Doodle Dumb- 16hp Vanguard build
Thanks for all the praise. If you wanna see somone who is REALLY good at welding, look at this guys build thread. I think I got really lucky with how the tank turned out. It is only the second thing I have welded aluminum on the first being the intake for this bike. I have by this point got the mounting tabs welded on the tank and the bungs welded into the frame. I hooked all the lines up and even fired up the engine. Thing is loud! No exhaust at the moment.
All that is left is throttle/break cables, Wiring, seat, exhaust and jack shaft. If AGK would ship my sprocket and keyed shaft I could probably get the whole bike done in a week or two.:hammer:
All that is left is throttle/break cables, Wiring, seat, exhaust and jack shaft. If AGK would ship my sprocket and keyed shaft I could probably get the whole bike done in a week or two.:hammer:
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oh yeah, most of us have followed Jimmy's build. Also member Finkawhile has some pretty mean looking stuff too.
http://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/project-logs/60152-finkawhiles-project.html
http://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/project-logs/60152-finkawhiles-project.html
oh boy! I don't have any vid or pics but I just built an exhaust last night. It is a 2 into one and exits out the back. It sounds amazing! I hate to boast but damn it sounds good! It literally sounds exactly like a Harley...exactly. I gotta get some clips up to show you guys. Anyway, stay tuned for some pics/vids :thumbsup:
Well, its been a long time since my last update. Too long really so I apologize for that. Things have come a long long way since my last update. Once the project was moved to my friend's garage at school, progress really slowed and I found myself taking less pictures along the way. Because I am busy doing school work and trying to find a job for after graduation, the small amount of time I had to work on the doodle didn't get used to document its progress very well but I still have a lot to show you. It took me about 2 hours to upload all the pictures, lol.
We will begin where I left off. I had just finished the gas tank. All photos are in chronological order.
In this picture, you can see the tabs I welded on under the tank and how they attach the tank to the bike. Also, it shows the exhaust I made. It was made from a combination of the original exhaust and exhaust part from a Honda xr650 dirt-bike exhaust.
As you can see, I was able to make the exhaust a two piece 2 into one design which makes installation a breeze. Sounds great btw.
So, since the semester started this year, all I have gotten done on the bike at school was I made and mounted the gas tank. Plumbed the fuel system and piped in the breather back to the intake runner for positive crank case ventilation and made an exhaust. No much really. The images that follow were all preformed in my spring break week which started Friday, march 22nd.
Jaimie started making a new seat pan out of some aluminum and we were gonna rivet the original vinyl cover over the stock foam with a little extra stuffed in from an old couch cushion. All that after we cut and modify the cover and foam to make room for the gas tank. Haven t found anyone around locally that will help me with the seat modification tho. I cant sew.
Here is the same technique I used to mount the gas tank being done on the rear exhaust hanger. I get a threaded insert and weld it in. I think it is originally for wood, but I make it work.
In this shot you can see I finally have my 54T sprocket from AGK. Took over 3 months to get it...
Here you can see that I had to relocate the mounting tab for the oil dipstick. I took care not to disturb its height so that it can still give an accurate reading.
We will begin where I left off. I had just finished the gas tank. All photos are in chronological order.
In this picture, you can see the tabs I welded on under the tank and how they attach the tank to the bike. Also, it shows the exhaust I made. It was made from a combination of the original exhaust and exhaust part from a Honda xr650 dirt-bike exhaust.
As you can see, I was able to make the exhaust a two piece 2 into one design which makes installation a breeze. Sounds great btw.
So, since the semester started this year, all I have gotten done on the bike at school was I made and mounted the gas tank. Plumbed the fuel system and piped in the breather back to the intake runner for positive crank case ventilation and made an exhaust. No much really. The images that follow were all preformed in my spring break week which started Friday, march 22nd.
Jaimie started making a new seat pan out of some aluminum and we were gonna rivet the original vinyl cover over the stock foam with a little extra stuffed in from an old couch cushion. All that after we cut and modify the cover and foam to make room for the gas tank. Haven t found anyone around locally that will help me with the seat modification tho. I cant sew.
Here is the same technique I used to mount the gas tank being done on the rear exhaust hanger. I get a threaded insert and weld it in. I think it is originally for wood, but I make it work.
In this shot you can see I finally have my 54T sprocket from AGK. Took over 3 months to get it...
Here you can see that I had to relocate the mounting tab for the oil dipstick. I took care not to disturb its height so that it can still give an accurate reading.
BTW, this is what spring break looked like in St. Louis this year.
After the exhaust was done, I moved to the drive train. I needed to make my jack shaft. I bought the keyed shaft, sprockets, keys, chain and flanged bearing from AGK all at once. In retrospect, I found out that OldMiniBikes sells a 54T doodle bug sprocket. Should have got all my stuff there because since I got all my stuff together, it was all held back because the keyed shaft and the 54T rear sprocket were both out of stock but it didn't say that till after you paid. I just wanted to get it all at one place so I didn't rack up multiple shipping charges.
Anyway, I found a piece of tube that had a very close ID to the bearings OD and turned the tube to accept the bearings in the lathe.
