PROJECT BIKE: Naked Cruiser auto bike

I been wanting to build a naked cruiser bike, Looking to use either a steel standard motorcycle gas tank so that i would have two gas tanks.

I would leave the stock OEM tank where it is, and mount a 5.0Gal. tank above it in the basic location of the tank on a Typical motorcycle.

For approx. 9+ gallons of gas.

OR

I have at least 6 ea Faux tanks from 80' goldwings up thru all the 4 cyl. goldwings and a couple of GL1500 Faux tanks.

The stock seat would be removed and one of my Single cruiser seats, moved back further on the bike.

Single 8" to 9" round chrome headlight.

Cadillac coupe de' Ville Tail Lights,

I want the bike to have everything removed, I want the weight that is up high removed i want the bikes C of G to be much lower.

I want to make the bike as Light as Possible.

To be as short as possible

To be as low a seat height as i can get and be comfortable with.

To be as narrow as possible

To have the lowest CG I can make it into.

I will put some highway pegs for my feet.

I will Make a Positive pressure, w/ a small shield like the MadStad shield setup.

I have built a few naked bikes from Goldwings.

One Naked Goldwing Project I built was a 700 Lbs bike originally,

BUT, after, it was under 540 Lbs.

It had much better handling, it felt MUCH LIGHTER as the weight that was up high on the bike was removed lowering the CG of the bike making it a much improved handing bike.

The bike feels more like a much smaller, Lighter, sportier bike.

All of the bike's functions like Brakes, Handling, ride quality, sportiness, have been greatly improved, economy too, when I can keep my throttle hand from doing the twist.

This bike feels like your riding a 500 sized bike (Low CG makes it feel Light and improves Handling) except it has 100 H.P. 1200cc bike and weighs less than 540 Lbs.

Power to weight ratio has improved.

One more picture of the Naked Goldwing.

In the picture:

You can see that the old Faux tank was replaced with a nicer looking one, and a single seat was added, I also removed the front fairing, saddle bags, trunk, Mufflers, exhaust headers were modified, single round headlight was added.

Those mufflers are HD's and are the same type i would use on the project SCAB, Scoot Cruiser Auto Bike

I added 1959' Caddy tail lights, they have 40 LED's in each of them and are Bright.

That Faux tank is from a 1980' Goldwing, it is on a 1986' Goldwing.

That seat is a single seat from a Honda Valkyrie.

I already have a big Scoot to use as My touring bike and wanted a auto shift bike that was more wind on me and a tank with a single cruiser kind of look to it.

I want this bike to look Short, Narrow, Low, The exhaust does not stick out past the rear axle bolt, trying to fool the eye to give it that short stocky look.

I have a Lot of bike parts in my shop waiting for a project bike, I thought maybe a a big scoot, been thinking either the swing or the 650 Burgman.

Like i said the seat will be Low!

Approx seat height will be around 26", I am 6' tall so the seat will have to go Back, and the length of the tank has to also have enough space, so seat will move back and be low.

Highway pegs would be mounted at the front lowest part of the frame.

Storage i would use a throw over saddle bags Like Nelson Riggs, they are nice and can be put on and taken off very quickly.


I also have a few dual seats from 4 cyl. Goldwings that I may see if i could do a quick disconnect mount, so that i could go between a single seat to a dual seat, and back quickly.

The Cadillac Coupe de' Ville Tail Lights, have a very Hot Rod kind of cool look to them, they have running lights, Brake lights, and turn signals, all in one light, and are all LED bulbs
If I were to go to a dual tank setup, Like I have on one of my Goldwings it has 10+ gallons of gas, the top tank gravity fills the lower tank.


I like to take rest stops, frequently,  but i hate to have to stop exploring to go find a gas station.

I have a few extra Mufflers in my shop too i would not mind trying a couple on it to see what I like and makes sense.

Several of them are from HD bikes they are small 19" long 3" OD Muffler, 1.5" diameter outlet.

A mufller this size will tuck under the bike and still provide plenty of ground clearance for the twisties.

