BSA 441 Victor Redesign

Originally Posted by TriEye8

running vs rolling

The stance on that thing is so mean looking. Cant wait to see it finished.

thanks milehigh

I found this tail light from a 59 cadillac at a swap meet a few weeks ago and thought it would look excellent as a motorcycle tail light. I tried to keep the basic feel of the retro rocket look with the bracket, basing it off of automotive designs of the 50's and sixties.

The material is a casting resin that is impervious to the elements and is very easily sanded, drilled and tapped.

Originally Posted by AmericanACP

Is the system 6 or 12 volt Josh? I know braille makes some gnarly light weight batteries for cars, maybe you could use one of them?

hey Devin, The system is a 12 volt. Those Braille's seem like a good option, besides the price. I purchased a 12 volt, 4 amp hour battery where the one that was in it when I got it was a 7 amp hour. Not too sure how this will act and neither did the guy at the battery store (strange).

That tail light looks sick man! Defiantly your style! what grade resin did you use?

Thanks, I am not sure what the grade of resin is but its Alumilite Super Plastic casting resin.

I am in the process of trying to decide what color to do the frame and if I should paint the front wheel or not. I did a few rough thumbnails to check out.

Any opinions are appreciated!

Kind of new, somewhat recycled. For this pan, I designed it in Solid Works and converted it to sheet metal to get the template drawings. I cut all of the fittings and features off of the old tank and attached 'em to the new.

finished product, just need to pressure test it, probably friday. The only thing Im making tomorrow is apple pie!!

Happy Thanksgiving

i installed the Sparx battery eliminator, rectifier, regulator. works great. as far as frame color, i like the drark green, black, or gun metal.

lookin killer.

Errr....

How much suspension travel you got?

And how big is that gap between the seat loop and the rear light?

Thanks steffan, I am also digging the dark colors. Dark navy blue, dark green, maroon, Not sure yet but I am trying to get it out to paint by the end of this week or beginning of next.

To answer what you were getting at blackjack, no, there's not enough clearance between the rear loop and tail light. It was floating around the back of my head the entire time I was making it but I got caught up in the looks of it. oh well, it was a good shape study and fab practice. I also wasn't sure how much I liked the '59 cadillac light, I may try to find something that fits the aesthetics more closely. Good eye.

Since you've got a keen eye, what do you think about color? Should the front wheel be painted in your opinion? Different colors?

On a side note, I was pressure testing the oil tank tonight with a new regulator that jumped up in psi way quicker than what I had expected and the bottom got pushed out almost an inch. I almost lost it because I had read about this and I thought I was being proactive. I got it back into shape with a steel pipe, rolling the bulge out, and hammering with a rubber mallet. The tank doesn't look as straight as it did, but I definitely am learning the trade secrets.

Ahhh! Not a murmur about paint color?! Does nobody have an opinion? I would have thought there were many out spoken people here. Well, seeing as how I am a horribly indecisive person, and how I only had my own thoughts and opinions (plus one or two others) to ponder(and drive me crazy), I nearly didn't paint the frame.

But seeing as how a friend was doing this FOC, I couldn't pass this opportunity up. I was liking the dark colors at first but i wanted to go past the reliability of a dark color. It seemed like I was taking the easy way out, but I also didn't want some flashy, metal flake, covered machine.

Thanks Jerry!!

The handle bar mounts are something that I attempted to build but I don't have the tools (bridgeport) to fabricate something like this in a timely fashion. I built a pair of really ghetto ones, took the dimensions, drew up some technical drawings and had the machined by a family friend. they work and look amazing, while using the original top clamp from the BSA.

Thanks Noble Wildman (yes, his last name is Wildman) If only his first name was Wolfegang.

Hey all, Its been a bit since I updated this thread but here we go. I still have to clean up the wiring and button up the project here and there but this is how she stands as of yesterday. Let me know what you think of redesign thus far, Im interested to know.

Once I get everything fine tuned I will do a more thorough post on the final bike.

Josh

I really like what your trying to do. I'm a fan of this build not a hater. And I don't normally post crits. I really like this build cept for one thing. That front wheel is killing it. Maybe find a spoked wheel, a little larger, to match the radius of the fender better.

Otherwise, very cool.

Edit;
On second thought, find a way to use the ninja rear wheel to match the front. And re-radius the front fender. Prolly match the mono shock/ modern front end better anyway.

Speedfiend, I hear what you're saying about the front end, there is definitely something distasteful going on up there. I personally don't mind the size difference in wheels but the front fender radius is awful to look at. It looks much better even without the fender, which may be an option.

Thanks

I was starting to think I was posting to dead air, its good to get feedback and hear others opinions. I dig your purple BSA, I appreciate how refined and well thought out it looks.

Originally Posted by Speedfiend

I really like what your trying to do. I'm a fan of this build not a hater. And I don't normally post crits. I really like this build cept for one thing. That front wheel is killing it. Maybe find a spoked wheel, a little larger, to match the radius of the fender better.

I agree, the mag and off-radiused fenders are killing it. Lose the front one, mount the rear to the subframe. Ditch the eyebrow thingy. Some good looking tires would change a lot too.

Just my two cents. I applaud your enthusiasm.

Heres my buddy JJ sitting on the bike. You can get a better idea of geometry in these photos. Im hoping to get some nice pictures taken in the next few days, so keep an eye out.

cool project. I got my ID degree at UIC.

This bike has been a great bike to ride in the city cause Its agile, lightweight, torquey and pretty loud, its definitely turned a few heads and begged a few questions. I took it down to a british motorcycle meet a few weeks ago in Auburn, Ma. First off there were some amazing motorcycles there from tritons, to trident triumphs. to, my favorite of show, the matchless.
Long story short, I received "Most Technical Interest" award and was pretty elated the rest of the day. I got a lot of remarks about it's good to see a young guy still building using the technologies of yester year. And I said "how could I not?!" "they had the best looks to start with"

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I4YMZrueUY