Harley Softail "big mini bike" military inspired

[Doofles]

Hello, my name is Brandon and I am new to this forum, so some guidance may be required. I have been building this bike from a softail frame that is unusable for road use. It has a 6.5 HP harbor freight engine with a primitive clutch I designed from items easily obtainable. It has taken about a year and a half to build what you see (started with only frame, no swing arm or front end.) I will need to figure out a brake system, because in this configuration, stock brakes are a no go. This is the first time I have shown it publicly other than facebook. I am open to suggestions/ ideas. Thank you! Here are some pics. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[chancer]

Welcome nice work!

 

[Doofles]

Thanks man! I know its a wierd build. But its something I've always kinda wanted to do. This forum seemed like a nice place to share it.

 

[ML-TOYS]

I think that is a cool idea. Can you give drivetrain details.

 

[Doofles]

Thanks! The hand clutch is used to apply tension to the belt. When moved foward it allows the belt to grab and pull the bike. It is built from pulley wheels and random brackets from tractorsupply. The larger pulleywheel on the rear is on a jackshaft that I bought from bmi karts. It carries over to the right side of the bike where it is chain driven at the rear wheel. I am hoping to remove the hand clutch in favor of a more efficient system like a comet torque converter. I also was considering a centrifugal clutch, but was afraid of burning them up due to the weight of the bike. Any ideas?

 

[ML-TOYS]

Cool, are you planning on using the actuall bike tank and removing the predator one. And yes the torque converter would be a good choice for it.

 

[Doofles]

I toyed with idea but that tank is from a 2010 fuel injected model. It has a square hole in the top and no petcock. If I order an older style tank, then I will definately do it. Thanks for the advice on the torque converter too. I think thats the route i'll take.

 

[2SlickNick]

That is very cool!

 

[Doofles]

Thanks man! Did you guys know of any good torque converters that are good besides comet?

 

[dwcopple]

Comet is the be-all end-all

 

[landuse]

Thanks man! Did you guys know of any good torque converters that are good besides comet?

There are chinese knock offs that are pretty good. We have had no bad reports about them. GTC is also pretty good

 

[Doofles]

Updates. Torque converter, twist grip. Did away with jackshaft, flipped rear wheel around for direct drive. Raised engine and replaced mount.

 

[ML-TOYS]

Nice, you may want to consider a chain tensioner due to the length of the chain. Other than that it looks good.

 

[Doofles]

Good point. Do you mean adjusters at the rear axle? Because I have those that I loosen or tighten to bring the wheel fowards or backwards.

 

[Poboy kartman]

No....he means like an idler pulley...not an adjuster....

 

[Doofles]

Oh ok. Well I should look into that. The chain definately is really long.

 

[dwcopple]

i love it, but, it looks heavy. how fast does it go?

 

[Doofles]

Thanks. It is extremely heavy. I am not sure on speed. It pulls me @ 6ft tall and 228lbs. Its fast enough that I need to finish the brakes. When I get those working then I will really test it's capabilities. It was initially designed to carry me on trails on my parents farmland they inherited, so real speed wasn't a total concern. Obviously it is not a very good chassis for offroad riding, but I wanted something that reminded me of this old indian military bike my grandfather had in the late 40's. The land out there is pretty flat.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Cool project.....

 

[landuse]

I would also make some sort of chain guard in case it snaps