Ironhead Project la mota-cicleta

I'm still in the collecting parts and mockup phase. But I started with this...



'74 Ironhead project missing some stuff. I got it a couple of weeks ago from a buddy in my car club. Basically what you see there. In the last couple of weeks, I got a Goodyear rear tire, alien tank, and an old Paughco front end. Now it looks like this...





The fender looks goofy, it's not mounted, I just slid it in there to see if I like it. I still need a 21" hoop to lace to a hub I have or a complete wheel and tire, throttle and clutch controls, headlight and tailight, and handlebars (along with a lot of this and that nuts and bolts and fabricating mounts and pieces). I am building handlebars currently.

I don't know how fast this will progress as most of my money has been going into completing my '55 chevy pickup. But there's not much left to get for the bike and I have some stuff to trade.

Anyway, I'll probably ask a bunch of dumb questions. I've had a couple of Triumphs and a bunch of japanese bikes, but this is my first American bike. Thanks for putting up with me.

Off to a good start!

Great start. Post up a list of stuff you need and what items you have to barter with. Folks around here love horse tradin'. Good luck with your build.

Originally Posted by brooklynbomber

Off to a good start!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by ajlnMs

Great start. Post up a list of stuff you need and what items you have to barter with. Folks around here love horse tradin'. Good luck with your build.

I love horsetradin' too.

Here's what I need...
21" hoop to lace to my wargasser spool hub or 21" spool wheel assembled
21" Avon or equivalent tire
1" throttle, prefer very minimal
1" clutch lever, again, minimal
Cables for above
cool headlight
'74 xl top engine mount
1" bearings and associated parts for the neck (I have an empty neck and just the springer and stem bolt)

Here's what I have to trade...
brand new king sporty tank
almost new pirelli 16" rear tire
4" round risers for 1" bars
stock fx narrow glide front end with choice of stock tubes/springs or 2" under tubes/springs
1" mid apes, semi crusty
19" mini drum front wheel, rim and spokes a little crusty, mini drum a little pitted
chrome front caliper mount

looking good! i have a top motor mount from my 72...

Originally Posted by purerockfury

looking good! i have a top motor mount from my 72...

Can I have it?

I made some trades. I got the aforementioned wargasser hub, a 21" hoop, and hopefully a 21" tire, and maybe a pending trade for a throttle. I also started making some bars. Not sure if I'm totally happy with them yet, they need some tweaking.

I still need some spokes to lace the front rim to the hub, clutch lever, some different risers, throttle and clutch cables, headlight, tail light, wiring, and assorted hardware and nuts/bolts/brackets. I'll probably wind up with a different seat too.

But here's where it's at as of now.

Dude I know on jj brought me down a tire. So I got that going for me.

I have the throttle, front rim, and a different seat on the way. Maybe making a deal for a p pad as well. I found the top engine mount I was missing. A buddy has a cool headlight and clutch lever for me.

Still need to find:
tail light
battery
clutch and throttle cables
spokes

Still need to make:
tag/tail light bracket
wiring harness
mounts for the gas tank
finish modding bars
new mount and struts for the rear fender

Then, it's pretty much put it together and ride.

I didn't really like the harsh angles of the tall z bars after looking at them for a while. The more I looked, the worse it got. So a buddy gave me some apes. I took about 2" out of the center to narrow them up some.

Yeah, I like this much better. I'll likely remove a couple of inches in height as well. The height is throwing me off visually. I'll also cut some off the bar ends once I have the throttle, grips, and clutch lever in hand for measurements. The goal is to be as narrow as is feasible.

I got some more stuff in hand. I got the new seat and throttle in hand and mocked up. I have a p pad and front hoop on the way. I tried out one of those repop wassel fenders for the back and I think I like that better than the triumph fender I have now. the wassel is less wide and fits the tire much better so I think I'll talk to my guy at the Factory and pick one up.



Today, I went to see my guy Smiley who runs a small but old and well established harley shop here in town (not a dealer). He loves older bikes. He's got a badass knucklehead he built with a Uriah Heep paintjob done back in the '70s. Wizards and demons, lol. It is totally cool and I'd sell a nut to get it. Anyway, he ordered the neck bearings and cups I need for the front end and should have them for me tomorrow along with cables for the clutch and throttle. So I've got that going for me.

I still need:
tail light
spokes

Fab work/labor needed:
mount the tank
fab a tag/tail light bracket
fab battery box
lace front wheel and mount tire
fab sissy bar
mount rear fender
narrow grip area on the bars
fill old holes on the frame here and there
wiring

Really maybe a couple of long weekends worth of work once I get all the parts in hand and in place to be riding.

your garage looks absolutely fucking killer, dude.

Originally Posted by Rubman

your garage looks absolutely fucking killer, dude.

Thanks. That's my car club's shop. We rent it and share space. It was an old alignment shop built in the '50s.

Did some more stuff. Mounted the front end for good with new bearings and races. Mounted the rear tire and chain to measure for a spacer. Cut down the rear fender. I mounted the tank. I ordered spacers for the front and rear wheels. Ordered a gasket for my cv carb. Got a headlight and tail light. And ordered a coil. That stuff should be here in a couple of days, spokes for front wheel should be here tomorrow.