I do not like a scoots muffler to stick out past the rear wheel bolt at least not for this look that i am going for.

A Nekid, as some pronounce it (I know it spelled wrong it is suppose to be) Cruiser kind of look.

Front fender will also need some modding to get it right,

but i think it is work-able.

   Have fun!!!   

Couldn't have put it better.  

Hey Thanks Guys,

I will be looking for a scoot that does not have too many miles, maybe even Low miles, and one that went down, and the tupper ware is a little damaged.

But the bike has to still run excellent, and no suspension/ wheel damage or any mechanical damage, so i would have to be able to test ride it, and get it for a good price.

This bike will have a Rear Car Tire ala Dark Side.

I Have some Rear Goldwing shocks for the bike, in both Air ride and Nitrogen filled Progressive, and some front Progressive springs for the forks, and may put a couple of air nipples in the fork caps, so that I can boost the front to 5 Psi to 10psi max for a comfortable ride.

Okay!  

Wow! You wanna build a Bigger Ruckus, or a Hooligan Silverwing? Well even if it's only a cruiser that's okay too. You've got my attention.

The Silverwing rear shocks are approx 16.5" long (415-425MM). Good luck finding a replacement for those shocks in your shed. And, most importantly, if you do find something else that will fit -especially air shocks- please PM me or post here so that I can include that info in the 'Replacement rear shocks' archive file. Even if that replacement shock required fabricating to adapt.

I'm really curious too about your idea of adding Schrader valves to the fork caps so that pressure could be increased. I kinda thought that increased air pressure in the fork tubes would make for a stiffer front end.

Here are a couple of links to the ADVrider scooter forum where folks have stripped Burgman 400's attempting to achieve something along the line of what you're looking to do:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=930205&highlight=Naked+burgman

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=824268&highlight=Stripped+burgman

Good luck with your project. Please keep us informed.

Tim

Hey Cosmic

Thanks for the Pics,

I Like to Modify things, I have a Great Welder, I bought a large top of the line 220v welder, also have a really nice plasma gun, and a drill Mill, a few grinders and wire wheels and lots of other tools in three Large 4 feet long roll away tool chests.

I am really lucky I have a 3200sq ft shop, and it is loaded, with parts and projects.

The rear shock will have a clevis welded to the end so the shock length wont really matter, but i believe they are 14" oal.

I am the master of bracketry, and I am a good welder so no problem there.

So enough of my back ground.

I have Goldwing Nitrogen filled Progressive Rear Shocks on My Burgman 650, made a clevis for the bottom mount and repainted them black and I have a much better handling bike and is Much more comfy than stock, I am running a Car tire on it.

I have redone the front forks with new front springs, then a couple washers to get rid of Fork Sag, and air in the forks about 4-6 psi max is what I use, it preloads the front forks, gone is any sag/dive in the front and the front gets nice and comfy, you dont want to much air, as the suspension will get harder after a certain point, with more/to much, air and nothing over about 10 psi Max or you may have a leaking fork tube.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Wow! You wanna build a Bigger Ruckus, or a Hooligan Silverwing? Well even if it's only a cruiser that's okay too. You've got my attention.

The Silverwing rear shocks are approx 16.5" long (415-425MM). Good luck finding a replacement for those shocks in your shed. And, most importantly, if you do find something else that will fit -especially air shocks- please PM me or post here so that I can include that info in the 'Replacement rear shocks' archive file. Even if that replacement shock required fabricating to adapt.

I'm really curious too about your idea of adding Schrader valves to the fork caps so that pressure could be increased. I kinda thought that increased air pressure in the fork tubes would make for a stiffer front end.

Here are a couple of links to the ADVrider scooter forum where folks have stripped Burgman 400's attempting to achieve something along the line of what you're looking to do:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=930205&highlight=Naked+burgman

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=824268&highlight=Stripped+burgman

Good luck with your project. Please keep us informed.

Tim

A picture of my Burgman 650 with Goldwing Rear Progressive shocks, In the picture i had just did a Rear fenderectomy, I cut rear fender shorter about 6 inches shorter.