In this pic, you can see I had added a bar across the frame to mount the jack shaft assembly to. I then added the original doodle tensioner, but configured it to work vertically to make sure it could properly tension the chain and keep it off that tube I had jut added.
Was able to perfectly align the assembly using this technique. I clamped both sprockets to this straight edge. Really worked great. Chain is perfectly true.
By this point of spring break I had finished the drive train. My goal before the week was over was to have all components of the frame welded on so that I would not have to take any fabrication tools back to school. Toting all these tools back and forth like my welder was a pain in my car and I wanted to get this thing done so that when I got to school, all I had to do was cable and wiring.
Here are photos of the little things I had to get on the frame to button up all the fab work.
Turn signal tabs
After the exhaust was done, I moved to the drive train. I needed to make my jack shaft. I bought the keyed shaft, sprockets, keys, chain and flanged bearing from AGK all at once. In retrospect, I found out that OldMiniBikes sells a 54T doodle bug sprocket. Should have got all my stuff there because since I got all my stuff together, it was all held back because the keyed shaft and the 54T rear sprocket were both out of stock but it didn't say that till after you paid. I just wanted to get it all at one place so I didn't rack up multiple shipping charges.
Anyway, I found a piece of tube that had a very close ID to the bearings OD and turned the tube to accept the bearings in the lathe.
In this pic, you can see I had added a bar across the frame to mount the jack shaft assembly to. I then added the original doodle tensioner, but configured it to work vertically to make sure it could properly tension the chain and keep it off that tube I had jut added.
Was able to perfectly align the assembly using this technique. I clamped both sprockets to this straight edge. Really worked great. Chain is perfectly true.
By this point of spring break I had finished the drive train. My goal before the week was over was to have all components of the frame welded on so that I would not have to take any fabrication tools back to school. Toting all these tools back and forth like my welder was a pain in my car and I wanted to get this thing done so that when I got to school, all I had to do was cable and wiring.
Here are photos of the little things I had to get on the frame to button up all the fab work.
Turn signal tabs
Here you can see the front turn signals too. They didnt need tabs as it turns out. They worked best mounted into the headlight body. Anywhere else and they would hit your legs when riding.
Next I made a battery box. This took forever. All made by hand with just a plasma cutter, air die grinder with carbide rasp, and a hand file.
Used an existing bolt hole to mount the horn. :thumbsup: Beats making and welding up another tab!
Next I made a battery box. This took forever. All made by hand with just a plasma cutter, air die grinder with carbide rasp, and a hand file.
Used an existing bolt hole to mount the horn. :thumbsup: Beats making and welding up another tab!
Now came the last little touch of fab. Moving the kick stand so it is on the left side of the bike and so that I can have a flat smooth bottom on the bike so it is easier to pop up on a stand and work on. That was always the most annoying part about working on the doodle. You cant put it up on a milk crate because the kick stand i always in the way.
Lastly, I rigged up a throttle and return spring setup using parts of the original governor mechanism.
Right after this point, I rigged up a make shift throttle cable and put a kill switch on the bike and rode it for the first time. No video, no brake, no sleep. It was 3 am in the morning on Sunday. I was to leave to go back to school that day. My dad ended up giving it a try that morning and he instantly flipped it and landed on his butt. It was pretty scary and funny at the same time. He got a nice bruise and I had to do a couple repairs to it after that but then I packed it up and took it to school I have since finished the cables and wiring but have not taken pics of that yet. I will shortly. I still have to pull it all apart and paint everything but till then I have been enjoying it and taking it to class each morning. I let my girlfriend try to ride it and she instantly flipped it too. It shattered the left hand controls so no blinkers or headlights right now but the horn still works! I bought another control on ebay for $10 so I should be back in business soon. More pics and some Video to come soon. SEE YA!
Lastly, I rigged up a throttle and return spring setup using parts of the original governor mechanism.
Right after this point, I rigged up a make shift throttle cable and put a kill switch on the bike and rode it for the first time. No video, no brake, no sleep. It was 3 am in the morning on Sunday. I was to leave to go back to school that day. My dad ended up giving it a try that morning and he instantly flipped it and landed on his butt. It was pretty scary and funny at the same time. He got a nice bruise and I had to do a couple repairs to it after that but then I packed it up and took it to school I have since finished the cables and wiring but have not taken pics of that yet. I will shortly. I still have to pull it all apart and paint everything but till then I have been enjoying it and taking it to class each morning. I let my girlfriend try to ride it and she instantly flipped it too. It shattered the left hand controls so no blinkers or headlights right now but the horn still works! I bought another control on ebay for $10 so I should be back in business soon. More pics and some Video to come soon. SEE YA!
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Yeah, it scared me both times as I was just watching them. Jamie started crying and ran in the house with her hands over her eyes. She didn't even turn off the the engine! I ran over and turned it off before it exploded. It was pouring out white smoke. I got really lucky that neither wreck hurt anyone or the bike too bad.
ut: I'm kinda scared of it so I have been really careful riding it. No problems for me yet.
ut: I'm kinda scared of it so I have been really careful riding it. No problems for me yet.
