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Ironhead hardtail project

4K views 21 replies 7 participants last post by  tldave 
#1 ·
Not gonna be a chopper, but not a 'fighter, so I'll stick this in here. I love the look of the early Scout's, and I've been wanting to do something with this old Sportster engine I have, so this is the plan.



There's nothing about the above bike that I would change. The Scout engine is a very short twin and the IH is around 22" tall. The fuel tank between the frame rails is a must have, so is the leafer front end. The build would be pointless without them. Due to the height of my engine the bike will be bigger overall...might have to go to 21" or 23" rims to keep the proportions right. Just have to wing at as I go.

First thing's first, I decided a frame jig would be the best place to start. Was looking for some steel I never did find, but found this extruded aluminum channels in my scrap pile instead. Works for me! So fastened up a bed out of it that bolts to my lift table.


Using the channels for adjustability. Pretty handy stuff, actually.

Way taller than needed, but may come
in handy for dropping plumb lines, so not gonna chop it down for now.


Machined up some piece for the rear axle support. I'm reusing the Sportster rear wheel, so it's only made to hold that rear axle.




Used the chewed up rotor off my XL and made a little caliper deal to set the rake with. Way overboard, but a fun rainy day project.





Only thing left to do on the jig is get some material to make the neck cones.


Need to decide if I'm gonna turn up a neck or find a cheap bike to steal a titled neck from. Looking forward to building the frame, but really excited about building the leafer forks. This isn't something I'll be working on at a fast place. Currently researching wheel info and other things, but it's a start.

Really don't want to spoil the lines of the hardtail, but considering something similar to this to gain a bit of suspension out back. Not with the modern look, of course.
 
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#19 ·
Really don't want to spoil the lines of the hardtail, but considering something similar to this to gain a bit of suspension out back. Not with the modern look, of course.
It kinda died a death back around ten years ago when people realised full suspension was much more useful, but there once was a fad for "softtail" bicycles as a halfway house between a hardtail and a full suspension bike. The top of the seat stays held a shock absorber (often just an elastomer so on a moto, a bump stop might work) and the rear wheel was able to move just due to compliance in the materials. They were often made of titanium as steel is heavy and aluminium doesn't last long with fatigue.



No clue if the concept could be durable enough for a motorcycle. But maybe if you built the chain stays out of leaf springs they'd be laterally stiff enough?

Just spitballing.
 
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