Zodiac: 1955 Swingarm Panhead Build

[ericthebeard]

Cool good to know.

I don't really know way I am so much more uncomfortable with gas welding, but maybe having a solid reference manual to eliminate lots of variables would help. I just have the "feel" for brazing much more under my fingers.

[ericthebeard]

Ok, I'm back. And while I've been doing lots of little stuff I have an initial roadblock to address (need help with).

The setup:
-Panhead round swingarm (has zerk fitting, so '59+ I think if that matters)
-Mid star 16" wheel
-66-72 juice drum

AFAIK all these parts are stock, but they are all piecemealed together from different sources.

So I finally get the whole rear end put together today and notice that the tire is ~3/8" too far to the left. Very noticeable to the naked eye. I need to get a more precise measurement on the chainline, but that does look pretty good initially. I've looked at many a posts, especially the one from MOTher with this great pic (post #4 http://www.jockeyjournal.com/forum/s....php?t=89620):



I've got all the bits in all the right places according to this. I paid special attention to the "thick spacer on the inside of the axle plate, thinner spacer outside".

Here's the wheel on there lookin' good:

IMG_3693 by Eric Bott, on Flickr


Aaaaand the view from above:

IMG_3695 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

So I'd like to see what people think are my likely problems and options. My main though is just needing to re-dish the rim to the left, but before I go all commando with the spoke wrench I wanted to get a general temperature from the other people here.

Lemme know if this all makes sense...

[417zq8]

Stoked to see this thing come together.

[ericthebeard]

Back at it for another iteration.


First off, working on welding welding welding... got a TIG machine and am super stoked on the zen of TIG vs the manic spazziod explosion of (my shitty) MIG.

Working some stringer beads on sheet:
IMG_0092 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

And melting aluminum:

IMG_0140 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

Aluminum because a) I can (its a 200 amp AC/DC machine) and b) I have a nice Lowbrow Al fender I want to use.

I've stared at what feels like MILLIONS of pics of swinger fender setups. Many fall into one of two categories:

1) far too bulky for my tastes... Crazy Frank, Stockers, ones with lots of sidewall coverage, etc) and

2) Too lean/thin, swingarm mounted ones especially, trying to copy the look that is classic and killer on hardtails).

Finger Tight strikes a very good balance, but I also want it to be good enough for a pillion and/or luggage mount. Mr Boyle has explicitly stated his whole goal with Finger Tight is a day tripper (good for him tho, such an iconic bike).

So, my mission is make simply the best looking fender setup ever.
So, on the fender topic... first I played with just the fender itself, getting the standoff just right on the tire by stacking layers of old yoga and camping pad on the tire and resting the fender on there.

Then cutting down the fender a bit more.

Then a bit more fiddling... and more snipping. Note that this is all relative to the rear tire at this point, once the bike is on the ground I can do final fitment after the suspensions settles, and I choose between the shorter 12" shocks or whatnot for the final ground clearance.

IMG_0104 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0110 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

To my eye, the "exit angle" of the fender is critical to the final look, as well as the amount of tire covered. For a pillion I'll need at least a little bit of flat section, so the fender goes to about 12-oclock. But should not curve exactly with the tire, it got to have the right "fling" off the tire line... I'm liking where this is ending up.

Then I played with card stock to work out the perfect amount of "beef" and volume for the rear end.

IMG_0117 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0119 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0121 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

After some snip and chin scratching... this is gonna look dope.

IMG_0124 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0126 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

Time to get some alloy sheet on order... and practice al TIG over and over and over before I melt my nice fender.

[johno]

Nice build.

[SafetyFifth]

I like how this is shaping up. Good luck on the build dude. Gunna be nice when done

[ericthebeard]

Thanks everyone.

I started mocking up the (mostly) final run for the rear exhaust section.

I went back and forth over and over again about collecting the two into once main header (like Caleb Owens' YangYang or Oliver Jones' BF7 mega-black shovelhead) or duals like Cox's Barracuda.

Honestly, the complexity of landing the rear pipe cleanly into the front was REALLY daunting and I took multiple failures at it, so went with the dual pipe route. Both would look killer IMHO.

I had to tweak the front pipe run to clear over the rear exit, but I finally got it poking out into space below it.

IMG_0154 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0153 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0151 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

To aid in fishing the rear section through and out the middle of the frame, I added in a slip fit section. This also decouples the final alignment of the two pie runs and will make it MUCH easier to make them dead parallel without putting lots of torque on almost-but-not-quite perfectly aligned pipes.

