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Project Flat tracker

Discussion in 'Other Projects - Other Bikes (non 250's)' started by Murdo, Nov 11, 2023.

  1. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    While I have been sitting around on my bum with my right arm in plaster to my shoulder (its a long story) for the last four weeks, and at least another four to go, I have been reading all the bike mags and have been following two blokes building American style flat trackers. I like the looks and simiplicity of those bikes, and started thinking of the bits I have lying around here.
    A couple of months ago I bought and resurrected a late 1980s Suzuki TS185 for my son in law to ride with his son and it came with some spare bits that I can use with this project. So far I have collected a Suzuki TF frame (ag bike), Yamaha XT tank, Suzuki TSX250 rear wheel, Suzuki DR front hub I can modify and spoke to 18" rim, TF forks and engine and sundry bits, Honda seat, unknown chamber, etc.
    Flat tracker 017.jpg
    The engine is missing the magneto and flywheel and CDI box.
    Flat tracker 021.jpg
    But I wonder what I will find when I open the cases to fix this?
    Flat tracker 019.jpg
    Going to be a while before I can do anything other than look and plan.
     
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    Last edited: Jul 2, 2024
  2. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Getting frustrated at not being able to get on with this, so decided to start on something small, the front hub.
    pink plaster 004.jpg
    I cut away the brake drum with angle grinder (my plasma has chucked in the towel) and turned down in the lathe to fit inside of a piece of thick walled 60mm alloy tube. then took a slice from a 100mm alloy bar and turned it to make a spoke flange.
    pink plaster 006.jpg
    Using a boring bar I made the internal hole a neat press fit to the hub and drilled for spoke mounting holes.
    pink plaster 008.jpg
    I will have to wait now for another two weeks ( I hope) before I get the plaster off so I can weld together and do final finishing.
    When finished should look like this.
    pink plaster 010.jpg
    Not bad for an old bloke with only one working hand and a 60yr old worn out lathe.
     
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    Last edited: Dec 21, 2023
  3. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Arm out of plaster now (but still weak and in a velcro brace) so able to get the TIG humming on the hub.
    sidecar 012.jpg
    sidecar 014.jpg
    Back in the lathe to trim off the weld and true spoke flange, then spoked into a 2.15x18 rim using 3.5mm (9 gauge) spokes and trued up.
    sidecar 016.jpg
     
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  4. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Got the engine split and all gears inside are good, so it must have been a thrown chain that bent the gear change shaft and cracked the case ( and why there was no sidecover with engine). Put shaft in vice and straightened.
    Before. xxx 008.jpg
    I ground down a jigsaw blade and cut out the crack to remove all the epoxy that had been pushed into it.
    xxx 002.jpg
    xxx 004.jpg
    This also gave a bit more room to get better penetration of the weld. I jammed a piece of 22mm mild steel bar into the shaft seal recess to keep the shape and stop any melted alloy from encroaching into the recess while welding.
    xxx 005.jpg
    Clamped in place and TIGed the crack.
    xxx 010.jpg
    Welded inside as much as I could too.
    xxx 011.jpg
    Cleaned up the shaft bearing with a reamer, a good clean up, new seals/gaskets and back together.
     
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  5. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    I brought the good TS home last trip to do some repairs. The front rim had developed a split.
    Singer wheel 008.jpg
    I took all the spokes out and ran the saw through it to clean out the crack and give some room for penatration of the weld.
    Singer wheel 010.jpg
    After welding and grinding back to original size, I gave it a new coat of two pack silver and fitted new spokes.
    Singer wheel 013.jpg
    Now need some new fork seals before putting back together.
     
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  6. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Today I had some time to work on this bike. I fitted up the forks and front wheel and put on bench. Engine sitting in with a couple of bolts and the remains of the swing arm. Sat the back wheel in the position I wanted to fit it and measured for swingarm length.
    Hilux 012.jpg
    Using 50x25x2mm tube I had to modify the ends to fit the pieces of the quick change axel mounts in. This involved cutting a second piece and welding together to make it wide enough to fit the inner pieces. I then took some scrap pieces of 6mm alloy sheet, mounted in the drill press vice and by slowly moving against a cutter in the chuck was able to mill a step on each side to fit the end of the modified tube to use as a chain tensioner.
    Hilux 014.jpg Hilux 015.jpg The pieces needed a rounding of the corners with a file to fit.
    Hilux 017.jpg
    And fitted into the modified tube ready to be trimmed and welded to the swingarm.
    Hilux 021.jpg
    Raining again and 'arthur' is giving me hell today so that is it for a while.
     
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    Last edited: Jun 5, 2024
  7. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Have done a bit more this week.
    Trimmed and welded the swingarm together with a support plate at the joint.
    Flat tracker 007.jpg
    I cut and added a 30mm piece to the top frame rail above the carb to give me a 24deg rake, and with the 50mm offset of the fork yokes (tripple trees to the yanks, but I fail to see how you get tripple from two bits) this gives a 75mm castor (trail to the yanks) and a 56" wheelbase which is very close to the specs I looked up. Flat tracker 034.jpg
    I cut and shut the exansion chamber to fit. It is a bit ugly but I think it will do the job. I made a bracket to hold the oil tank from a PW-50 (which holds about 100ml) on the right side and now need to move the right footpeg and brake lever down and back for a better riding position.
     
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  8. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    I had these old 1970s Boge shocks which were the right length.
    Flat tracker 011.jpg
    I found a six point socket that fit snuggly onto the tube top nut.
    Flat tracker 012.jpg
    But when I gave it a turn it fell to bits.
    Flat tracker 013.jpg
    I ground down a cotton picker finger to a small chisel and with drilling and chiseling was able to get the nut remains out. Not pretty inside.
    Flat tracker 019.jpg
    After cleaning the worst off the rest remained usable. (The picker finger is tapered silver thing near tube.)
    Flat tracker 017.jpg
    The shaft seals had been well shot years ago and would just slip down the shaft, no chance of them holding oil. My son runs his own hydraulic business so I got him to order two 11mm seals for me and bought some 50mm alloy bar. This I threaded to screw into the bodies, machined to fit the seals and drilled to fit a peg spanner.
    aaa 005.jpg
    Repainted the bodies and springs with some orange paint close to the original, machined some new bushes from black nylon bar, a good clean up, new oil and assembled.
    aaa 033.jpg
    Ready to fit.
    aaa 038.jpg
     
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    Last edited: Jul 1, 2024
  9. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Fitted.
    bbb 002.jpg
     
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  10. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    The alloy bar that I used to make the seal nuts for the Boge shocks had enough left to make one more seal holder, and the remains a spring spacer. Not bad value out of $11.00 of alloy bar.
    yamaha forks 036.jpg
     
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  11. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Premium Member Contributing Member

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    My Bike:
    1937 Royal Enfield 250, CF Moto 250 V5, Honda's XL250, CBR250, FT500 plus a few others.
    Been a while since I did anything to this, but here is the latest update.
    I picked up this little Yamaha DT100 tank at Gunnedah swap meet for $5.00. It needed a few bits of new metal braised into the bottom but fits well. Shame about the paint job.
    c 007.jpg
    I painted it and the rear guard in Suzuki yellow with white side panel. Shame the gold tape I put on the joint line bubbled up with the clear.
    I made a seat base from 1.6mm aluminium sheet and fitted up an old bit from a VT250 for a 'duck tail'. Need to buy some better foam and make a new cover.
    c 058.jpg
    I was lucky enough to find a magneto assembly at the wreckers and bought a sidecover from ebay, so now have spark. Made three number plates and need some brackets to fit them, then strip down and clean up frame for painting before assembly.
     
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