I hate this frame!

[Reaper]

Yes, very similar to it. I'll have a bit more stretch out back by using my old rear tubes. I have my .150 DOM tubing coming tomorrow and found a local shop to make my first 90 degree bend. Unfortunately my weird ass design will require me to make the 2nd bend using a torch and tube full of sand method. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll at least have one side done or at least enough done to know if it'll work or not. And at least if it doesn't work it'll make a good start for a sculpture......lol.

 

[Reaper]

Made some more progress. Got one side with the 90 degree bend and have one side of the swing arm cut and drilled. Nice tight fit. I'm going to sleeve the rear section of the swing arm and add some gussets once I dial it all in. I also have to cut about 4 inches off the lower frame, so that will give me a total of 6" of stretch. I'll probably set the drop to be 6 inches also, so with my tire and rim I'll have 6 inches of ground clearance.

 

[xschris]

Looks like some good progress can't wait to see it done.

 

[Reaper]

Well, that did not work at all. Went to bend the rear frame tube after I slid the old rear swing arm on it and the tube flattened out too much in it's radius. No biggie, now I have some extra steel for handlebars. Time to order from Speedy Metals again. Experiment, fail, learn, rinse, repeat. I did buy a 12 ton pipe bender from Harbor Freight and it makes great bends in .120 and .150 DOM tubing until about 65 degrees, then it flattens out. It did do a good job on the kick up that was 45 degrees that I was going to use to set my ground clearance.

 

[FlyingAnvil]

Ah shucks man, that sucks, but did the Wright brothers get it on the first try? I don't know just trying to give a little encouragement. Good luck to you.

 

[Reaper]

It's all good. I figured something new out for the rear of the frame. I'm going to a big bike show in Timoneum, MD in a few weeks and hopefully will score a seat and a rear fender. Once I have a seat I can finish the upper rear where it connects to the backbone.

 

[Reaper]

Made some more progress. I have my lower frame bent the way I want it and got the steel in for the axle plates. Made the plates so I could use the old Yamaha adjusters. I made the slot by drilling three 11/16 holes and then hand filing out the points that were left from the holes. I cut a slot in the lower frame with a cutoff disk, then a regular grinding disk, then cleaned it up with a chainsaw file mounted in a drill. Good tight fit so welding will be easy. I have to order more DOM tube since I spaghetti'd the rest of it making templates.

 

[OleDoc]

Well I brought the bike into the house. It was real fun bringing it down the cellar stairs with the engine still in it, but it was too cold and snowy outside to pull it there. Got the bike completely stripped down to the frame. I was even smart enough to have a bucket handy to catch the ball bearings in the neck when they came gooping out. Got my metal ordered from speedy so I'm gonna start on the backbone hopefully this week. I'll post some pics as I go along. Now that it's inside near all my tools I'll get even more done to it.

Think it was fun getting it down there wait till you take it back out after streching it 6".i should try the bucket trick with the ball bearings because everytime i do a neck i buy 2 bearings for the ones i lose,get it back together and then find 5 or 6 on the floor

 

[Reaper]

I'm gonna get my son to help me pull it back out. And it will be without the motor. Yeah the bucket was full of oil and the filter from the engine and when I was taking the forks and trees off I had a forum flashback and thought "oh shit, ball bearings" and managed to kick it under in time. I'm scared to count them though cause I'm sure one or two teleported to another dimension, and hopefully they will teleport back before spring.

 

[OleDoc]

I'm gonna get my son to help me pull it back out. And it will be without the motor. Yeah the bucket was full of oil and the filter from the engine and when I was taking the forks and trees off I had a forum flashback and thought "oh shit, ball bearings" and managed to kick it under in time. I'm scared to count them though cause I'm sure one or two teleported to another dimension, and hopefully they will teleport back before spring.

That is probally where all the extra ones in my shop come from

 

[Reaper]

Well after several failed attempts to build an unusual frame I decided to go to a traditional hard tail. I bent my lower frame to 24 degrees, made an axle plate, and started fabricating my rear frame that will attach to the backbone. Put the triple tree back on with the bearings to measure my tank and eventual seat. Hopefully I'll score a seat and rear fender this weekend at the bike show and can really start crackin on this next week.

 

[OleDoc]

looking sweet

 

[Travis]

Third design change? How much $ do you have wrapped up into DOM tube now?

 

[Reaper]

Just in DOM tubing I have about 150 spent so far. Trust me, after design 1 failed I was about to buy one of your kits, but the voices in my head said "You can do this" and I listened. Design 2 would have been totally doable, but not with a $90.00 pipe bender, not enough room to get the angle gauge in there to do 2 bends and have the tube be completely straight. So I poured water in my ear and drowned some of the voices. I still have to order 2 more pieces of tubing to finish the right side, so with the backbone, plates, and tubing I'll have about 275 in the frame......and a lot of time.

 

[OleDoc]

Just in DOM tubing I have about 150 spent so far. Trust me, after design 1 failed I was about to buy one of your kits, but the voices in my head said "You can do this" and I listened. Design 2 would have been totally doable, but not with a $90.00 pipe bender, not enough room to get the angle gauge in there to do 2 bends and have the tube be completely straight. So I poured water in my ear and drowned some of the voices. I still have to order 2 more pieces of tubing to finish the right side, so with the backbone, plates, and tubing I'll have about 275 in the frame......and a lot of time.

so that is how you get rid of the voices

 

[Travis]

^

A lot of time and a lot of money, but a lot of fun messing around right?!?

 

[xschris]

Keep at it! You will get it

 

[OleDoc]

^

A lot of time and a lot of money, but a lot of fun messing around right?!?

idle hands are the devils playthings...

 

[Reaper]

Yeah, it has been a lot of fun so far. I don't have a garage or a covered space to work on my cars so this will keep my mind occupied during the winter. Pop on the tunes, grab a big cup of coffee and keep pluggin away at it. I have a fender coming in this week along with my last pieces of dom tubing. I'll tack everything together and remount the wheels so I can start putting in all the tabs for bolting on what I need. Next on the list is a headlight, ignition switch, and some small turn signals to pass inspection. Just scored a nice Mikuni carb off a Harley to start making my 2 to 1 intake.

 

[OleDoc]

2 into 1 intake sounds cool