Speedy & The Spyder (A lightweight, unintimidating beginner friendly rig)

Posted by: @miles-ladue

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Scott,  if you use a spray on bed liner in the trunk, use a white, or light gray,  so the trunk is not so dark inside. 

Good idea Miles. 👍   A light gray would also match the bikes fenders, so it "fits" the theme.  😎 

Also thinking about adding: 

• A small LED with a cut off switch activated by the hatch, so it doesn't get left on and forgotten. 
• A threaded plug in the bottom, in case the trunk needs to be washed out. 
• A design enhancement to allow the trunk lid to open without undoing the tonneau cover. 

First bit of surgery:
Repurposing the built in fuel tank to hold an air compressor, aux battery, along with possibly a real small air tank and some air solenoids.

9"x12" Marine Flush fit Hatch, will sit just in front of the seat bottom.
The fuel tank has no metal. It is all made of fiberglass, and the top is pretty thin. So there is 6" depth at the front of the tank, and 5" depth at the rear. Plenty for the intended purposes.

This is where the filler neck opened into the tank. Will work well to run a hose up the filler neck with a QD for airing up tires, etc..

During the original build, the fuel nipple was just epoxied into the tank, with a short length of copper tubing inside as a pickup. I was able to drill this all out. So now there is a nice opening to get electric in, and air out for the air shock.

Plenty of room to make this hole larger as needed to fit a grommet.

Will need to add some round 3" screened vents at the front and back of the tank, and probably a fan or two to keep the compressor cool.

This compressor is normally kept in the truck with a tire plug kit. But it may get repurposed for the sidecar. It has good output, and the outlet fitting can go in place of the gauge to keep a narrow profile.
These compressors were all the rage back about 10 years ago. lol

For size comparison:

Lots of work still to do, but really happy with the size of this compartment. With a lot more work it will do a great job of what I was hoping for.

@miles-ladue Gray spray-on bed liner is a great idea!

Think that is what will line the "fuel box of goodies" too.  👍 

Thursday's big adventure.  Would have been even more fun on the Screaming Yellow Zonker.

I hadn't planned on doing quite this many miles, but The Mirror Lake Byway (Utah 150) was still closed.
It looked so inviting, even with the "Closed to Through Traffic" boldy telling me otherwise.

Until I ran into this...

The ride started off in the megatropolis of Roosevelt, UT. Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, who liked to stay here while on hunting the huge elks, and other abundant wild life.
The goal was to get a good idea of how the new sprocket would work out. There is a pretty good climb up and over Daniel's pass into Heber City, UT. City riding, winding back country roads, etc..

Then it was on up to Kamas, UT.
At the corner of SR32 and UT150 in Kamas is a Chevron Gas station, with a small bakery in the back that has won awards for their donuts. They have some of the best Fritters (Apple, Blueberry, etc.). They used to only be available late Saturday Mornings. So popular you could call the night before to put your name on the list to get one. About the size of a 9" dinner plate, so bring a big appetite, a few friends or both.
Definitely worthy of a stop on the way over the Mirror Lake Byway.
https://insideparkcityrealestate.co...tible-donuts-at-mirror-lake-station-in-kamas/

From here it was on to the megatropolis of Coalville, UT.
If you are a SMX fan, this is where Garrett Marchbanks is from. There is a private MX track on the west side of I-80, and the side road runs right past it. Cruising past I saw a green Kawasaki, that I'm pretty sure was Garrett. Good gravy is he fast!!!
Couldn't stop because as luck would have it there was a survey team right there "working"... Yeah, sure. I think they were just watching the riders. lol

There is a beautiful back country road that runs between Coalville and Evanston, WY. It is mostly cattle country, with just a bit of oil & natural gas. It isn't well maintained, but the beauty and twisties are great.
There is a 12 mile section that isn't paved. Normally not a big deal. Hard packed and the traffic clears the loose rocks.
But not today. It had recently rained a bit, and they were grading it. A water truck had done a fantastic job of turning the hard pack clay, into a soupy super slick hockey rink. Then the graders were digging up all the rocks that had been embedded since the last time they did maintenance.

