Death or Glory; the FC-40

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Re: First mockup!! The FC-40

This project is turning out great!

Love all of the details and your great write up on this.

Not sure why, but when I saw the bike mocked up it reminded me a little of the Hawk Ace.


ace1.jpg
 
Re: First mockup!! The FC-40

Thanks guys. Steve, that is a huge compliment because I have always loved those Hawk Cycles. I wish they had better US distributorship. Joe at Motostrano told me he has tried to reach out to them but they don't return his messages :(

Anyways, I have made some progress on the shifter mount. I also trimmed the bars today-- took about three inches off each side. I'll try to get things mocked up with the new parts and get some photos soon. Also I think I am zeroing on which tires I am going to use on this thing. Stay tuned.
 
Re: First mockup!! The FC-40

I got the shifter mount fabbed up. I carved it out of some aluminum angle. It screws to the bottom of the tank. The final part will be powder coated-- most likely in black wrinkle finish. But anyways here are some pictures.

IMG_2046.JPG

I am going to have the drilled "heat shield" motif repeated a couple times on this bike. The red thing behind the shifter is an aircraft style switch for the headlamp.

A closer look:
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Here's a look at the new stem and trimmed bars:
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IMG_2045.JPG

The brooks plump grips installed.

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These are the latest mockup pics with the new stem and bars.

IMG_2051.JPG

Lastly, here is a sneak peek at what I am thinking of for the headlamp. I think my next task will be to mount and wire up the headlamp. I also plan on ordering my new tires this week. :mrgreen:

Thanks for checking in.
 
Re: First mockup!! The FC-40

Thanks guys. Some real progress to report today because the bike is officially rideable. The final piece of the puzzle were my new tires which the FedEX dude dropped off today. I went with Kenda K-Rads in 26 x2.3" size. When I got them I was a little disappointed in the size. The 2.3" wide tires don't really look any wider than a 2.125 cruiser tire but on the Felt rims they look good enough so I think I'll stick with them. Anyways, PICTURES:

IMG_3425.jpg

The Kenda K-Rads are much like Maxxis Holy Rollers. They are basically a wire beaded BMX tire. There is some mild tread hum while riding but they seem to be a nice compromise for dirt and pavement. They can actually be inflated up to 80 psi. :shock: I have them at 60 psi right now and that seems plenty pressurized for my taste.

IMG_3426.JPG

As you can see I got the headlamp mounted and wired up. and the shifter cable installed. At first I thought the Boxkars shifter was pulling too much cable to shift right but I seem to have it working and adjusted now. I gutted a nice little LED flashlight to use in the headlamp. The headlamp was actually an off-road truck light. The battery pack will hide in the tank.

IMG_3430-2007691126.JPG

I don't think anyone will accuse me of not making the headlight bracket beefy enough. It is built from two pieces of 3/16" thick aluminum angle. It sandwiches and is through-bolted to the front fork. This, and many other parts will be powdercoated in satin black.

IMG_3428.JPG


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My to-do list is shrinking. I still plan on mounting a chain guard. The tank interior needs some tidying. I plan on adding compartments for tools, spare tube, etc. The final big item on the list is paint and powdercoat which means ,before you know it, it will be time to tear this thing back down to the frame.

Well The bike is pretty close to done in mockup stage-- or so I thought. After going for a test ride I was not so sure about the inverted bars. So I am conducting a little survey in the "Bike Talk" section of the forum for a few other options. I have my opinions which I'll go into later but I don't want to skew the results just yet so If you are interested in seeing the other options for bars and would like to share an opinion, have a look here: http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=77898

Thanks for checking in!
 
Re: Tank Time, The FC-40

two spot said:
Nothing beats the original in my opinion but that new Bandeirante does look pretty neat. Particularly this pickup version:
0,,33280589,00.jpg

At least it looks better than the "FJ Cruiser" that we have now. Interestingly I did a little digging and discovered that Brazil was the only place in the world where the 40 series landcruiser was produced until 2001. For the rest of the world the supply was cut off when Toyota sopped making them in Japan in 1984.

Back to the bike. I ordered a 1" quill to 1 1/8" threadless stem adapter and I also picked up a four bolt BMX block style stem. Hopefully my Boxkars shifter is also on it's way. I am going to start pressing the bearing cups back into the frame and get this thing mocked up.
Click to expand...

