1945 Kraft - Reproduction

Chopped50ford

Chopped50ford

New Member
#1
#1
I have been lurking the site for a long time. Been in and out, but fould all of the projects and vintage bikes very fascinating.

After collecting a few, and my daughter confiscating one for herself to ride, I decided to build one for myself. A little on my background, I have been into building Traditional Hot Rods for the past 10 years; I thought, why not take some of that "know-how" and make something different.

I searched the web for some time picking up photos of bikes from the past and I chose a 1945 Kraft. Supposidly there were only 12 made, 2 known to exists. I love the style and the stance of this thing.

Since not knowing the exact scale of this bike, I figured I would start with a particular wheel size and build from there.

In the midst of my build, I was fortunate to find a vintage Briggs& Stratton updraft carb engine with round tank that was a perfect match. A big score.

The front fender will be a teardrop style, made very close to the tire, and the rear tire/frame to have covers like a turtle deck.

Sorry for the 'busy' shots, my shop is completely full with tools and machines with little walking areas....but hey, I get it all done!

Enough talking, here are the pictures!





 
dave dickson

dave dickson

New Member
#3
#3
Chopped 50,
For not knowing the size of that bike it sure turned out to look like a real relic!!!
Great job:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Have you got to ride it yet? It really looks like a blast from the past!!! The bends, how did you do them?
dave
 
oldphocker

oldphocker

New Member
#4
#4
dave dickson said:
Chopped 50,
For not knowing the size of that bike it sure turned out to look like a real relic!!!
Great job:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Have you got to ride it yet? It really looks like a blast from the past!!! The bends, how did you do them?
dave
Click to expand...
I'd like to know all about the fabrication and methods you used ...more pics ...
 
Chopped50ford

Chopped50ford

New Member
#8
#8
I based the design on a 7" rim. Dont ask me why I picked that size, I suppose it was the first number in my head. Luckily I did, all the measurements on paper deemed easier using a per inch conversion.

Some of the tools I used were an old school "A" frame tubing bender, the type you pull from the top down. Sort of primative...but it works with no kinks :smile:
I also have a "Pull" type hydraulic bender, as sold by Speedway Motors for the larger sweeping turns. Both of the benders are really primative and have no degree finders, so I had to start making my reference marks on the dies and frames of the benders to get some kind of direction of the bend in degree's. A few times I had to take the bended tubing and reverse bend some of the shapes to get them identical. All "Hand" tools. The rest of the bike like the triple tree and forks were all by trial and error, measuring and checking against the picture and proposed scale.

After I scaled the picture down to rough numbers I cut and fishmouthed all the needed parts and tacked them together with my Tig Welder.

I have not been able to ride the bike yet, but have sat on it to do a quick makeup on the handlebars. I will tell ya from sitting on it and referencing where the foot brake pedal (drum) is, the bike likely had 10" wheels, stretching it probably another 12" - 16" more on the wheelbase, making it wider and taller. Since shorter than expected...a whopping 46" wheelbase using 6" rims and 'bias' ply tires, Ill likely add some small folding running boards on the sides, uitilizing both a foot and accelerator pedal keeping the handlbars clean.

Im glad I didnt go that route, my welding table would have been too short for the jig.

Good News, I picked up an old Craftsman Atlas lathe today, so I'll be able to spin a few parts that I have been wanting to make for this on my own....Another learning experience, but excited to do it.

As for the frame, I used 1" .090 tubing, it seems to be strong enough.

A quick update, I welded in the rear axle plates so now it can stand up on its own two tires! :001_tt2:

Next: setup of the jackshaft and kickstand, fabrication of the front fender and rear side/rear panels.

Color of choice! Burgundy with off white pinstriping and lettering, black rims and suspension components.

Ill try to get more pictures tomorrow and some closeups of some areas of the bike. :)

Thanks for the great comments.
 
SpyGuy

SpyGuy

New Member
#9
#9
Very nice work so far. I like seeing the way people are building the "vintage" style scooters, and it looks like yours will come out very well.
 
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