First time I've had a bike with street tires, since the '90s. This is where the ergonomic design of the Mighty Speed 400 really shone.
Kept a loose upper body, the rpms up, and the speed up to about 35. Steered mostly through the torso, with my legs in a death grip that would make Thigh Master users jealous.
Made it through with pretty limited mud spray. Although I think the radiator may be a bit clogged up, as the fan started running more often after this. Will find out today when the bike gets washed.

Downtown Evanston, WY has a touristy type shop with great food. Noticed as I was riding through, there was a group of older locals having lunch.
Older locals is my sign for good food/service.
I wasn't disappointed.
For Pete's Sake, Evanston, WY. worth the stop.
Their BLT Bagel on a super fresh Asiago Bagel, with a big Ice Tea and a bag of chips really hit the spot.

After lunch is when I attempted the Mirror Lake Byway. Flush with confidence after getting over Wolf Creek pass, even though the signs said "closed". But this time the attempt was thwarted.
That is a beautiful ride when open. It is definitely on the list for the summer.

Ended up kind of following my own advice from an earlier post. Riding down to Manila, and then over UT 191 The Dinosaur Highway. This is my third attempt to get a decent picture of Sheep Creek. It is a stunning view in person. One day...

From there it was a run though a spring shower on the back roads to Roosevelt. All told a bit over 480 miles, 10 total hours (about nine in the saddle) when I rolled in the garage.

Long day full of fun, excitement, adventure, great roads, and good food.
What adventure is all about.
Hope you all have some epic rides in the making!

Big Friday News Brief: 😉

Spent the past couple of weeks trying to figure out a way to make a non-welded subframe for the bike, and how to tie the rear lower subframe to both sides.  Yeah it will have to be welded, and tying both sides of the rear is going to be pretty difficult with the big resonator.   So first the garage has to be rewired for 240V.  Then I'm going to have to buy a whole new welding outfit (was really trying to avoid this). 

Reached out to the good people at HEX Innovate, to see if they had any plans to create an ez Can for the Speed 400. ez Can for Triumph Bikes
They responded quickly with the following:

"Thank you for reaching out.

Jan"

Since the connectors are available to make a break-out harness, I'll probably just create my own. The ez Can would have been a great cheat.

Also reached out to the good folks at Veridian Cruise Control in Calgary.
https://veridiancruise.com/future-bikes/
They added my request to the list. They really need a bike to use in development. If they weren't so far away, they could use mine.

Mean time I did an oil change at 2K miles, and sent a sample off to Blackstone Labs.  There have been a few engines with catastrophic damage due to a loose cam chain.  Normal oil change interval per Triumph is 10K miles (after the initial change at 650 miles).  Would be nice to catch any potential problems before adding the sidecar.

Scott, inventor of the Heath candy bar.....a couple of notes from the Flying Monkey...

Contact Lewis Preston at Electrical Connection, in Tennessee, and ask him if he has ready made wiring connections, and/or harness's for your Triumph 400.

He may, or may not have them, but other than Eastern Beaver, Lewis Preston is my go-to guy on wiring things for motorcycles.

Next, any vehicle manufacturer that suggests a 10,000 mile oil change interval is WRONG, and I want to throw very sharp objects at them.

Technically, and I do mean the word literally....any internal combustion engine, or ICE, can "consume" a small quantity of its' own oil over mileage or engine hours used, and NOT be considered a problem for that engine. Example:  Volvo 4 cylinder automobile engine that were famous for hitting 1,000,000 miles, and so well recognized for doing that, that Volvo would give a brand new Volvo to any customers that could show they had put 1 million miles on their Volvo cars (usually had to give away ONE brand new car per year, but what a great advertising method), but even Volvo proved that their great engines could "consume" up to 1 quart of engine oil every 2,000 miles...and there would be nothing wrong with the engine.

