Project VT-5-Electric start/lighting coil build

chatten63

chatten63

#1
#1
Well this past summer I picked up a VT-5 with a brigs on it,the bike was cut up to fit the brigs in it with the original jackshaft still in it,frame was cut at the rear uprights and streched 3 1/2"s. no pics of the mess that it was but it was a mess. I managed to get the frame closer to original dimentions,still about an inch high in the back
.Did a mock setup of it for placement of battery for the 12 volt electric start(the vt-5's never came with electric start),built the battery box/tray and got it mounted up front
. I had a newer style lighting coil laying around and then I had to figure out how the 12 volt starter was going to work with the flywheel with no ring gear,well the ring gears are pressed on so I went and for a flywheel with a ring gear and pressed it off and installed it onto the lighting flywheel
. now it was time to figure out what I was going to do for ignition switch,using the idea of the VT-8 style plate
more to come in a day or so
 
chatten63

chatten63

#4
#4
After figuring out the battery box/tray and key switch plate ,it was time to start the sanding and getting the frame ready for paint
,the stripes on fenders were layed out and painted on at the same time as the frame was painted
.while letting the clear coat dry and cure for acouple days it was time to think about what to do for the exhaust:shrug:well I liked the sound of the vt-7's canister muffler so I took measurements and down sized it to look correct on the bike and fender.got a short piece of 2 1/2" exhaust pipe,welded up acouple inlet and outlet pipes (inlet pipe was extended 1 1/2" into the main pipe and end was welded cloed and there was 5 trianguler opening cut into the pipe for sound bounce)and then welded the ends on.
then it was time to do the mock up with motor and jackshaft in place to fit muffler,mounted rear fender for this also,came up with this for a mount to keep the muffler away from the paint on fender
there is no room for error with this idea,air cleaner will just clear for removal
.after this was completed it was time to paint the fiberglass fenders I made white,taped off the red stripes and painted white base coat then untaped stripes and cear coated both stripes and fenders
more to come as it goes together
 
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chatten63

chatten63

#6
#6
After getting all the bike parts and frame painted it was time to work on the motor had the valves ground and reseated and lifters ground for the correct lift and clearance,block was boiled out and cylinder honed,original bore still
after the motor was reassembled it was started up and run for awhile then it was washed up and acid etched and painted white(honda passport ,code w101)
put the new decals that Minibikepaul is selling on and then it was set in place
more to come
 
chatten63

chatten63

#8
#8
After setting the motor in place I noticed a small problem,changing the oil . The oil will drain right into the battery tray/box
the rear drain can not be used because the jackshaft plate is too close ,so I made up an elbow to change the drain to go to the side of the frame in front of the clutch cover so it will not be as noticable
.Now that this little problem is taken care of it was time to look into the rear rim and hub,I had a 8" rim with a 4 bolt 4" pattern rim and needed a hub to mount it,so I looked at the way the VT-8's were and took the dimensions from the VT-5 rim and turned out the center mount plate ,and end of the tube for the flange for sprocket to mount
the center plate was offset 3/16" from center so the rim and tire will be center on shaft and center in between frame.Picked up the new modified electric start decal for bike on Friday,this decal is the same as the VT-8 and VT-10 electric start,the word SUPER on them was changed to say TRAIL so it looks to be correct on the bike
.Working on getting the front end together now,more to come later
 
chatten63

chatten63

#15
#15
The mold was made from an original fender,I spayed a high build up primer over fender and wet sand it with 1000 grit for a smoother finish,it still leaves small marks that transfer over then I spray a release film on fender then spray a tooling gel on fender and let it cure for a few days and glass that over.I have found an additive to put into the gel and resin for the glass to make them more flexible,these fenders were mixed 50/50 on resin mix and you can make the fenders twist into a S. (did not try it after they were painted though) Let it cure and pull it off the metal fender and cut excess over hang off and sand edges smooth.This is my mold now for making a fender,the mold lasts for awhile but over time they start to crack so you have to remake the mold again,I had a set on the VT-5 last year at Windber as a test part to see how the would hold up,the took a good beating and held up very good,no cracks or stressing on them.
 
chatten63

chatten63

#20
#20
I got alittle more done yesterday and today ,I got the jackshaft put back together yesterday
and then today I got it fit into place
might have it as a rooler by end of weekend depends if bolts and other supplies come in or not.
 
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