her she looks great. Hank
Bad weather is in the forecast. We're supposed to get 1.5 inches of snow in the muontains where I live over the next 2 days.
All the snow bunnies have been telling me it's the Good weather that is finally headed our way.
I'm not buying it!
Yesterday was the first day I wore Jeans and a leather jacket here since spring. No more shorts and tees for a while.
Lonnie
Well that bad weather showed up. Grrrr.
I have still been trying to work on my rig every day. I wanted to get some wider handlebars. I'm thinking wider=easier to steer and less wobble? I found some nice Beachcomber styled bars on Ebay that would fit the bill. But, I kind of worried about their "quality"? This is a pretty good sized bike and I wasn't positive the Chinese steel used in the bars would be up to the task. So I contemplated building my own. I tend to "save" pictures on my puter for later use. And I found this.
They looked fairly straight forward to make and they would be pretty unique. Plus they lend their selfs to some artsy fartsy stuff. On Sunday I sat on my bike and figured out (with the help of a PBR) what I wanted. I drew up the pieces that needed to be milled. Today I stayed after work and made up a set.
I still have to drill the "speed holes" but I'm pretty happy with them so far.
Hello Wes,
last year I was present when the wind threw a Chinese bike to the ground.... the handle bar got completely bent over 120º by just a little hit. This confirms your doubt.
But with your "Bismark" like design think about your bones how they will suffer in case of an accident.
Perhaps a kind of "Sollbruchstelle" (meant to break part) would be good to consider.
On the other hand, take into account ergonomics's. The angle between the grip ends should be the same as your fists when you rest them relaxed on the handle bar. Means: Straight as the sample photo shows stresses the fists and too steep like on former Japanese "Softchoppers" is even worse".
Best wishes
Sven Peter
Peter Pan - 10/7/2009 7:27 PM
Hello Wes,
last year I was present when the wind threw a Chinese bike to the ground.... the handle bar got completely bent over 120º by just a little hit. This confirms your doubt.
But with your "Bismark" like design think about your bones how they will suffer in case of an accident.
Perhaps a kind of "Sollbruchstelle" (meant to break part) would be good to consider.On the other hand, take into account ergonomics's. The angle between the grip ends should be the same as your fists when you rest them relaxed on the handle bar. Means: Straight as the sample photo shows stresses the fists and too steep like on former Japanese "Softchoppers" is even worse".
Best wishes
Sven Peter
As you say, it's not a good idea to have handlebars that won't give in a crash. The nice thing about the Harley bars is that they are thin wall stainless steel tubing and they are ductile. They will bend when you hit one with a bone. It lessens the injury. I know from experience.