That means, over the course of 7,500 miles (their recommended oil change interval), they could possibly be as little as a 1/2 quart of oil left IN the engine....before that engine seized up due to lack of oil.

My Point: (there usually is one), any ICE manufacturer that suggests oil change intervals of 10,000 miles....is WRONG, and I want to do terrible things to them.

I change the oil in every vehicle I own at exactly 5,000 miles...AFTER each of those engines has been properly broken in, with multiple oil and filter changes during the first 5,000 miles. Once it hits that first 5,000 mile mark, then oil and filter changes EVERY 5,000 miles, and I use VERY good oil, and only use OEM oil filters, and new drain plug gaskets, every time.

Question:  WHY are you sending oil samples to Blackstone Labs ? What do you think you are going to do differently, depending on that the lab results show ?

I am saving up a small medicine bottle worth of OLD...USED...engine oil, so that when your SYZ is parked at the National Sidecar Rally fairgrounds, I can spill some of this OLD...USED...engine oil on the ground under the engine of the SYZ, and cause you to run screaming towards the booth that has all the donuts, in an attempt to squash your angst by eating a jelly filled donut.

You bring up good points, as always, Miles.  Short answer in response:

My thought on the Triumph service interval (which is actually 10K miles or one year, whichever comes first), is that Triumph feels pretty confident in this engine.  Their warranty is two years unlimited mileage. 

Use of Blackstone Labs is simply because while ignorance may be bliss, I prefer to suffer.  Decisions based on competent objective information rather than subjective experience, stigma or myth works best for me.  Maybe a career of supporting engineering groups has warped my thought process. 😯

@scott-h don't feel too bad, I change both the Landcruiser(s) and Black Betty (that sweet girl's) oil at or about 8,000 miles, OEM recommendation.

Yeah, detergent gets consumed, viscosity breaks down. Etc.  Use good oil that exceeds mfg spec. Bonus points for full syn , and sleep well.  OEM filters, usually...

Landcruiser 1 is 23 years old with just shy of 300k miles.  No oil consumption, no noises, idles perfectly.

Landcruiser 2 is a baby, at 12 years old and a little over 100k of hard miles (wife drives it.)  No issues, no oil usage.

BBTSG is 4 years old with one of those years parked at DMC WaWa.  44,000 miles and engine looked like this when I pulled the valve cover at 41,000 miles.

I like the Honda, full syn juice, but mostly because it goes on sale once in a while.

I do sweat finding Top Tier rated gas, though.  I think decent detergent additive packages will do more for engine longevity that about anything else, if you change the oil on schedule.

The oil geek guy on YouTube works for a piston ring company, and builds a pretty good case for this.

We will see how it turns out for those three vehicles, but so far no oil related issues, including no leaks, and no fueling problems.

Relax...if a Volvo can go 1m miles with decent maintenance, think how far a hoonda or Toyota will go!🤣😂🤣

P$.  My last Volvo 760 turbo went 247k miles before I just plain got tired of looking at it and bought the Toyota Landcruiser😆

Ben Franklin your experiences with Land Cruisers is why I am lusting after a pre 07 to get one with a 2uz engine.  I had oil changed in my Nissan armada today, a little earlier than I normally would because I needed to go to Minnesota to meet up with my wife to bring her back on Monday.  With GMs L87 fiasco and the fact that the EPA has recommended silly 20 weight oil in most engines in spite of it being a horrible idea, I will be using 5-40 full synthetic from here out and their ridiculous recommendation can pound sand.

@thane-lewis That is a sweet engine... just do timing belts every couple hundred thou.

The whole platform takes "overbuilt" to new levels.  Not the greatest power in the class, but extreme off-road capable with decent tires.  Easy to lift (my son has my '98 100 series) and lifted it a couple inches and put bigger tires on.   It is a beast.

Things like wheel bearings are usually about 3x the size that you might expect.  I don't think I have worn out anything on any of them, other than brake pads.  Put a set of Frozen Rotors on about 200k miles ago, and brake rotors don't seem to wear noticeably with the cryo treatment surface hardening.  Just swap in new pads every 100k or so... or 30k on wife's.

