Rack n Roll

Fun Fixes

2012-02-17T13:45:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

A gentleman came through the shop yesterday with a Gios fixie conversion. His Campagnolo crank arm cracked so he had his high-perfomance engine builder machinist friend pin it for him. Awesome idea!

Salty!

2012-02-12T19:46:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

A lotta salt on the roads!

Busted Stuff

2012-02-01T20:35:00.001-05:00

IMG_7249, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

sometimes things break!

No computers left

2012-01-23T20:02:00.001-05:00

The PC went belly up a couple months ago, now the MacBook has failed us. Probably won't be posting for a while until we figure something out. Still have the iPhone but posting from the phone is tedious.

Rack Spotting

2012-01-18T20:40:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm back in the city I occasionally spot a Rack n Roll. It's a weird feeling when you spot a front rack out of the corner of your eye, then you take a look at it to see what kind it is, and it takes a second before you realize, "oh hey i made that!"

Headlight Failure to Cityscape

2012-01-08T19:18:00.000-05:00

Dead headlight! The battery wires pulled completely off the circuit board during a spectacular crash. It ended the night ride early for me, I hiked out of the woods alone in the dark. ooooOOOOoooo so scary! (not really) It should be a simple repair and I will probably modify the light housing as well.

After I got outta the woods I was basically on top of the plateau. As I was pedaling home on the road I took the opportunity to take my time to capture a nice cityscape.

Cross Check Commuter Returns

2012-01-03T21:05:00.000-05:00

After making a couple trips to my parents house, modifying a rack, the fenders, getting my generator hub and headlight, the surly is properly outfitted for its urban duties.

Added a headlight mount to the front rack, and added another coat of paint to the rear carradice support rack.

made a few fender brackets a while back, to put the fender down low where it looks good.
the original lower brace broke years ago so i made a new one.

Modifying Racks and Bike Rides

2012-01-01T16:44:00.000-05:00

Getting the Cross Check setup for all around commuting and what not... fenders, racks, headlight, generator hub, tail light, carradice, etc....
Had to add headlight mounts to this rack that I built a couple years ago that only got used intermittently. Luckily I only spray painted it, so it was not necessary to remove powdercoat.

For New Years Day I took a nice long AM mountain bike ride. Daylight riding was a welcome change from the normal night rides. In the afternoon we went for a nice family ride along Kelly Drive.

Nights on the MTB

2011-12-30T10:10:00.000-05:00

been getting out there once a week on the dark, twisty, loggy trails of "the plateau."
late 80s geometry isn't all that bad, and neither are 26" wheels.

dual sport

2011-12-27T21:51:00.000-05:00

hey there, i dont usually re-post things i see elsewhere, but this is pretty funny.

i dunno

2011-12-24T22:03:00.001-05:00

, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

there was this piece of chain on my bench, then tom gave me a tangerine. for some reason i was compelled to put them together.

Aluminum Chainring bolts and Singlespeeds

2011-12-15T13:42:00.001-05:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

They just don't mix!
Heard some creaky creaky from the bike, gave it a little inspection....
They didn't completely fall apart on the bike, that happened during the removal of them. But they were cracked, it was only a matter of time before they did fall apart on a ride though!

This Weeks iPhotos

2011-12-12T19:16:00.003-05:00

A lot of pictures this week--

Starting off with this interesting Trek MTB, early aluminum. Most of the tube intersections are bonded (haha lets just say glued). It also uses some bolts and rivets along with glue to hold it together.

Right now I only have 2 of my bikes with me. A Surly Cross-Check and an 87 Specialized Stumpjumper. The ol' Stumpy has been my number one lately. Its set up as a singlespeed geared 2:1, so I can MTB on it in addition to commuting. It rides pretty dang well for MTBing and it handles great with a baby seat on the back.

One other thing-

It's not high tech, it's not low tech....it's MIDTEK.

haulin art stuff

2011-12-07T09:21:00.001-05:00

, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

passed one of my personal racks along to a coworker who does more hauling than i do.

This Weeks Shots from the Shop

2011-11-30T21:02:00.000-05:00

Well since my workshop is currently 40 miles away, I can't readily fabricate things and post on the blog.
So I will attempt to document the interesting things that come through Philadelphia's number one commuter's bike shop.

This first one is pretty awesome. I worked in suburban shops for a few years, and frankly it was boring. Rarely do you get to see crazy failures like this.

Here are a couple pictures from a minty cannondale touring bike from the very early 1980's. SR Apex triple cranks, with an uncommon 86mm BCD, but still common enough to be marked on the Park CDG-1!!

My New View

2011-11-28T20:25:00.001-05:00

IMG_7206, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

looking out the window

the past 3 days

2011-11-21T21:18:00.000-05:00

a timeline, old to new, of the past three days:

slick mud

rolling sushi

multi modal commuting

snuggle snuggles

bike part failures

The Essentials

2011-11-20T19:41:00.001-05:00

New Porteur Rack, originally uploaded by SSSasky.

