HOW TO MAKE AN OIL TANK - PART 1

I  am going to outline how to make an oil tank for your chopper. I have used 5" heavy truck exhaust. You can usually get this from a local dealer that works on heavy trucks like dump trucks or semi's etc. It is 16 guage mild steel and is easy to weld. If you cant find a local dealer then you can order it online from supply shops like this ( http://store.airflo.com/plsttu5od.html ) or someplace like www.bungking.com, though they are more expensive than a supply house. 

This is gonna be a straight and simple round oil tank that fits under your seat behind your seat post. I have only built 70's SOHC Honda Choppers so I can only attest to what size you need for that bike. I made mine 13" in length in order to flow with the lines of the bike and this suited my capacity needs. But the magic math formula to figure out the volume of a cylinder is at this link, or just google it. 
..http://www.mathsteacher.com.au/year9/ch14_measurement/18_cylinder/cylinder.htm

But basically it's        Volume= Pi (3.14) x radius squared x height
So if my tube is 5" across x 13" long my formula will be
Volume = 3.14 x 6.25 x 13
which comes to 255.125 cubic inches or 4.18 liters. I know by bikes oil capacity is something like 3.7 liters so that will be big enough for my needs.

Step #1 is done. you have aquired your tubing.

Step #2 is figure out the length of tubing needed for your bikes oil capacity and chosen tube radius. For example you can use a bigger diameter tube and go shorter in length to get the same volume.

Step #4 Cut the tubing in a straight line at the desired length

Step #5 Find the center of your tubing from left to right as well as the center from top to bottom and mark the location for the fittings. These will include the oil drain, ouput and return feeds, oil fill, vent, and attachment bungs.

Step #6 Use a unibit to drill the holes that coincides with the proper diamter of the tophat bungs for the fittings.

Step # 7 Cut out the end pieces from 16 guage flat steel you got frokmk your local home depot.

Step #8 Weld in the fittings and the end caps

Step # 9 Weld on the chosen bracketry, ie. threaded bungs for mounting. 

Step # 10  Rattle can that bitch and mount it. If it leaks you suck at welding and bribe a buddy that knows how to weld with some steaks and beer to do it for you.

Step # 11 Ride it into the ground


Those are the basic steps, but really Im gonna cover them more in depth over a couple of posts with photos and such so you can really see whats up.

Step #1

Heres a pic of some 5" exhaust tube I picked up from a friend.
This is about 3 feet long.

 

I know the length I need because of my magic math equation, So I measured it and cut it at 13". Use something you can wrap around the tubing to ensure a straight line when you mark it

I used my cut off wheel to cut along the line I marked. 

In these pictures you see the unibit I used to drill the holes as well as the center line and location marks for the feed and drain. I located my drain on the left side of the bike so that I can use the natural lean of the bike on it's kickstand in order to facilitate draining the oil. On my Honda SOHC my oil lines are on the lower right of the engine so it only makes sense to put them on the right side. Make sure you don't put the holes to close together so you don't have enough room to weld in the tophat bungs without sitting right on top of each other.  

                                                                         Cut Tube

The unibit...super freaking expensive ($50) but worth it. I got the one that goes up to 7/8 ", it pretty much does me right.

Here you can see the center line I measured and the 3 holes I drilled on the bottom for my drain and two feeds.


Ok thats it for this post. Please check back on Sunday when I write up my next installment. Ride on.....  

Cafe Bikes In England in the 50's & 60's

This is a pretty cool little video of the history of the motorcycle culture in England during the 50's & 60's. I love seeing the old cafe bikes. Lots of leather and goggles. Love it man, totally love it.   

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


The Famous 59 Club  - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/59_Club
                    
                        ROCKERS RULE!!

