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Doomed to Fail: The SteamRat Build!

110K views 240 replies 16 participants last post by  spotarama 
#1 ·
It's me again, Margaret!


Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm back with another build. I call it Doomed to Fail: The SteamRat Build. Why Doomed to Fail? If you have to ask, you haven't seen any of my build threads ever....but I'll give you a hint. I haven't finished a single fucking one.

Whats a SteamRat? The premise of the final look is a cross between steampunk and ratbike. Wouldn't that just be some Mad Max outlands, zombie apocolypse type of build, you ask? Nope.


So here's the break down. Been doing a bunch of planning, and I've got a couple parts on hand I've been dying to install on SOMETHING, I've got some ideas I haven't seen done on ANYTHING (seen similar, but close only counts with hand grenades and nukes), and its about goddamn time I do some fucking work...on 2 wheels.

Here's what I'm starting with:

$20 KZ650 frame. No title, bare frame, cut after the shocks, and has races installed for some AllBalls for the steering stem. Had the 5-0 run the numbers for me, it's clean, I'll have no problems getting a title. I should probably do that soon, before I cut this thing in half.



I'm not even using the entire frame. I'm cutting the backbone off, and cutting the bottom tubes right before they bend up. My intent is to build this into a low slung hardtail.

Parts on hand:
Kz650 frame
pair of aircraft control pedals courtesy of Mongo
wide oval low beam projector from an Infiniti QX4
the overwelming urge to put something together

Things I intend to incorporate into this build:
16hp cast iron Briggs & Stratton single cylinder with electric starter and 20amp stator
pair of springer seats
girder front end
kz750 19/16 wheels
Ford Model A taillight with STOP lense and led board

Everything else:
Whatever comes around and seems like a good idea



Already found a front end, or at least part of it. Next pay day I gotta see what I have left, and go make an offer on it. I don't even care that it's incomplete. I can build around it.



I'm also picking up a my motor from MarksA-C. Gonna need a little work to be usable, but that's fine. I like doing work.


Right about now I wish I still had this one exhaust pipe that was always laying around my stash. Tossed it as part of a massive downsize a year and a half ago (relationship issues....). Damn, it would have been perfect for this.

All my previous builds have been based on complete bikes, this will be an almost entirely ground up build.


I've done all the math, and while this won't exactly be a fast bike, it'll have a proposed top speed of almost 90. In no way do I expect it to cruise at that speed. If I can cruise at 70 I'll be happy. I'm building this mostly for around town and county roads.

16hp Briggs, right angle gear box, gokart/golf cart cvt, 18T/46T sprocket set, and 130-90-16 rear tire. The CVT runs a 3:1-1:1 range, so if anyone else wants to run my numbers, I came up with a technical top speed of 88mph based on the 3k rpm limit of your average small engine. Yes, a lot of times we run them higher, I'll be adjusting the governor to give me 3300-3400 at the top. Much higher and you run the risk of destroying the flywheel.

"OMG, an automatic? Why not just buy a moped and feel the wind in your vagina". Hey, I just might. I only live 2 miles from work, I'm sure the breezed will feel great!

Actually my drive train choice is a budgetary thing. I'd love to stick a manual box behind it, but motorcycle transmissions are expensive as fuck. Plus I want the motor facing forward. If anyone comes across a damn cheap transmission, post it, I'm not exactly saying no to the idea. Just the cost.


That's it for now, I'll post more when I start getting parts in!
 
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#45 ·
Oh dear god.....Can I taste her tonight?


Like I said, it wasnt the bike itself, it was the details. So far I've been planning on an open chassis bike, and just shroud a couple bits to hide the movement, but a full side cover, leaving the front wide open and "venting" out the back would give a sort of turbine look, hide all the moving parts, and might aid in cooling too, since it'll funnel more air toward the flywheel (small engines are self cooled via a fan on the flywheel). I think it would give a steampunk feel that way
 
#62 ·
Yes, the plot twist is that this is what happens when I do things. I make all the plans in the world, and it can change at the drop of a hat.

Im less interested now :(
Don't be! It's still doomed to fail! This is ME after all!

I'm in the process of purging off a bunch of vintage bike parts (and a few bikes that have been sitting collecting dust for way too long) and he came for gas tanks, and left with a DR400/GN400 engine (with all the wiring and other shit to run it), GS750 and GS850 forks, two vintage swingarms that have been sitting here for long enough I forgot where they came from, and KZ550 and KZ650 rear wheels. Hopefully he'll come and take the GS450 off my hands too. I've totally given up on the vintage bike shit, the market sucks, and there just isn't the desire there anymore with fuel injected bikes getting cheaper.