In that picture you can see the Car Tire on the rear of the bike

westgl wrote:

A picture of my Burgman 650 with Goldwing Rear Progressive shocks, In the picture i had just did a Rear fenderectomy, I cut rear fender shorter about 6 inches shorter.

In that picture you can see the Car Tire on the rear of the bike

I wish that I could still get a Sumitomo to fit in place of my rear tire. The first Sumitomo lasted 40,000 miles. Unfortunately when I went to have a new one mounted, the shop (same guy who mounted the 1st one) destroyed two new Sumitomos in an attempt to get one to fit. So now I'm back to traditional cycle tires with 8000+ mile life.

Can you post a photo of your top mount clevis when you fabricate the new shock mounts? I'm curious about what keeps the clevis from acting as a pivoting link between an upper shock eye mount and the top mount on a Silverwing. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what a clevis is.

Tim

Here's a picture.

Yes a clevis is a horseshoe shape.

I cut off the ring mount that was on the bottom of the new shocks.

For the new clevis end, I drilled a couple holes bent the metal and welded them to the bottom of each shock, then cleaned, primed, and painted them black.

This was all after measuring, and re-measuring to make sure everything was perfect.

Thanks for the clevis info guys. Next, err, uninformed guy, question: is a clevis something that is commercially available in small quantities (2), how are they measured, which one will I need, and what might they cost?

Wesrgl: What do you think about making a "kit" available that would allow, say, Goldwing air shocks to be adapted to fit a Silverwing? If for no other reason than; as the Silverwing ages, and is no longer brought into North America, the parts will become scarcer and some folks might want to adapt another shock to fit. Besides that,  SW rear shocks are notoriously lame and could stand upgrading.

It's not as if you would be 'manufacturing' new shocks for something, it's that you would be supplying some parts for others to add to for whatever end purpose they chose. Reduced liability IMHO.

Tim

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

westgl wrote:

A picture of my Burgman 650 with Goldwing Rear Progressive shocks, In the picture i had just did a Rear fenderectomy, I cut rear fender shorter about 6 inches shorter.

In that picture you can see the Car Tire on the rear of the bike

I wish that I could still get a Sumitomo to fit in place of my rear tire. The first Sumitomo lasted 40,000 miles. Unfortunately when I went to have a new one mounted, the shop (same guy who mounted the 1st one) destroyed two new Sumitomos in an attempt to get one to fit. So now I'm back to traditional cycle tires with 8000+ mile life.

Can you post a photo of your top mount clevis when you fabricate the new shock mounts? I'm curious about what keeps the clevis from acting as a pivoting link between an upper shock eye mount and the top mount on a Silverwing. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what a clevis is.

Tim

Cool!! Another place where I see a picture of my stripped down Honda Reflex has graced the pages of another forum. Low rise handle bars, GL1500 or maybe 1800 seat (don't remember which) car tire on the rear, Ninja 250 headlight, etc but it is going to have a stream lined fairing. I just wanted to see what it may look like with a Big Ruckus treatment. Considering doing that to my 2004 Reflex, but also using Silverwing shocks. (needs an added sleeve at the top) They give it another inch of lift.

BTW, I use a 165/65R13 Roadstone Classe Premier car tire on my Silverwing. Nice symmetrical tread pattern and it will get you closest to the stock tire diameter and so will not throw off the speedometer/odometer as much as any of the other sized car tires. AND!!! it will not adversely/negatively affect the ABS if you have that on your bike. My ABS brakes work as they should... with no system error warning lights coming on.

I don't know how long this tire will last. As far as I know, I'm the first to use this size car tire on the Silverwing. After a little over 3100 miles so far, all I can say is that it works just fine.

There was a link I saw somewhere that showed a bunch of Honda Helix scooter from over some place in Europe (Denmark, Germany &/or France I think) But boy oh boy were they awesome. If I can find that link, I'll edit my message here and add it. I did find one picture so far though.
https://2img.net/h/i30.photobucket.com/albums/c316/PSHPAINTBALL/BRmotoDSC01626_zps04ecbc5b-1_zpssu2lvl27.jpg

AHhhh, here we go:
http://hgfler.de/umbautenhelix.htm

There was even a guy on totalruckus.com that skillfully crammed a Silverwing power supply into a Big Ruckus frame. He did a swap of the front forks as well. Looked pretty good and no surprise that it goes like  bat out of hell.

