New Banana Girder Build

hi Fast.....thanks.....the long rainy season here in Seattle affords some time along with a beverage or five to tap into that creative flow! :) I completely here you on the front brake thing.....i am of an era where seatbelts were not mandated, helmets were not regulated, learned to shoot a gun in boy scouts in the third grade, etc......not trying to be political or make any statements......ijust saying that it is nice to be able to make a choice as to access the risk/benefits and either accept them or not. Again....thanks. WRMDOVR
 
That front end is gorgeous. Also love the way it cleans up the whole front of the bike. No wires no mess.

Do you have a background in engineering? Curious to know how you made use of those rather rudimentary tools to create a front end like that. I've got similar tools but no ideas where to even begin with something that complex!
 
hi Fast.....thanks.....the long rainy season here in Seattle affords some time along with a beverage or five to tap into that creative flow! :) I completely here you on the front brake thing.....i am of an era where seatbelts were not mandated, helmets were not regulated, learned to shoot a gun in boy scouts in the third grade, etc......not trying to be political or make any statements......ijust saying that it is nice to be able to make a choice as to access the risk/benefits and either accept them or not. Again....thanks. WRMDOVR

Hi wrmdover,
quoting Gollum:- "It's not about YOU, Nobody likes YOU!"
All those seatbelt ,helmet and vehicle construction laws are to protect other folks from the consequences of your actions.
And yes! Every child should be taught how to shoot. If nothing else they'd hit who they were shooting at rather than innocent bystanders.
Not that it would've helped the poor lady in Saskatoon who was gunned down by a White Boy Posse hitman because the dyslexic moron couldn't read the house address correctly.
 
Hi Slow.....appreciate the kind words. I went to school for Arch. and Eng but no degree. not to be cavalier but it really is simple. i spent about a year researching different setups and decided on this one for simplicity, strength and overall aesthetics. I bought the metal and had it sit for a couple of months trying to muster up the courage to start and quite literally after a few ounces of liquid courage courtesy of jack daniels......I started by first drawing it out on card board then .i started bending up the leading leg.....the skinnier part which is 1/2 inch thick wall...promptly screwed it up! the harbor freight bender is certainly not the easiest to work with and i had my share of dimples to fix/cover up but in the end I think that it came out o.k. The rear leg is made up of 3/4 inch thick wall and went much easier due to the lessons/screw ups on the lead leg. The net/net is that i would recommend to plan out any endeavor thoroughly, try to make a copy in card board and go from there..... metal is relatively inexpensive and nothing can replace the experiences i have learned from the builds i have done along with the broken fingers, stitches and cracked wrist that were courtesy of this build! :banghead:i i may need to change my moto from "if it were easy, everyone would be doing it" to "no pain, no gain" :laugh:
 
Slow.....btw....if there is anything i can assist with long distance let me know....more than happy to do what i can from my humble little shop/man cave! WRMDOVR
 
Hey Fred........couldn't agree with you more and it certainly is never about me.....and i accept that most, if not everyone doesn't like me....hell there are times i don't even like myself that much! frankly i suspect that my dogs only tolerate me because i feed and water them! :umm: my design/build choices are certainly not to endanger others but is rather a choice to challenge myself to do something that i thought here to fore impossible. i try to follow the time honored adage of form follows function....my spin on that is build it safe and then try to make it look pretty. My next build will be a low slung trike with skinny wheels on the back to match the front and will maybe included a front brake.....................nawwwwwwww! :laughing: WRMDOVR
 
Hey Fred........couldn't agree with you more and it certainly is never about me.....and i accept that most, if not everyone doesn't like me....hell there are times i don't even like myself that much! frankly i suspect that my dogs only tolerate me because i feed and water them! :umm: my design/build choices are certainly not to endanger others but is rather a choice to challenge myself to do something that i thought here to fore impossible. i try to follow the time honored adage of form follows function....my spin on that is build it safe and then try to make it look pretty. My next build will be a low slung trike with skinny wheels on the back to match the front and will maybe included a front brake.....................nawwwwwwww! :laughing: WRMDOVR
Hi wrmdovr,
Nothing personal, I like you just fine although admittedly that might change if we met in person.
The Gollum quote is an in-joke that you have to find a hidden cookie on the Two Towers DVD that shows Gollum picking up Peter Serkes' EDIT he's really Andy Serkis http://www.serkis.com/ ENDEDIT motion-capture award to appreciate.
Good luck with the trikie build, you do know them things steer funny, eh?
 
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Slow.....btw....if there is anything i can assist with long distance let me know....more than happy to do what i can from my humble little shop/man cave! WRMDOVR

You are the man. Super inspiring to read that such simple tools and some preparation can create such an outstanding product. I would love to chat in more detail about how you determine whether or not a design is structurally safe, as I'd love to dive into this process in the future once I get a garage setup. If you've got any suggestions for where to begin for drawing up a design that is strong and safe, I'm all ears. I'll send you a pm.
 