One of the limited edition O/A welded rack n rolls.
Take note of the nifty bell mounting on the frame.

Full Circle

2011-11-18T20:28:00.001-05:00

IMG_0293, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

Moving back into the little big city of Philadelphia after having left her a few years ago. Mixed feelings about it, definitely the most difficult decision of our lives.

Connection Points

2011-11-03T18:43:00.000-04:00

Turned a couple more bits for the travel rack

as of lately

2011-10-31T22:50:00.000-04:00

Power out for 2 days

Day one of power outage-

Peter and Eleanor's wedding. This was an amazing time, and absolutely appropriate because Peter and Eleanor are 2 of the most amazing people I know. Laura and I were so happy to be there to witness 2 people so perfect for each other get hitched. It warms my heart. Hey you two, we love you!

Day 2 of power outage-

Philly Bike Expo, year 2. Good time bumping into people I miss seeing on a regular basis. Cate had a blast as well!

Day 3, power returns-

Go to boot up the computer, discover the circuit breaker has tripped. After a little troubleshooting discover that the power outage or power return has shorted the computer, regardless of the presence of a surge protector. Now I am stuck using Laura's MacBook.

Platform

2011-10-28T12:06:00.000-04:00

Platform is done, legs are ready, time to stick em together

Liquidating

2011-10-23T20:37:00.002-04:00

My wonderful wife, Laura, unfortunately lost her job. Well technically she didn't lose it since she was freelance writing for Livestrong.com, but the work dried up (thanks a lot, economy). So if you know of any work for a very competent exercise physiologist, lemme know!

Have some stuff up on Ebay right now. If you are interested it should be pretty easy to search out--

keywords: Ibis Ti, Suntour Vx

Preparatory Work

2011-10-10T20:22:00.000-04:00

Lately the first step of making a bicycle rack (or motorcycle rack) involves machining a bunch of fiddly bits. This next rack is no different-- some slightly more complex fiddly little bits to make a travel rack for a Surly Travelers Check.

Made in Austria

2011-10-07T10:01:00.001-04:00

By chance I have come to acquire two big ticket items made in Austria,

both of which are known for their long term durability.

Moving On

2011-09-30T20:03:00.000-04:00

BMW is back together, and with the new plugs runs as smooth as a 650cc single is going to run.
Need to re-work the racks a little but that's another story.

So, now I am moving onto the 72 Honda CL175. Had some troubles with it a while back and she's been sitting ever since, but now I am determined to make her purr again.

Still Going

2011-09-28T10:18:00.000-04:00

Decided to go ahead and pull the swing arm. If left neglected the bearing pins WILL seize. Got to mine in time. They came right out with no prying, banging, hammering. There was a few drops of water in the one bearing.

Anyone who has worked as a bicycle mechanic for any length of time knows how gratifying it is to scrape the gunk off of a derailleur pulley. This is no different.

I took an entire day to sand the coating off the sidewalls of my rim to expose the bare aluminum. Looks much better than a bunch of scratches from mounting tires.

Parts Come Off

2011-09-25T12:30:00.000-04:00

mud and dirt is everywhere. if you dont do this now and again bolts will seize up. actually one already was, and the riv-nut was spinning in the subframe.

things didnt feel right on the way home last weekend, and im pretty sure i discovered why:

cracked spark plug. dont really know how this happened, the guys at hermy's BMW have seen it happen, but infrequently. the plugs (2 plugs for one cylinder, awesome!) are only about 2000 miles old. this is the secondary plug, so the bike ran rough. i wonder how it would have run if the primary failed?

Pushing through Puddles

2011-09-20T10:59:00.000-04:00

So here is a brief video of me right after I dumped it in a puddle. Luckily the airbox stayed out of the water and she started right back up so we could push it out.
THESE PUDDLES!!! Crossing every one is a risk, you just don't know whats in there. This particular one there was a big rut that caught my tire and sent me sideways.
People that live and ride in the Pineys all the time say to try to go around the puddles if possibly. Supposedly you may come across some thing that should REALLY not be in there, like for instance an automotive jack or jack stand, from a Jeep guy that was stuck and tried using a jack and left it there, or a big log right in the middle.
These dang puddles! They are weird, sometimes the small ones get really deep really fast, there were a few that were deeper than my wheels.

Untitled from rudram das on Vimeo.

Another Weekend in the Pines

2011-09-19T20:38:00.001-04:00

The Pine Barrens of New Jersey is a fun place for motorcycles. Nearly all of the riding is on public roadways so your motorbike needs to be registered and licensed. They call them public roadways, but many of them are barely passable unless you are on a motorcycle or a modified jeep. Actually, I am not even sure some of the roads are wide enough for a jeep! Lots of sand, lots of pine trees, and lots of deep puddles.

Rudy, myself and John. We started the ride together then met up with Chris later.

