Jesse James chopper bicycle.

[Dougthewelder]

hmm it's strange because there is soooo much stuff thats chromed. is it all being done in India/Taiwan/China?

 

[Degerovita]

google it. keyword = (your state) chrome plating. First result should be a local bussiness result using google maps. open the map and see whats closest to you. Found a few local to me. Not sure on pricing. Its a dipping process. They strip the frame usually chemically or with acid. Then a 2 or three part electrified dip process plates the metal in solutions of different minerals.

 

[Dougthewelder]

google it. keyword = (your state) chrome plating. First result should be a local bussiness result using google maps. open the map and see whats closest to you. Found a few local to me. Not sure on pricing. Its a dipping process. They strip the frame usually chemically or with acid. Then a 2 or three part electrified dip process plates the metal in solutions of different minerals.

http://tinyurl.com/yc6pess

you should have done this it would have been more funny

 

[l0ll00l]

http://tinyurl.com/yc6pess

you should have done this it would have been more funny

Hahaha. I love lmgtfy!

 

[Dougthewelder]

well i have been sick for a week, bleh! i started on fabricating a fender from fiberglass before i got sick and my electric start kit just came in so soon, SOON! i will be out there working on this thing. it sux to be sick lol.

 

[Dougthewelder]

video update! don't laugh to hard at my update video... i'm trying to get better at this video editing thing and make these videos more interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewIvQUd-tvc

 

[Dougthewelder]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzgqtjiazYI

 

[jr dragster T]

The camshaft in my motor does have a compression release but I haven't hooked the starter up yet to see if it works/would work without compression release.

 

[Dougthewelder]

well the rear fender is getting close to done. i dont think that starter is going to work with the compression release off the cam, so i need to order a new stock cam with the release still on it. arc has them cheep but they have a 50$ minimum order. any ideas?

By vitamaxx, shot with MHS-CM1 at 2010-01-01

 

[brendonv]

owww shiny. XD

 

[anderkart]

i dont think that starter is going to work with the compression release off the cam, so i need to order a new stock cam with the release still on it. arc has them cheep but they have a 50$ minimum order. any ideas?

I had a feeling you were going to run into this problem. When you shut an single cyl. engine off it tends to come to rest up against the compression stroke. I've gotta roll my Star engine backwards off the compression stroke first or it'll completely stall my kart-starter that's made from a V-8 Ford car starter motor and uses a 600 cca. battery w/2-gauge cables. That way the starter can build some momentum up before it hits that first compression stroke.

Try rolling your engine backwards about 1-1/2 revolutions first before hitting your starter button.

You might also try holding your kill switch down for a second or 2 while you first start cranking, The lack of spark will sometimes allow the engine to get past those first few compression strokes, and then the engines momentum helps keep the starter cranking until you finally let off the kill switch to let it run. (besides that any type of electric motors hardest job is usually when it first starts moving, after its up to speed it'll have way more power)

Also, I noticed your stock battery cables looked like maybe 12 gauge wires. You might be getting a voltage drop through them. If so, using larger 6 or even 4 gauge cables might further help overcome your lack of a compression release.

For a lower price on a stock cam:
I was thinking you could try contacting some of the race kart engine builders/Blueprinters. Lots of times guys bring in brand new engines to be race prepped and I'd bet many of these engine builders have accumulated a pile of brand new stock 6.5 Honda/clone cam take-offs they'd gladly sell for just a couple bucks + shipping.
If you wanna try contacting some, you'll probably find a few in this search link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...AYQBSgA&q=go+kart+engine+blueprinting&spell=1

 

[Dougthewelder]

wow anderkart, great reply! i thought that to about people having piles of stock cams laying around but i got lazy and just ordered one lol. the wires in the pictures are actually the charging wire and the solenoid wire the wires from the battery are 10 gauge so i'm good there. i tried repositioning the engine like you said and it sometimes makes it around 2 or 3 times but its obviously really working at it. i think i will burn out the starter if keep trying like that. i expect it to work well when the new cam is in because of the huge difference between the force it takes to start without the compression release vs with it installed.

and Tyler

you should know that the electric start kit we ordered does NOT come with a rectifier diode and you will need one if you want to charge a battery without draining the battery when the engine is off. look on page 19 of this wiring diagram to see where to install it. you can find one at radio shack. just get the highest amp rated (like 10 amp because this coil with the kit only makes 3amps) rectifier diode they have its like 3$.
http://www.honda-engines.com/Engines_owners_manuals/ownersmanuals/00X37Z4H6060.pdf

 

[anderkart]

Thanks, I spent 17 years diagnosing and repairing starting/charging systems at an auto-electrical specialty shop, so this is a subject I know well and especially enjoy giving (one of my long winded ) replies about here.

I gotta feeling you'll be just fine after your cam replacement but just wanted to point out that even short-length runs of 10 gauge wire could end up causing voltage/amperage drops in your starter circut. If it was mine, I'd sure like to see at least 8 or 6 gauge battery cables used for both power and ground. (bigger the better)

Its realy easy to check any DC-voltage wire run/circut for voltage drops. A super simple method is to just use a DC volt meters 2 test leeds conected at each end of the circut. Then while under a load, (starter cranking in this case) any voltage the meter reads would be showing the amount of voltage drop. Typically 1 volt (and below) voltage drops are considered normal and over 1 volt excessive.

Even with your new cam, I'll bet you'd find each of your two (+/-) 10 gauge battery cables would test out with at least a 1-voltage drop, and you'd get faster cranking RPM's with using over-sized cables that would test out with very little resistance at all. I've found that higher power rated batteries with over-sized battery cables also tend to promote longer starter life.

 

[Dougthewelder]

i will take your advice and up my wire gauge then, thanks for the tip! i realy want the starter to last because a replacement is like 100$... here is the latest picture with some paint if you look close in the front of where the engine sits is where the battery will sit. i made a little holder for it. =)

By vitamaxx, shot with MHS-CM1 at 2010-01-03

 

[anderkart]

Sweet, that things lookin awsome man!
If you ever hit anything with that lower front frame section you'll gig-it like a frog.

ps:
After your cam swap, your starter might only draw/surge like 50 to a 100 amps or so. If this is the case, those 10 gauge wires would probably be just fine. Unless your into "over-kill" like me, you might just run that voltage drop test to see if you even need to bother with the larger sizing...

 

[Dougthewelder]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSJ2tcPb-m0

 

[BAMBY]

Wowwww. just wooowwww! that chopper has GOT to be a blast! especially with that torque converter!!
Kudos to you on the fender!! thats gotta be a first here on the forums! (out of epoxy anyway... raywelder is or did make his own out of metal i think...) but awesome job!! i like the tank and the angle of the "backbone" thats what really draws my eyes...

have fun riding!
BAMBY

 

[pe857]

Very nice craftsmanship. Looking and sounding better all the time. Congrats on a great build.

 

[Daveon]

Awesome job. Seeing that TAV on it reminds me of one of my old projects.

 

[Dougthewelder]

thanks guys! =)