Parts I still need:
battery
wiring

Work I still need to do or fab:
fab battery box
fab fender struts/sissy bar
mount fender
Lace front rim and mount tire
move seat hinge mount back a hair
wire bike

Pics later tonight. I'll try to get the fender mounted and the seat mount moved. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting something, but it's getting pretty close to riding.



What kind of batteries are y'all using for electric staart ironhead. I'd like as small as possible while maintaining reliability. I need to get a battery so I can fab a box and mount it. Thanks!

Really dig that tank, what's it's capacity and where'd you find it? Looks like you have a fun garage, I'd probably never leave it, and my lady would get pissed ;D

Originally Posted by GoodTimesCS

Really dig that tank, what's it's capacity and where'd you find it? Looks like you have a fun garage, I'd probably never leave it, and my lady would get pissed ;D

It's an alien tank from Cleveland, same place Lowbrow gets theirs (I think). Not sure of capacity, haven't filled it yet, but I think it's around 2.2 or so. I got it at the Factory, cuz it's close.

And yeah, the garage is fun. Seven of us share it. Lots of cool projects. Cad powered '49 Merc, nailhead powered Model A, '54 Chevy, Skylark gasser, my cad powered pickup and ironhead, rigid triumph, '55 chevy gasser champ from back in the day. Plus all our friends stop by when we have shop nights on Wednesdays.

I cut two inches out of the width of the grip area on each side. A buddy loaned me the trident to see if I liked it. I do, but it's a little tall. I also mocked up a shorter one with some round rod. I like for the line from the top of the bars to the top of the sissy bar to parallel the backbone. So, I'm undecided for now. I'll go ahead and make one out of the round rod shorter and see which I like better. And we laid my buddys spool up to see how this will look at ride height.





Spokes come tomorrow and I traded for a decent Avon for the front.



And this is a Triumph my buddy Mikey from Buffalo is building. Waiting for some chrome and needs paint then reassembly to be done. Pretty rad.

I laced up my front wheel today after the spokes got here. Took a couple of tries, but I got it (first time lacing a wheel). Still need to tighten and true.

It's been highs and lows. A buddy, Kickstart gave me a level 7 wizard lesson on truing a wheel. I cut off the old fender mount and made a new fender mount like the lowbrow tech. I cut some out of the fender to clear the chain, but not quite enough, need to take more out. I installed the spacer on the rear axle and got the tire all straightened out. I mounted the pipes I got with the engine. And I hate them. But they'll work until I make some or cut those up. That's about the end of the highs.

I mounted my front tire and tube. Then promptly exploded the tube. And I found out I need to move the gas tank when I tried to install petcocks. And threads are stripped in one of the oil tank mounts.

So tomorrow, I'll get a new tube and change that out. I'll also move the tank. And I'm going to make some fender struts to see if I like it better than the trident.

Anyway, here's a pic of where I'm at.




after tomorrow, still gotta:
repair oil tank threads and mount it
run oil lines
get a battery and make a box
run fuel line
install throttle and clutch cables
mount pegs and foot controls
wire bike

I want to do something like this for the exhaust, maybe with some turnouts.






<- chopper game tom jones

Well, I did the stuff I talked about doing. I got a new tube. I found out when the old tube blew, it blew the bead right off the older tire. So I ordered a new Avon Speedmaster and got that mounted and on the bike.

Sweet


I also made some fender struts.


And a pic of the other fender mount, like the lowbrow tech, threaded bung inside 1" tube.



Then today, I cut the old bungs out of the oil tank and welded new ones in. One bung was totally stripped and the other was on its way. Welds aren't great, but that's the second time laying a bead, lol. First time was the fender mount. I've got plenty of experience with sheetmetal (like multiple patch panels on my pickup) and got really good at that. So, now I'm learning to lay a bead. Anyway, here's a pic.


And now the oil tank is mounted.


Third time laying a bead, lol. I got my bars welded up from where I took two inches out of the center.




Booty shot for good measure.



And to keep everything straight, I made a list of EVERYTHING that's left to do from front to back along with parts I need. I hope it goes quickly from here. I wanted to be riding by June. Won't be the first, but it'll definitely be before the end.

Parts I still need:
Bolts for seat pan
Longer bolts for oil tank
Fuel line
Oil line
Gas caps
Toggle switch for on/off and remote starter button
Battery

Stuff I still need to do:
Flush and fill oil tank and run lines
Run fuel lines
Finish mounting exhaust (bolt stays to brackets on frame)
Hook up throttle and clutch cable
Hook up rear brake linkage
Mount pegs and foot controls
Mount voltage regulator
Mount headlight and tail light
Fab battery box
Fab fork stops
Wire bike
Adjust clutch
Check valve adjustment

Anyway, nothing a long weekend or so won't cure.


<-chopper game larry bird

lookin good man, like the way that fender sits in relation to the tire, and stuff.

IMO this bike would look cool with some like 8" dogbones and turned down narrow drags, rather than those apes.
the whole bike is skinny but the front end is kinda fat..? anyhow just my $00.02