Arachnid Build in NOLA

[Austin_40]

Made good progress today. Got the upper main frame built and welded out. Front suspension block parts are cut, and I plan to weld that up tomorrow. Next step is the A-arms, and then assembling and setting up the front suspension.

 

[Austin_40]

Front suspension block parts mocked up:

 

[Lynx_Genisys]

Yeah up here with our 2 months of summer.

summer? what is summer? oh, you must mean road construction season!

We only have 2 seasons.. Winter, and road construction

 

[redsox985]

That's what we have in Pittsburgh. But road repair season happens in winter to patch up big pot holes and then the serious construction is from thaw to snow.

 

[Silvergrizz]

Nice work Austin 40, what are your plans for an engine?

 

[Austin_40]

I'm considering the 10hp horizontal Tecumseh recommended in the plans, but there's a part of me that wants to pick up a used dirtbike or quad off craigslist and start from there. I like the idea of a manual transmission, and I suspect I could pull it off cheaper than the Tecumseh plus torque converter. I haven't made the final decision yet. Which route did you go?

 

[redsox985]

The bike would be more powerful in the same size package with the gearbox as well. Plus it will probably be cheaper to get one from a parts bike or quad or a wrecked motorcycle.

 

[Austin_40]

That's kinda what I was thinking, although the dirt bike / quad engine route presents a couple issues:

1. Need to find one with an electric start, or easy to convert to electric start. Given the rear swingarm frame design, I'm not sure there is clearance for a kickstart lever to make it's full rotation unless you offset the engine all the way to the right side, which I don't want to do. I'm partial to 2-stroke motocross bikes (having ridden them in my college years) and think a 250cc bike would be an excellent donor and pretty easy to find, but I'm not sure how to address the starter issue.

2. Since the engine would be on the rear swingarm, I would need to think of a way to run the shift linkage from the engine to the main frame, keeping in mind that there is a pivot point between them.

3. Hand lever clutch on shifter linkage vs. foot clutch? I can see pros and cons for either setup.

The Tecumseh / TC route looks like a more straightforward way to go, but I don't suppose I took on this project because I wanted to build something simple!

 

[redsox985]

I wonder how fowler made his Sidewinder with a shifter? Maybe PM him if he doesn't see this.

 

[theo]

You can use these for the gear shifting.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#throttle-cable/=9qx2j0

 

[Austin_40]

Outstanding! That's just the thing for the shifter.

Now if I can learn how to mate an electric starter motor to the kickstart shaft, the dirt bike engine becomes a very attractive option.

 

[r97]

a wrecked dirt bike/quad will come with lots of goodies, brakes ect.

p.s. your really moving through this project.

 

[Austin_40]

I've done some searching this afternoon on Craigslist and Ebay, and found surprisingly few potential donor machines so far. Admittedly, it's been awhile since I browsed the used dirt bike ads, so maybe I'm out of touch. But I think some people must have lost their minds for what they're asking for some of these POS bikes! The search continues...

 

[newrider3]

Before you spend $40 online for a push-pull cable, check your local junkyard. I got two of them for $5.

 

[Austin_40]

New Parts Today

Got parts today. Waiting on bushings to come in for A-arms, and I'll start assembly on the front suspension, hopefully this weekend.

 

[summitman]

Looking pretty good. What size axle you using?

 

[Austin_40]

1-1/4".

 

[summitman]

Thanks for that. would a 1" solid chrome axle work.

 

[Austin_40]

I don't see why not. 1" appears to be a very common size judging from the parts available from the vendors I've been buying from.

 

[r97]

http://gokartguru.com/stress_program.php