SALTFATS

[hillsmith]

Ok, I am late starting the build but am pretty sure I can pull it off before the deadline. I am doing a Saltflat themed bike starting with a 40s Hiawatha frame only. Today the frame is being stripped and lengthened by 3" and the forks mocked up.

[hillsmith]

Decided where to cut and lengthen the frame so chopped it and made these sleeves to weld into place. This will allow for a stronger weld joint and make metal finishing easier.

[stretch]

very nice! i have a frame like that, wanna chop mine too?

[jezusjonz]

Waiting eagerly....love anything to do with the flats. Love your way of stretching a frame wish I had a lathe. I found that a good piece of angle iron works great also to hold your piece your adding to the frame.
Terry

[hillsmith]

Waiting eagerly....love anything to do with the flats. Love your way of stretching a frame wish I had a lathe. I found that a good piece of angle iron works great also to hold your piece your adding to the frame.
Terry

Thats exactly how I line things up while tack welding. I built up the forks and headset stuff today so will post photos later.

[hillsmith]

I mocked up the fork and front end assembly today. Tubes are 1" stainless, the tripples are off a Giannini R-2 minimoto that my kid wrecked a few years ago. The headset is a sealed bearing setup that required some custom inserts to make work right. Everything is a few thou oversized and pressed into place. I decided to put an adjustable steering damper on the front end similar to the ones the older speed run motorcycles use at Bonneville (some used two). I plan on reworking the tripple trees to get rid of the billet look and make them look like they were cast.
The bike looks a little out of proportion without the tires, I will wait until they arrive before I final weld in case something needs to be moved around

[hotfoot]

Looking great so far.

[hillsmith]

More photos of bearing inserts being made and damper set-up.

[theVULTURE]

very nice!
i like your style

bike doesn't even have tires, and it looks faster than my rocket car

(okay, i don't have a rocket car......)

[Gdcast]

I like it, I like the bike, the vette, the tools...
I see you´re building a nice tank for it too, pics?

[FLAT BLACK KUSTOMS]

Waiting eagerly....love anything to do with the flats. Love your way of stretching a frame wish I had a lathe. I found that a good piece of angle iron works great also to hold your piece your adding to the frame.
Terry

Thats exactly how I line things up while tack welding. I built up the forks and headset stuff today so will post photos later.

What would it cost to make a set (3)of those "stretching" inserts ? I have an old Marshall-Wells ZENITH that has a motor installed on it.....It would look good stretched ! Then I could fab up a long tank for it!

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

yes!!!!

[cman]

The Stretch is nice and subtle. Dampener + fork+ stretch = A+ build.

[necessaryevil]

Really liking this build, it's begging for round slicks front and back.

[hillsmith]

Waiting eagerly....love anything to do with the flats. Love your way of stretching a frame wish I had a lathe. I found that a good piece of angle iron works great also to hold your piece your adding to the frame.
Terry

Thats exactly how I line things up while tack welding. I built up the forks and headset stuff today so will post photos later.

What would it cost to make a set (3)of those "stretching" inserts ? I have an old Marshall-Wells ZENITH that has a motor installed on it.....It would look good stretched ! Then I could fab up a long tank for it!

Get some 1/4 wall tubing with the correct outside diameter, in my case it was 1" and any local machine shop could turn down the ends for you, probably an hour shop time. Don't assume that the wall thickness is the same on all of the tubing on your bike, mine was built with two different tubing sizes.