- - - i started bending up the leading leg.....the skinnier part which is 1/2 inch thick wall...promptly screwed it up! the harbor freight bender is certainly not the easiest to work with and i had my share of dimples to fix/cover up but in the end I think that it came out o.k. The rear leg is made up of 3/4 inch thick wall and went much easier due to the lessons/screw ups on the lead leg. - - -

Hi wrmdovr,
you got me going with the 1/2" heavy wall & 3/4" heavy wall because the smallest diameter tubulars with those wall thickness
I can find in Machinery's Handbook is Steam Pipe. 3" Sch 160 pipe has 0.438" wall and 5" XSS pipe has 0.750" wall.
Then my other brain cell kicked in. You meant to say 1/2" OD & 3/4" OD mechanical tubing in what? 11ga? wall thickness.
There's a trick to bending that stuff, either cold in a bending machine or torched red hot over a wooden former.
Pack it full of dry sand. Make sure it's dry. A steam bomb will spoil your whole day.
Back in the 1950s before we knew the shit was a heavy metal poison we used to cold bend thinwall tubes with Cerrobend.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood's_metal
Look it up if you like because it's kinda neat but I'd reckon the expense of buying the full hazmat kit and the hassle
of wearing it to safely use the stuff would far outweigh it's neatness factor.
 
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Hey Fred.....i had to ask my kids who gollum was.....now i get it. once again....great obscure and oblique reference! my literary perusings are limited to isotope doping, dense wave division mulitplexing (DWDM) and symetrical/asymetrical routing and motorcycle mags! Yeah, i know.....real contrast but it works. You sir are correct.....and where able to interpret what i meant to say in lieu of what i typed.....the rear leg is 3/4 OD with a 1/8 inch wall thickness. i wanted to have something that would provide strength and durability while integrating visually with the 1 1/4 OD used for the frame. in my opinion anything smaller visually looks spindly creating an imbalance between the front end and rear end/.

regarding the trike.....i am simply establishing my succession plan for when the day comes that two wheels are no longer an option i have something that for me is inline with my personality and can carry my oxygen tank and huge bag of medications for when i am old and decrepit! :laughing:
 
hey Hogtyed...did the bike.....love that color.. i am currently waiting for replacement PAMCO which hopefully will be here next week as the clock is winding down. and barring the typical PNW weather.....raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock or some left field issue I will be there. WRMDOVR
 
Hey Fred.....i had to ask my kids who gollum was.....now i get it. once again....great obscure and oblique reference! my literary perusings are limited to isotope doping, dense wave division mulitplexing (DWDM) and symetrical/asymetrical routing and motorcycle mags! - - - regarding the trike.....i am simply establishing my succession plan for when the day comes that two wheels are no longer an option i have something that for me is inline with my personality and can carry my oxygen tank and huge bag of medications for when i am old and decrepit! :laughing:

Hi wrmdovr,
about "obscure and oblique" I guess it depends on who your "other gang" is besides motorcyclists.
My "other gang" are all Medievalists and Tolkein addicts who were weaned on LOTR.
Which is why I was able to tell them "My daughter's dating an Orc" and get instant understanding and sympathy.
Dunno WhoTF your "other gang" is but all I understood of your literary perusings were "doping" and "motorcycle mags"
Admittedly I AM old (although still denying decrepitude) and have already made my age-related concession by adding sidecars to my bikes.
It's the easiest way to add a 3rd wheel to a bike so it won't fall over. Of course trikes and foretrikes won't fall over neither but
it takes a shitload more work to build one of those and trikes (except if it's a copy of a Scott Sociable if you want a REALLY obscure example)
run on 3 tracks instead of two and so can't help but hit every last bump and pothole in the road.
And besides, unlike a trike, a sidecar rig steers different turning one way than another. It's eccentric!
I wonder why I like that characteristic in a vehicle?
 
Hogtyed......no go on the oyster run.....replacement PAMCO went out the past Friday so will hopefully have it by Wed....Thur at the latest. If you went trust you had a great time. WRMDOVR
 
I headed up Hwy 9 and around Arlington I developed what seemed to be a knock coming from the top end. I pulled into town and couldn't find it. It would show up from 3500-4000 rpm's. So I turned around and headed back to the garage. Started messing around with the bike and found out that the gas cap, of all things, was the source of the knock/rattle. So I decided it was a great time to adjust the valves, chains and timing. Then I mowed the lawn and turned on the game. Maybe next year. :)
 
hey HD......thanks. i have always loved the looks and really wanted a bike with one and the only way that was happening is if i jumped in. i have only seen them in magazines and did extensive research online and bought every magazine that had one as there are a couple different styles, most notably Dave Cook and Jesse Rooke. this bike incorporated everything that i would want, internal twist throttle, modified jockey shift, drop seat rigid, banana girder, 2 into 1 intake, kick only, sight line on gas tank. i can now die peacefully! :)
 
Hi wrenchjohns,
Quote from "Annie Get your Gun"
"I can drink my liquor quicker than a flicker"
"And I can get even sicker
Than you."
Which is why I bring my beer home while I'm sober and drink it sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace where I'm only ten steps away from the washroom.
(At my age it's holding it in after it's been drunk that's the problem.)
I know what you are talking about. I've also given up on sleeping the entire night. At least one trip to the bathroom a night is now standard procedure.
 
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