alright I plan to keep everyone updated on my prodject as all you asked...no pics yet but alot of thinkign and what not....heres what i come up with that i should move up to maybe move up to a size 200 rear tire. One guy is really helping me out and i just became a memeber of some other sites like chopperforum and like this choppershop and well i get a million and a half hits and soem not so nice like well read the directions type replys u know. It really helps me when everyone explains things but anyway. I trying to figure out if i go with a wider tire as a 180 or a 200 rear i want to stay with my pan head idea i want to stay with same style transmission which is a early or late style 4 speed trannyand the under spacer where the engine mount plate is and what note is noted at 12 inches and well my question is can my idea still work wit hte chain drive, tranny and with a wider tire and how much more room should i make if i go with with this idea ...12inches : 150 rear tire so 200 or 180: ?

 

It's a custom, anything can work. Question is, what kinds of mods are needed to achieve your goal?

 

good point i just dont want the engine ot all of sudden be to big for the frame but thats a easy fix different engine i guess but u see my idea of thought thanks for the pointer

 

Just a footnote to add, anytime you build a custom there are mods that will have to be made. What I like keep in mind is that when you make the mods, try to do it once instead of twice, look ahead and see if one mod made, affects another part of the bike and so forth.

Take your time and don't compromise something just to save time, if it's not right make it right. The end result will be something you will be proud to stand beside and ride, and know it will stay together and be rideable.

John TN

 

Not having dealt with the wide tire thing, I'm not sure where the need for offset trannies, primaries, sprockets, etc. starts. If you are going to totally scratch build this frame, without any blueprints, you'll have to get the parts first, rear wheel & tire, transmission, and engine as a minimum. These will give you the dimensions to start the "cradle" and you can go from there.

I'm not a fan of a tire wide enough that the engine and/or tranny have to be offset. Balancing on 2 wheels is chore enough without having to use body english to compensate for an inherently unbalanced bike. "Form follows function" is something that should always apply to a bike meant to be ridden.

 

see i am worried about how to weld it too i can mig weld like a motha and i heard go with a 1/8 inch gap should i use 75-5 tank and what kind of wire on DOM 1.25x.120 sand besides the tack do i go with one big pass or treat as a multi pass i use to running 2 inch and 5 inch pipe at school with a 37 degree bevel and multi passes and with a 1/8 inch gap or should i go with a 3/32 gap? I found a site with a jig builders guide along with a guide to make a wider wheel design its 65 bucks but what the hell huh

 

That opens up a new can of worms, gap means much different on open butt welds than fillet welds, both of which would be done on the project bike. Tube wall thickness, type of welding, wire size, type of steel, thickness, etc. has a lot to do with the open butt weld or any weld. If you are good at mig, that would be fine. You want to match the wire type you are welding with to the base metal parts you are welding.

You need to practice on some drop (scrap) pieces of tube or plate the size of what is on the bike, before you are ready to start welding on the frame or other components. Get familiar with the heat settings of your machine required to make a good weld without burning through or having a lack of penatration. I assume the gas mixture you are referring to is a mixture of carbon dixoide and argon.

 

I can say this from experience, I have welded on frames many times. Your best bet is to TIG it. If you got the coin run helium, hence the true name heli-arc welding. If not then just go straight argon. You can MIG it if you want, I say go min with a 75/25 mix but 90/10 or 95/5 are the best bet!! Paugho and Santee do MIG frames. but I believe them to be machine welded. Not sure. Being a welder as my day job and a motorcycle builder as my other(not a hobby, way of life) I would stress to you that TIG is the best option. As for the gapping. 1/8" is pretty large... I say 1/16".. nothing wrong with a butt weld if you got the heat set right to burn it in..

Again building your own frame is tricky. I have never fully built an entire frame, start to finish. But I have bascially welded every portion on a frame, if you get me. If you plan to buy some plans to build one and a frame jig as well, there are 5000 places to buy. 4995 are NOT good places to buy from. I know of a few places that will actually sell you the prints that are fresh off the plotter, not like the majority that are sending you photo copies of the orginals. Also the kind that come on a CD.. Steer clear..

I know I am new to this fourm and have not been here for very long(under 2weeks) and may not have earned respect form the regulars yet, but trust me on this!

I am here to help with what I know and share it, plus learn from others.

 

Tatooguy (or Jimmy, if you don't mind), you may not have been here long, but the advice you've offered has been spot-on. I'm a lousy welder, and always have my stuff done by a guy at work who cut his chops as a nuc welder. He will TIG such pretty welds that I seldom cover them up. Choppa, if you can TIG the frame, do it. Much better results than a MIG job, especially when done without a machine. And helium ain't that expensive, and my welder says it does a better job than using argon.

I remember reading the Paughco frames being machine welded, but journalism being what it is, who knows?

 

Ok lol wow there is more thought into then anything like I really don't have accesibilty to a tig machine I know how to do it but not in this type of appilcation as i can do regular pipe the more I think of it i might just buy a frame you know I mean i worried about saftey then anything I mean i just want to say yeah I did but i want to live to say I did.... i guess I don't want to assemble a motorcycle because this soemthing I want to get into for a career not because I saw it on tv or anything i done truck stuff but this is something supporting 250 pounds, things i have are like deer slayer brush guard so I mean I can fabricate stuff so its not that i just don't want to die u know what I mean I can weld yes but I have no clue the type of weld like one big penetrating weld or stringers because i don't learn application of knowledge just like pipe and it all straight ...so i mean will my mig welds hold ? i mean with the application of the weld hold?