Mini Bike welded from scratch: ELEANOR

hojo

hojo

New Member
#1
#1
I received all the tools, steel, and a welder from christmas and I have been fabricating my own personal bike from scratch :eek:ut:. I first designed the bike to scale on google sketchup, then I just mimicked the dimensions when building up the frame. I have the harbor freight clone 6.5 engine on the bike and I recently took off the governor the other night. Im planning on getting an rpm gauge to mount on the handle bars so that I don't exceed 5000-5500 rpms. I currently have a 13" diameter wheel on the front and I'm waiting on my 18"x8.5" rear wheel. I have a 72t rear sprocket and 35# chain. I still haven't invested in a clutch because Im wondering whether to get a 12t or 13t. I'v been using the mini bike calculator and Im aiming around 50 mph @ 5000ish rpms. As I started welding I made sure that all the welds were real strong. I was concerned with the neck of the frame and fork with minimal surface area. I did an endurance test (me jumping on the bike and puting all my weight on the fork) and everything held up. After the bike started taking shape and looking real good, I decided I had to name this beauty. I went out to walmart and purchased a custom ELEANOR license plate :wink:. You have to watch the movie Gone in 60 Seconds to get the joke. This is my first experience with welding and with mini bikes, I'd appreciate and comments :shrug:. Thanks.




 
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C9H13NO3

Active Member
#8
#8
hojo said:
Yes! there it has the powder yellow coming off. Wall thickness is a tad under 1/8"
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Yup, it's galvanized. Make sure that you welds are really good since it is hard to penetrate galvanized tubing. If it is a tad under .125 it sounds like it should be fine. .125 is pretty thick, most people run .083. :thumbsup:
 
jeep2003

jeep2003

#9
#9
looks real good actually. I was surprized to see an ark welder. One thing id like to point out you should add a pipe under the back and front of the engine plate to give it some strength. with a big flat piece of metal like that with it right on the edge itll flex all over the place without it. if its galvanized pipe the fumes will mess you up. your suposed to grind off the galvanizing first and weld outside. :thumbsup:
 
zeeman

zeeman

Active Member
#10
#10
I like it too. Looks kinda chopper-esque with your feet up front and all. You should consider welding a sissy bar on the back, and make it look like a 70's bike. Anyway, would like to see it completed.:thumbsup:
 
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C9H13NO3

Active Member
#11
#11
jeep2003 said:
looks real good actually. I was surprized to see an ark welder. One thing id like to point out you should add a pipe under the back and front of the engine plate to give it some strength. with a big flat piece of metal like that with it right on the edge itll flex all over the place without it. if its galvanized pipe the fumes will mess you up. your suposed to grind off the galvanizing first and weld outside. :thumbsup:
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I was quite surprised when I saw the arc welder sitting there, but hey, they work fine once you get the hang of them.
 
hojo

hojo

New Member
#12
#12
jeep2003 said:
looks real good actually. I was surprized to see an ark welder. One thing id like to point out you should add a pipe under the back and front of the engine plate to give it some strength. with a big flat piece of metal like that with it right on the edge itll flex all over the place without it. if its galvanized pipe the fumes will mess you up. your suposed to grind off the galvanizing first and weld outside. :thumbsup:
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I have a pipe on the front of the plate. Actually when I welded the plate on the frame, it doesn't really flex at all. Im out of tubing at the moment, when I get some more, I'll reinforce the back of it.
 
ric03014

ric03014

Member
#13
#13
C9H13NO3 said:
Is that galvanized pipe?
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I built a go cart out of galvanized pipe. To be honest, it was supposed to be a prototype before I bought some actual quality material, but once I mounted the motor and let my little brother take it for a spin, he was never off of it long enough for me to move forward with the grand plan. It worked, but it was a pretty bouncy ride! I'll go head and call my own mistake: :eek:fftopic:

Good luck on the build. Its all about having fun.
 
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C9H13NO3

Active Member
#14
#14
ric03014 said:
I built a go cart out of galvanized pipe. To be honest, it was supposed to be a prototype before I bought some actual quality material, but once I mounted the motor and let my little brother take it for a spin, he was never off of it long enough for me to move forward with the grand plan. It worked, but it was a pretty bouncy ride! I'll go head and call my own mistake: :eek:fftopic:

Good luck on the build. Its all about having fun.
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Oh no no, I wasn't implying that galvanized pipe can't be used, I built a wheelie bar out of it :laugh: and it worked just fine with no problem.
 
jeep2003

jeep2003

#15
#15
yup galvanized pipe works fine to weld because the galvanizing burns off at a much lower temperature than the weld. any trouble you might have is from the ark having a hard time breaking thru from the start and possibly other impurites on it.
 
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C9H13NO3

Active Member
#16
#16
jeep2003 said:
yup galvanized pipe works fine to weld because the galvanizing burns off at a much lower temperature than the weld. any trouble you might have is from the ark having a hard time breaking thru from the start and possibly other impurites on it.
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Galvanized pipe is incredibly easy to strike the arc on, it just strikes no matter what, the hard part is getting the weld to penetrate.
 
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rodburner

New Member
#18
#18
I think the hardest part of welding galvanized anything is that you are gonna poop blood for a couple days afterward. Grind it off if you can and drink lots of milk.:doah:
 
hojo

hojo

New Member
#19
#19
rodburner said:
I think the hardest part of welding galvanized anything is that you are gonna poop blood for a couple days afterward. Grind it off if you can and drink lots of milk.:doah:
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Ill do that, I just got back from Walmart and an auto shop and I got some spray paint primer and bondo. I heard a tip from one of my relatives, he also had a crappy arc welder, he said he just covered the welds with bondo and sanded them down. Then he spary painted over it and it looked like a professional job.
 
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