Its been a while since I have worked this project. Kind of forgot about the blog to be honest. This is a test so see if I can still create a new post.

Phantom Article

I came across this article on the Phantom and found it to be very inspiring! Here's the link:

http://deansgarage.com/2012/ron-wills-turbo-phantom/?show=gallery

Merry CHRISTmas!

Direction change - rear end

I have decided to fabricate the rear swing arm and use automotive parts rather then motorcycle parts for it. I think it would be difficult to balance the brakes when comparing the size of the front brake pads to the rear motorcycle brake pads.

I have purchased a spindle, hub, caliper and CVC joint from a 91 Topaz. It has the same 4 X 4.25 bolt pattern as the Mustang II hubs. I plan to machine the "bell" portion of the CV joint and weld on a flange to mount the sprocket. The back side of the spindle can be machined flat, and it looks like I can get three mounting bolts into the spindle. It will mount flat on a yet to be designed swing arm. The spindle mounting bolts will go through slots in the swing arm to allow adjustment of the chain tension. The bolt will thread into a mounting plate with a rear pointing threaded stud for applying chain tension. Should be interesting!

Just purchased the "hobby" version of Alibre CAD software since my old copy of Solidworks died. Looks like it will be easy to use.

Disc brake parts, spindles & wheels

The rear swing arm, wheel and caliper have arrived! I think the conversion will be pretty simple. Welding a truss that arches over the rear wheel to increase torsional stiffness will probably require cutting the bike frame just behind the middle part where the engine & swing arm mount. Should work out fine. Also, the axle that came with it is bigger than the one that came with my "basket case" so I think it will be fine.

Picked up the Mustang II spindles and a couple of nice wheels to go on them from a wrecking yard. I opted to stay with the 4 bolt hubs since the rotors looked to be in good shape and some decent wheels were available. I plan to rebuild the calipers and replace the wheel bearings & seals.

I plan to separate master cylinders for the front and rear brakes. Balancing will be accomplished with an bar between them that will allow moving that attach point for the linkage to the pedal. The Indy Cycle used Ø5/8 bore cylinders. Out of curiosity, I have put together a spreadsheet that takes into account the area of the brake pads, the arm length from the center of the pad to the axle and the cylinder size difference of the front vs the rear caliper. Also considering the fact that there are two brakes in the front and one in the rear. Ignoring differences stemming from the brake pad materials, I want to get a rough comparison to the front and rear brake system from a purely mechanical standpoint to see what size(s) the two master cylinders should be if I use Ø5/8 bore for the rear one. I am shooting for a 60%/40% front/rear brake balance as an estimate to start with.

Rear swing arm - Got syrup? I've got Waffles

Due to the difficulty in scaring up funds to get this going, I have decided I can save a bit of money by using the Ninja frame and swing arm. I think I can overcome some of the twist issues by beefing up the pivot pin and adding a truss across the top of the swing arm. I am also going to resort to either the Fred Flintstone or Huck Finn methods of reverse for now.

I have ordered a rear swing arm and everything attached to it from a 2009 Ninja EX500. It has disc brakes instead of the manual drum brakes on the bike I have now. I think it should bolt in. I hope. Having hydraulic brakes will make it much easier to balance the brakes after I am done. I may make a new read disc and caliper mounting bracket though. Increasing the diameter of the rotor would give the rear brakes more stopping power than stock without a major system change. The faster rotor speed would probably wear pads a bit faster, but that seems to be a fair trade off.

I will post pics of the conversion at some point.

Rats.....

I went to pick up the front spindles last night and it was a newer mustang with front struts instead of the Mustang II type with upper and lower control arms like I need. Guess I'll just have to man up and go the the local wrecking yard.

Waffling - again... and gathering parts

I am leaning back toward building a two seat tandem design. Glad I'm not actually cutting any metal yet and don't plan to until I have the basic parts gathered up. Yesterday I received a rack & pinion off of a 1976 914 Porsche I purchased off of Ebay. I sniped it for a great deal (I love doing that!) and am happy with its condition. I have located the front suspension off of a mid 80's Mustang at a local wrecking yard that I hope to pick up next week some time. I will be using the front spindles, calipers & rotors. I am still looking for wheels, parts for the rear swing arm, and another caliper and rotor for the rear wheel. I will also need to gather up some misc hardware parts and a couple of adjustable shock absorbers. I think at that point I would be ready to buy some tubing and put the chassis together. Seems like I usually start these projects too soon and stall out waiting for the $$ to buy parts. I am hoping this time that buying parts first will help me to finish this project.