Mark a line with a super advanced line-o-widget
IMG_0163 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

Cut some kerfs:
IMG_0165 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

Make fit:
IMG_0167 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

And get the exit angle perfect:
IMG_0166 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

At this point I'm going to save myself the embarrassment of showing my tack welds... I have LOTS to learn about TIG still. And will have to brush up on my burn through hole filling before this job is done...

[ericthebeard]

And the reveal... Pretty happy how these are shaping up.

Note: both pipes are sagging a bit and will be raised to clear the clutch release arm. In fact, I should pause the exhaust building for a bit and iterate on the drivetrain before I design myself into a corner...

And there are going to be laterally slash cut tips added to the ends too. For dramatic flair and minimization of soot on the rest of the bike...

IMG_0171 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0170 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0169 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

[Boylecomm]

Lookin' Good EricTheBeard!

[ericthebeard]

Lookin' Good EricTheBeard!

Hell yeah, thanks!

Hope you don't mind me being pretty starstruck by this comment. Finger Tight is a VERY influential build for me.

"Make Swingers Great Again"

[RRC88]

Looks good man, cant wait to see it finished

[beat]

looks great man.
i was following yer build thread on JJ.
fucking drop seat swingarm chop is awesome. w/o a lot of thought and work its a kinda hard look to pull off.
i think yer on the way to have a tight chop.

[johno]

Maybe I'm having a brain fart here, but what is it you're trying to figure out with card stock?

I'm liking this build, so thanks for posting it.

[ericthebeard]

Maybe I'm having a brain fart here, but what is it you're trying to figure out with card stock?

I'm liking this build, so thanks for posting it.

With the card stock, I am mocking up a bit of a mini cowl to connect the lines of the seat pommel and the fender. Its going to be a lot like a scorpion seat where theres a bit of a flat run from the pommel to the fender, but I want that area to be alloy, not leather/seat. Because the rear section of a swinger frame is much boxier and has a lot more visual weight than their rigid counterparts, the fender/seat area of the bike need a bit more volume to it as well to make it look neutral. To my eye, running a copy of a rigid fender (specially swingarm mounted) and seat often looks way to dainty and always just sits visually on top of the frame. The lines need to floooow.... or just build a rigid.

[Boylecomm]

Thank You, you know I love a dropseat swinger!

[ericthebeard]

Still at it, though slow and deliberate.

Weld, cut, grind, stare, swear...

IMG_0395 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

You'll notice I got some tanks finally... though I'd been working on narrowing up my own 5-gal splits, Cody on here had a pre made set. Good quality and for a good price. I'll still work on my in the gaps, but its good to just have a solid set to work with and move forward.

IMG_0419 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

I had to do a little relieving around the heads, should be easy to patch up and all the cuts will basically be unseen under the tank, on the inside.

IMG_0413 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0416 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0414 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

[ericthebeard]

Glory shot from the underside:

IMG_0417 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

[ericthebeard]

Also made another big visual step in getting it looking like an actual motorcycle: Bars, grips, and throttle!



Easy and felt good. Got a pair of 30 deg drags for cheap on OldSTF. Narrowed them and shortened them to what you see here. Still playing with the angle of them, playing between "sad dog ear" forward bars and swept back drags. But I'm really liking how they play with the tanks.

IMG_0435 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0490 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0484 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

IMG_0488 by Eric Bott, on Flickr

[WALLY77]

Lookin good dude! How do you like that little square wave tig machine? I had one on order when they first came out about a year ago but got tired of waiting. Was told the wait was 2-3 weeks and I cancelled it after 4 months

[ericthebeard]

Lookin good dude! How do you like that little square wave tig machine? I had one on order when they first came out about a year ago but got tired of waiting. Was told the wait was 2-3 weeks and I cancelled it after 4 months

Thanks for the kind words.

The SW200 TIG thus far is great. But note that I'm a total neophyte to TIG welding, so its not like I have a fully fledged opinion. But for the price you get:
- "USA-ish" machine
- 110/220V capable
- AC/DC modes
- 200 amp max (kinda a golden threshold for automotive-level work)

The one downside which I am in the middle of "fixing" is non-adjustable post-flow on the gas. It uses a LOT more gas than it needs, it least for me as I'm not building any satellite parts or shit... its something like 8-10 sec of post flow at the higher amp ranges which is totally wasteful when I'm still practicing and going little stringers that are barely 10 seconds long. *shrug*

So one thats addressed i'll be more stoked.