Once I dig up the associated stuff, I'm gonna try to talk FightEverything into taking a titled GS500E frame/suspension off my hands to stuff that 400 engine into. The Kohler engine still should happen. :D


Somewhere around here I have KZ650 triples that may be able to donate a stem to the GS forks... I'm just going to keep finding parts to send off toward this project of his, probably end up with a fleet of bikes by the end of it if he's willing to transport it a car load at a time as I decide what stays and what goes before the snow hits and sticks for the winter. :fu:
Who knows. The Kohler may end up in something far more radical. The woman wants to ride, but she's limited due to disabilities. The Kohler with a centrifugal clutch may power her bike instead!
 
#61 ·
I'm in the process of purging off a bunch of vintage bike parts (and a few bikes that have been sitting collecting dust for way too long) and he came for gas tanks, and left with a DR400/GN400 engine (with all the wiring and other shit to run it), GS750 and GS850 forks, two vintage swingarms that have been sitting here for long enough I forgot where they came from, and KZ550 and KZ650 rear wheels. Hopefully he'll come and take the GS450 off my hands too. I've totally given up on the vintage bike shit, the market sucks, and there just isn't the desire there anymore with fuel injected bikes getting cheaper.

Once I dig up the associated stuff, I'm gonna try to talk FightEverything into taking a titled GS500E frame/suspension off my hands to stuff that 400 engine into. The Kohler engine still should happen. :D


Somewhere around here I have KZ650 triples that may be able to donate a stem to the GS forks... I'm just going to keep finding parts to send off toward this project of his, probably end up with a fleet of bikes by the end of it if he's willing to transport it a car load at a time as I decide what stays and what goes before the snow hits and sticks for the winter. :fu:
 
#67 ·
It doesn't have a subframe, or engine mounts, or much else... just a bare main frame with title and proper numbers... was originally intended as a super single build, but never got that far so it's just been sitting here collecting dust for far too long. Completely done with this shit at this point. Just want a bunch of crap gone and out of my way, I've got turbo shit to build, stunt bikes to ride, and a crossplane powered 900RR to get around to. :fu:
 
#68 ·
It doesn't have a subframe, or engine mounts, or much else... just a bare main frame with title and proper numbers... was originally intended as a super single build, but never got that far so it's just been sitting here collecting dust for far too long. Completely done with this shit at this point. Just want a bunch of crap gone and out of my way, I've got turbo shit to build, stunt bikes to ride, and a crossplane powered 900RR to get around to.
Wait, I thought you were talking about the bike outside. Nvm. I'm interested in the one outside next lol
 
#69 ·
The bike outside (that you want) is a '81 GS450L, and also has a title... so does the spare Bandit frame, and the GS500E frame, and everything else I have. Stopped accepting bikes that didn't have paperwork as I got really tired of cutting up junk frames for the scrap yard. 9/10 times if a bike doesn't have a title, something is really, really wrong with it. Still yet to find a stolen one though, everyone fears getting a stolen bike in a shady back alley sale, but it's never, ever happened to me... and I've had alot of "too good to be true" deals for bikes.

The VF750F Interceptor in the shop only needs an application for title filled out and they will hand you one. Had a title, my buddy lost it, but it's a legit bike ready for someone that enjoys the migraine that is a V4. :fu:
 
#75 ·
Thought I mentioned it in the WBRW thread... huh. Anyway, been on the hunt for a crossplane R1 engine (did some measuring quite some time back) for the 900RR. Sold the 893 almost a year ago to fund the project, but got distracted and the 900 roller has been quietly sitting in the corner waiting for me to finish the turbo bike... then I got distracted again and bought a 650R. Next time I come across a 900 frame I've gotta get back to putting a 350F engine in one too. :D


A modern Honda engine in a 1st gen 'blade is pretty standard practice, and the 1100 Blackbird engine fits without issue. Came down to a GSXR1000 lump, or a crossplane era R1, and the R1 seemed like the most exotic way to go about the whole thing, and the mounting is pretty damn close too. Sometime in early 2018 I'll be unpacking an ebay order that will get the project going, just gotta finish a few other things before I can start on that though.
 
#83 ·
Not much to report. Ebayed a swingarm pivot bolt and a rear axle. Went to the yard today and scored a GS1000 wheel with axle, spacers, etc. Rear shocks from a Magna. Tach cable from another GS1k, upper triple bearing so I can least swap the front end in for mockup, other misc. Not all the parts fit, but enough of what I picked up will work that I should have a roller by this weekend.

In the mean time, I had 3 teeth ripped out of my head today, holy fucking christ do I hurt right now.
 
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