CHOP CULT

This is a pretty cool site with a lot of links to different things. I would like to highlight the photodump. It has the albums divided up by the "nationality" (for lack of a better term) of your chop. Jap chops, British, Vintage and the HD's are divided by engine type...knuckleheads, shovelheads, etc. And they of course have an album for our favorite subject....girls and bikes. Enjoy.

http://www.chopcult.com/photos.php

THE BEAUTY OF THE ART LIES IN THE DOING

I've been training in the martial arts for over 20 years now and I have seen many friends come and go for many reasons. In the late 90's I got into full contact bare knuckle fighting and I got involved with Kancho Joko Ninomiya and his tournament in Denver Colorado, The Sabaki Challenge. I have nothing but respect for Kancho Ninomiya and when I say he is the real deal, I mean it. HE IS THE REAL DEAL! So of course I read his autobiography and was greatly influenced by it. What's all of this have to do with motorcycles you ask? Well, it's not about bikes alone, but about building bikes and what it stands for. I have spent 3 years building my bike. I have scraped and scratched to build a rat bike worth a couple of thousand bucks. I have worked late at night in a freezing shed after I put my kids to sleep just to put in some hours to get it done. I have begged, borrowed and all but stolen parts and pieces to make it happen. I have spent countless nights with thoughts of problems in my head and solved them in my dreams. I have over extended myself in so many ways and gotten out of my comfort zone and learned many new skills. 

Kancho Ninomiya said in his book, "The beauty of the art lies in the doing" My motorcycle will be finished and thats what people will see, a finished product and me riding it. But what they won't know, what they won't feel is all the blood sweat and tears that went into getting it done. I grew as a person and as a man building this bike and it brought me closer to the memory of my father. When I am holding a wrench and I have grease in every ripple of my hand, my soul feels like its where it belongs. The real beauty of this bike is in the building, in the DOING. That is the art of living, the beauty of existing. Now don't get me wrong, I'm gonna love the hell outta riding this bike and having it done, that thought has all but consumed me. But everyone I have met and all that I have learned will be with me for the rest of my life and when I am old and gray I will be able to look back, long after that bike is gone and my greatest masterpiece will be a life well lived, a life of DOING.

A QUICK RIDE UP THE STREET

Here's a quick little video of me leaving my driveway, well the yard anyway. I need to adjust my clutch cable, as you can see it's giving me some problems. Enjoy.

MY '78 HONDA CB750 CHOP

Heres my first video I've made of my '78 CB750 chopper. I took it with my iphone and the sound is a little off as well. I had to break it up into two parts so I could email it to myself. (Not real good at this yet) Just wanted to share since I actually have this thing running ok. I still need to tune it up and such but it's doing pretty good. I'm gonna try and get a ride video next. I don't have tags yet so it will just be me going up and down my street. Thanks to all of those guys and gals at Hondachopper.com who have made this possible with parts, technical and moral support. You rock. HCMF forever.....

How To Fix A Broken Float Post on CB750 Round Top Carbs

Ok. I know I might catch some flack for not just using a new carb body, but these carbs were really in good shape and I really wanted to use them as a set and they were the best I had. So the problem was a broken float bowl post. This seems to be a really common problem with these carbs and I have broken 2 myself when trying to get out the little brass pin that holds the float bowls in place. So these carbs I had were really nice and I was bummed that I was gonna have to tear them apart and use a body from a different set. I am a problem solver and I am always thinking of ways to fix things that are busted up. So I figured what the hell, I might as well give this idea a shot, I didn't have anything to lose.

How The Posts Are Supposed To Look

So for me the first step was to aquire another post. Since I didn't have the one that broke off I just cut one off a trashed body that I had that was missing a post as well.

The Donor Post

Then I grabbed one of the brass rods that usually holds the float bowls on and found a drill bit just under size (make sure it is under a smaller diameter than the brass rod, it has to be a tight press fit). I then drilled a hole in both the carb body and the new post a good 1/4 inch. (make sure this a straight and true, any drift and you will get an oversized hole and it wont be sturdy). 

The Carb Body With Hole Drilled

The Bottom Side of The Donor Post With New Hole

I then pressed fit the brass rod into the carb body and trimmed it to the desired length with a pair of cutters

Carb With New Brass Rod

and then the new post onto that.

With New Post Before Setting Height

Tap the new post into place at the desired height and check it with a straight edge. Remember though, you are lining up the pin hole and not the top of the post.

Finished Transplant

Now your good to go. And let me tell you it is just as solid as it was before it broke. I found it to be a quick and really rather nifty way to fix an otherwise fubared carb. I hope it helps.