I might like to do something to my tired old 2006 Silverwing "Jester" some day..... might need just a little more inspiration. (and I'd need to make sure I have another bike to ride while the Silverwing was getting a makeover)

Thanks for those Helix photos. That nice red Helix Bobber on the 'Halterner Grossroller Freunde ' page appears to have larger than normal wheels. I wonder how that was done given the limited wheel space at the rear and possible interference with the engine case?

For me the major shortcoming of the Helix was that tiny 10" wheel at the rear. While the Helix was designed for a more urban environment I always fancied long distance touring on one. But the limited top speed and the need to carry a stack of spare tires kinda put a crimp on that idea.

I am curious to know how you are going to deal with the meter panel as some of the circuitry there also effects the ECU.

Tim

Not sure if you were talking to me or not, I would bring the wiring speedo cluster and ecu rearward, most motorcycle wiring is bundled and then tape wrapped, the tape would be removed where necessary, for proper distribution/placement.

1. Speedo cluster behind the handle bars and just above the Faux Goldwing Gas Tank, Because remember my Solo seat will be lower at a 24" seat height, and further back by about 6-8" further back.
2. ECU, would go into/Under the Faux Tank, If i need to unwrap a wiring bundle for wiring distribution no problem.

The only thing i see that I dont like is the EXHAUST!

For this project, I am Liking the Burgman 650 a little better the cylinders are further forward and the exhaust comes from the front of the bike, for a better look.

But the Swing is not out of the running yet for this project.

westgl wrote:

Not sure if you were talking to me or not...

Oops, sorry, I didn't make that post clear. Yes, I was asking you about the meter panel board. I had forgotten that you are attempting a cruiser mod, not a nekkid hooligan bike.

I'm sorry too to hear that you are leaning away from using a Silverwing. I'd sure like to see what could be done with our scoots. Maybe Bandito2 will try something. He sure looks to have some success with his Burgy projects.

Tim

Only other draw back on the swing is it does not have full length fork tubes

Westgl; A follow up question on your project bike: You mentioned that you were going to add Schrader valves to the fork caps so that the pressure could be increased. Where can you get Schrader valves long enough to thread into the fork caps? What is the thread size of those Schrader valves, and where can you purchase a tap & die for doing that?

I suppose that it is possible to tap & thread the fork caps to take individual 1/8th pipe fittings. Then run copper tubing from those fork caps to a "T" fitting and fit a single Schrader valve there. But I'd much rather have individual air valves on each fork cap. In either case I'd still have the quandary of locating the correct tap & die size as well as the long schraders.

Tim

I went to a local bicycle shop and bought the schrader valves.

Then I went to a local tool store, NOT HF, a Good Tool store and bought the correct tap to fit the valves threads.

I also bought a low pressure tire gauge like for a low pressure tire, Quad, or john deer, that can read low pressure like down to 2 psi, as i run 5 or 6 psi in my forks

Here is a link to amazon

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=schrader+air+valve&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=3527192833&ref=pd_sl_615jb94ara_b

So do you think that it might be possible to drill & tap the OEM rear shocks to add Schrader valves? Then you could either add nitrogen or just increase air pressure. Or possibly even drain the existing shock oil and replace it with a higher viscosity oil too.

Hmmm.. I wonder exactly where a schrader valve could be located?

Tim

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Hmmm.. I wonder exactly where a schrader valve could be located?

Check out the fifth from bottom item on this page Tim .... http://ltthor.home.comcast.net/~ltthor/Simons.html

Thanks for that link Bern.

Actually I didn't make myself clear. What I was asking is; where on an OEM rear shock could a Schrader valve be added so that air pressure could be increased in that shock? Would it be possible for a valve to to added to the rear shocks?

Tim