Speedy's oil report is back, and I'm happy with the results.  It appears to have had it's 650 mile service done (as matches what wasn't in the strainers/filter). 

By the next oil change the engine will be fully "broken in".  From there it will just be base-lining to use in comparison once the Spyder is affixed. 

In the middle of enhancing the lighting, and electrical in the garage, and decided to take a break today.  Perfect day for a ride. 😀 

Today's "Medium Adventure"
Nine Mile Canyon loop starting at the Maverick Fuel station in Roosevelt. Just under 200 miles back to the gas station. 75 mpg with odometer correction (reads about 4% optimistic best I can tell so far).

Out of Roosevelt heading west, the next megatropolis is Duchesne City. Small town with a lot of character.
Coming into the east end of town is the Duchesne County Veteran's Wall.

As this city is the seat of Duchesne County, across the street is this sign:

A left turn onto 191 leads over the Ashley National Forest. This picture is looking back into the Uinta Basin's far west end. Taken at the summit of Indian Pass. It is much more beautiful in person.

Indian pass drops down into Helper/Price area. I've only stopped here for gas, and once at a restaurant. Today it was just a pass through, as I had a big breakfast before leaving.
Next stop 9 Mile Canyon.

It turns into a slot canyon, that is pretty stunning. This is mostly cattle country. A little oil/natural gas. Road is old, but decent. Lots of traffic on the weekends in summer, with people pulling off/on the road without notice. Add to that cows that like to stand in the middle of the road. It is better taken at a lower tourist speed, than a brisk sporty pace. Weekdays (like today) are better, but still cows, people, cow/horse poop, falllen rocks and gravel to watch for.

Lots of info on line regarding the petroglyphs, and paintings. One thing I find interesting is it seems like there were two types of art. One where the artist "pecked" at the rock to create the picture, another where the artist scratched through the rock to make the picture. Here is an example of the "pecking" style. Must have been a lot of work. Evidently they didn't have laws against graffiti back then.

To make a loop I took the canyon route north to Myton, UT. This includes a bit over 6-1/2 miles of rough rocky, gravel road. While it does see oil tanker rigs, it doesn't see much maintenance. Again the Mighty Speed 400 ate it for lunch. I may have a few loose fillings now though.
Bottom

Top where the pavement begins again, and is a beautiful twisty ride to the megatropolis of Myton.

That was the ride. About six hours with stops along the way.
Hope you all have epic rides. Please share! It is always fun to see where people like to go, and the cool things they see.

Been thinking about how to satisfy the need for "conspicuity" without changing the looks of the Spyder. Came up with an idea using an aftermarket kit for Harley turn signals.
Here is how it looks without illumination (temporarily held in place with a bit of double sided tape):

With the white Marker Lamp illuminated:

With the turn signal illuminated:

To get the lamp to sit correctly I used a J-B Weld Plastic Epoxy to create a flat fillet just behind the lip.

Once the sidecar is painted the lamp will be held in place with VRB tape (same stuff used to hold body side molding, placards, etc. in place in the automotive industry).

The rig will still get a headlamp assembly, but I may forego the bullet style turn signals as it was originally equipped for turn signals. The OEM style bullet turn signals are tucked into the side of the tub, and have limited "consipicuity".
The rear tail/stop lamp can be used to do both stop and turn signal as well as running light. So that keeps it simple with much better visuals at the far outside of the rig.

A bit more work done:
Painted the trunk and the "fuel tank" to match the bike's fenders. Not sure I like it. Seems too "silver" looking. Might change that when the whole tub is painted. But at least it cleaned up well.

Cut the holes in the front of the old fuel box to mate up with the future air compressor.

Added stainless screen material. Required two pieces to go all the way across.

Cut out the thin piece of fiberglass that was restricting the bottom half of the entrance from the filler neck. So now an airline can run up the neck without getting damaged.