In other news, I've managed to survive the first week back to school. Shaping up to be a decent, albeit extremely busy, year. Hoping I manage to survive it!
Motorcycles, metal working, sheet metal, welding, TIG, MIG, education, cafe racers, old trucks, mendelmax 2.0 3D printer, vintage, technology and design, custom hand made Hot Wheels, old John Deere, stationary, hit and miss engines. A little bit of everything in the garage.
Showing posts with label 1911 Board Track Racer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1911 Board Track Racer. Show all posts
Sunday, September 07, 2014
I've hit the BIG TIME!
I entered my Worlds Smallest Flying Merkel in the Eastern Idaho State Fair, and hit the jackpot! Took "Second Premium", whatever that means... Apparently, it comes with a monetary reward, although I don't know what I'll do with all this money!
In other news, I've managed to survive the first week back to school. Shaping up to be a decent, albeit extremely busy, year. Hoping I manage to survive it!
In other news, I've managed to survive the first week back to school. Shaping up to be a decent, albeit extremely busy, year. Hoping I manage to survive it!
Tuesday, August 05, 2014
World's Smallest Flying Merkel!
Got a wild hair and built myself a Flying Merkel. This is, without a doubt, THE COOLEST motorcycle to ever grace this planet. Merkel built "motorcycles" in the early 1900's. You can read all about them on the interewebs.
Here is my very favorite: The 1911 board track racer.
I've dreamed of building a version of this bike, and even went so far as to design one around an old Honda XL 350.
I still hope to be able to build that bike someday, even though someone already beat me to it and built one around a Yamaha XT 500 engine. You can see his entire build here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=619303 There is some incredible craftsmanship there. It turned out GREAT too:
Oh, right, so the one I built.
Lets see what we can do with all of my wifes jewelry stuff.
Frame was bent out of little bits of wire that are supposed to be made into earings. The rims were pre-rolled just like they are there.
See that lump of aluminum?
Thats the gas tank.
Forks done. Look familiar?
Engine was made from the bottom of a 1/4" bolt and the tops cut from two spark plugs.
Test fitting.
Painting was a real pain in the hiney.
Starting to come together. Used this fancy wire from Walmart to add some detail.
Took me 4 tries to get the pedals right, 3 tries to get the mag and plug wires right, and lots of tries for various other bits...
Made some custom decals with water transfer paper. Took several tries on regular paper to get the size and curve right but I think they turned out okay.
Voila! Done.
And to get a better idea of the size:
"Final" pic.
Now if only I could afford the REAL one!
Here is my very favorite: The 1911 board track racer.
I've dreamed of building a version of this bike, and even went so far as to design one around an old Honda XL 350.
I still hope to be able to build that bike someday, even though someone already beat me to it and built one around a Yamaha XT 500 engine. You can see his entire build here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=619303 There is some incredible craftsmanship there. It turned out GREAT too:
Oh, right, so the one I built.
Lets see what we can do with all of my wifes jewelry stuff.
Frame was bent out of little bits of wire that are supposed to be made into earings. The rims were pre-rolled just like they are there.
See that lump of aluminum?
Thats the gas tank.
Forks done. Look familiar?
Engine was made from the bottom of a 1/4" bolt and the tops cut from two spark plugs.
Test fitting.
Painting was a real pain in the hiney.
Starting to come together. Used this fancy wire from Walmart to add some detail.
Took me 4 tries to get the pedals right, 3 tries to get the mag and plug wires right, and lots of tries for various other bits...
Made some custom decals with water transfer paper. Took several tries on regular paper to get the size and curve right but I think they turned out okay.
Voila! Done.
And to get a better idea of the size:
"Final" pic.
Now if only I could afford the REAL one!
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