Bike looks awesome but as for the FJ Cruiser yeah it's ugly but they are actually one of the most capable off road vehicles you can get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5KyVaeeW54

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y9qQjqGRjs
 
Re: Almost Ready for Paint! The FC-40

I actually don't have anything against the FJ Cruiser really, I just wish Toyota went a slightly different direction. This was one of the concepts that was kicked around before they went with the current vehicle:

wallpapers_toyota_concepts_2003_2_b.jpg


I personally like this much better. My brother actually has a TRD FJ Cruiser and I do like it but when you compare it to a TLC Icon, the real inspiration for my build, the FJ Cruiser is just too plastic-y and frankly it just doesn't cut it. To Illustrate my point, I leave you with an Image that is so beautiful, it brings a tear to my eye:

FJ44_f1.jpg


Sources for images:
http://www.favcars.com/wallpapers-toyota-land-cruiser-fj45-concept-2003-192097
http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/06/fj44-icon/

Regards,
 
Re: Almost Ready for Paint! The FC-40

AGREED! That concept looks WAY better. I can say from experience Toyota makes a great vehicle, I had a rusted and beat to snot 1987 Toyota King cab pickup (extended cab) It had a bit over 500,000 miles when I bought it for $500 bucks. The odometer broke around 675,000 and the frame broke from rust around 800,000 miles. It still drove itself to the scrapyard. It had been off roaded, scraped against rocks and trees, rolled over 3 times, submerged in mud over the roof, hit a few deer, and 500,000 miles of whatever the other owners put it through. The only mods I ever did to it was a slight lift, 33's, and a home made PVC pipe snorkel. I still miss that truck even though it was a heap.
 
Re: Almost Ready for Paint! The FC-40

I had to work for like 14 days straight but today I got a tiny bit of work done on the build. Before all that I did manage to get the chain guard mounted and I rode around the hood a bit.

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The riding position feels pretty comfortable so I am moving on to the next steps. I want to add compartments to the storage tank that hold tools and a spare tube. These compartments will be solvent welded ABS plastic.

IMG_2159.JPG

To start off, I made a pattern for the tank compartments. I want a precise fit inside the tanks so I actually photocopied one of the tank sides and drew up the compartments over that. The front compartment is actually the battery pack for the on-board electrics, the middle compartment holds a spare tube and the rear compartment holds tools. You can see the pattern in the photo above as well as the the ABS plastic blanks that I will use to shape the compartment walls out of.

IMG_2161.JPG

Compartment front and back walls are all cut out. The Black ABS sheet has a smooth side and a textured side. I am going to use the textured side on the insides of the compartments.

That's it for now. I am hoping to get a little more done tomorrow.

Later,
 
More Tank Work The FC-40

Thanks Luke. I appreciate that. I took a few hours today to really progress on the tank storage compartments. They are turning out just as I had planned.8) I started out by making basic boxes. A Unibit was used to drill finger pull holes in the front walls of the boxes so I can easily slide them out. There will be some small guide rails that help the boxes slide in place neatly. Notched corners were added to the front and middle boxes to accommodate these guide rails. I also had to add a small tunnel in the back center box to give space for the wiring. The rear box, which will hold tools, has a small divider/holder for a mini air pump. The remaining space will hold Allen wrenches, multi-tool, etc. I should be able to keep everything neatly on-board for field repairs. :D On to the progress pics:

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Storage compartments coming along. Construction is all solvent welded ABS plastic.

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They fit neatly inside the tank. The small notches in the lower right corners of the compartments accommodate the guide rails that help the compartments slide out.

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Here the center compartment, which will hold a spare inner tube, is slid out. I still have to sand and smooth these out a bit to prep them for paint.

Thanks for checking in!

Later,
 
Re: More Tank Work, The FC-40

Man, this bike just keeps getting cooler.

Have you thought about paint color? To be pefectly honest, I'm really liking the current primer color. But that's just me. Your wok has been impressive, so paint scheme will no doubt be awesome too.
 
Re: More Tank Work, The FC-40

Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback. Luke I was actually just thinking about the possibility of rattling. I may add some small rare earth magnets to keep the drawers locked down. But first I'll get the guide rails in place and simply give the tank a good "shake test" to see what happens.

Tomburr, I have actually put a lot of thought into paint colors. The FJ series ICON uses all matte powdercoat finishes. I am not going to use powdercoat because I want the control that doing the paint myself affords, but I am going to use matte finishes. The dark gray seen on the frame is actually the final color. Overall I want a dark and almost military appearance. For contrast I am planning on a slightly lighter shade of gray for the tank sides. I am planning on powdercoating almost all the chrome or silver parts in matte black. There will be a few parts done in wrinkle finish black as well. The interior of the tank and the storage drawers will be a desert tan color. I am also working on designing a vintage style logo that will be made into a decal for the tanks sides so stay tuned for that.

Later,
 
Paint begins, The FC-40

Moving on...

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Compartment guide rails installed in tank.

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Compartments sanded in prep for paint. Test fit. I also installed small rare earth magnets that lock the compartments down when stowed.

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One last look before breaking the tank down for paint.

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All 42 of the stainless cap screws that secure the tank sides are removed and the Tank frame is sanded and prepped.

The whole bike is broken back down to the frame and it's time for final paint. :)

Thanks for checking in.
 
Re: Paint begins, The FC-40

Wow!
I missed this build completely until just now. Awesome detail work going on here.
Bravo!
 

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