My 100(+)mpg feet-forward motorcycle project

[kawboyCAFE]

this thread is a joke, and not real. yesterday you were still thinking about what bike to use, then at noon today you were still in sketch phase. then thirty minutes later, guess what, you suddenly had a donor bike for $200. do you really expect us to believe this? come on.

can we say bullcrap anyone?

[BigSherm]

Whoooooooaaaa, Kawboy! Relax there, partner!

You can see the times I made each post in the upper left of each one. The first post was at 9:53pm, and all the rest about the actual work, up to the swingarm cutting were posted by 10:49pm. Sorry if it wasn't obvious that I was documenting what I've already done.

I've been working on the project for a while.

My posts have caught up with the project, so from here on out it'll be in real time.

No need to get your spurs all tangled up!

Sherm

[BigSherm]

Made some progress today.

I welded the swingarms together. In the past, my welding has been pretty booger-ish. Today I found that increasing the heat setting and reducing the wire speed seemed to penetrate better and make a better bond. We'll see, I guess. This is a pretty crucial part of the bike! I think it'll be more than strong enough.

You can see, now I have room for my butt!

[BigSherm]

Here's another shot.

[BigSherm]

And one from the side.

The bike has a shock from a newer 250 Ninja, so the preload is adjustable. With the added leverage of the longer swingarm, I changed the preload setting to the maximum. After jumping on the swigarm, it seems like it may be enough, but I have a lot more weight to put on the bike. We'll see if I have to replace the spring with something heavier.

I joined two chains together to cover the extra 8 inches of the swingarm. The welds are rough and the 2 chains aren't permanent. After I finalize more things, I'll weld covers over the square holes in the sides of the swingarm, make it look better and paint it, and replace the chains and sprockets.

Now that I have room for my butt, next is a place to sit!

[skyl4rk]

Looks very interesting. Are you going to mount the seat on the frame or on the swingarm?

[alvaro84]

Originally Posted by skyl4rk

Looks very interesting. Are you going to mount the seat on the frame or on the swingarm?

I think placing it on the swingarm would make it a pretty harsh ride

[BigSherm]

Hey Skyl4rk,

I started working on the seat this afternoon. At least the main support for it will mount on the back of the frame, just behind and slightly above where the footpeg brackets mounted.

Since I plan to make an aero shell out of fiberglass, I can always make the main support for the seat out of steel, and the back rest and seat pan integrated with the shell out of fiberglass. We'll see.

Oh, and also, the bike is a 2001 model. I think I said earlier it was a 2005.

Sherm

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by BigSherm

With the added leverage of the longer swingarm, I changed the preload setting to the maximum.

The added leverage considerably adds to the bending forces on it, and so does more preload.

In drag racing, and on high performance street bikes, the swingarm is braced externally - either above or below - or the beam is made deeper.
I'd do something similar on this long swingarm.
Obviously not because of the bike's awesome power, but because the extra length and the extra weight you're going to add (fully enclosed fairing)

[BigSherm]

Hey Euromodder,

I didn't lengthen the swingarm in the traditional way. I nested one swingarm inside the other, providing a lot more contact and area to weld between the two pieces than the just around the circumference of the spars like the usual way.

I think it'll be just fine. I guess we'll all find out if I'm wrong, haha.

Sherm