Rudy munching on a PB&J on some abandoned train tracks.

Some roads were flooded out. Lots of puddles.

Speaking of puddles, I had a "tip over" in one of them. Luckily I did not drown my bike.

This is Rudy's barely street legal Husqvarna 250. Badass.

Here is Chris's BMW G650X-Challenge. Slighly burlier version of my bike.

Can you believe I got ANOTHER flat? I can!

Lowered the air pressure on the rear later in the day, but the valve core got stuck open leaving me with a slow leak. So after a few miles my tire went flat and tore off the valve stem.

Total off-road mileage was about 85 miles, a lot of work. I am sore.

Gotta do a bit of maintenance to the bike now!

New Luggage

2011-09-18T21:58:00.000-04:00

Start with an old ammo box that I kept chainrings in. Make a few mounting block dealies.

It came to me with no gasket, so I rubber cemented a couple strips of old inner tube on the lid.

Oh Yah.

Mounting detail.

The perfect size for my onboard toolkit.

Back in Action

2011-09-16T18:56:00.001-04:00

IMG_7032, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

This bandsaw crapped out on me a few months ago.
The gearbox got some swarf in it and it the shaft became heavily scored. That made a very sloppy fit between the bronze bearing and the shaft, allowed enough play in the driving pulley that moves the sawblade that the blade would walk right off the wheel. I turned a new bearing on the lathe that was a little longer which contacted some non-scored shaft.
And it works!
Mmmmm delicious sweet sweet success.
Lemme say how wonderful it is to have it back. Just flip the switch and let it nibble on through whatever huge solid chunk of metal you need cut.
I got pretty good at hacksawing through ridiculously large pieces of metal though!

Hard Parts

2011-09-09T14:01:00.001-04:00

Untitled, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

Had 10 pairs of "hard parts" made locally for BMW G650X motorcycles. They bolt underneath the pegs to protect sensitive areas, like the kickstand mount/switch.

Two-Seater Surly Cross-Check

2011-09-06T13:15:00.003-04:00

IMG_4891, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

McGet transports a stool on a canti-mount Rack n Roll.

Tim/Ted Radness Sesh

2011-09-03T15:15:00.001-04:00

Tim/Ted Radness Sesh, originally uploaded by garr1s0n.

About 110 lbs of Evan on Teds Rack n Roll.

Tool Fer Sale

2011-09-02T09:32:00.001-04:00

SOLD SOLD SOLD

boy that was quick

contact me if you want one

In between waiting for glue to dry and putting together my next order of tubing I made this extremely handy dandy V-block for small diameter tubing. It will tightly hold tubing from a little less than 1/8th inch to a little more than 1/2 inch, and any size in between.

It is spring loaded and has a lip so it stays put in the vise, which is a fantastic feature when you are fitting up a miter for a rack and need to keep going to and from the vise.
The V makes it super easy to keep miters in phase by aligning a scribed line along the length of the tubing.
Use it for brazing/welding sub assemblies, you can clamp a tube loose enough to rotate it (loosely gripping the tube with a pair of pliers) but tight enough to hold it.

The one I made for myself is used constantly, this is a must have tool if you are building racks or want to build racks!

If you are interested contact me via the "CONTACT ME" link in the sidebar.

Carbon and Glue

2011-08-31T21:32:00.000-04:00

Bicycle Cargo Racks and Life

2011-08-28T23:22:00.001-04:00

Growing Up On Bikes

Another Picture

2011-08-23T11:48:00.002-04:00

redrack, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

They just keep pouring in!
Jared using his Rack N Roll for beer hauling!
I really like this one.

Fantastic Picture

2011-08-22T13:28:00.002-04:00

jessenkids, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

Jesse n the girls riding on the Rack N Roll!

Twas a success, but is it worth it?

2011-08-22T12:21:00.000-04:00

So the lil lug brazed up fine. Soaked it, cleaned it up.

The shorelines came out wonderful.

Time for the autopsy.

Brass mostly everywhere, verr nice.

Wow, it filled in the miter gaps even. I like that!

A bit of incomplete miter below, but since this was a quick n dirty experiment I didnt pay too much mind to the quality of my copes. That being said I have dissected production lugged bicycle frames that are much much much more terribly mitered, like the tubes barely even touch. And how many thousands of miles did those frames last and never broke?

I probably could have even gotten that gap completely filled if I added just a little more heat and filler to that crotch.

So....It works, I'm very happy with the result. But how laborious and complex do I want a rack to be? he he he...Buh-bye- I need to go make some lugs.

picture updates

2011-08-22T11:20:00.002-04:00

occasionally photos trickle in....

Mike's axle mount Rack N Roll

Max Knee posing with Tim's rack.

Little Lugs and a Matching Lug Vise

2011-08-21T23:19:00.000-04:00

Felt like trying something new for my next rack in the works.

Time to make some lugs, real actual lugs. Not just an external sleeve carved to look pretty like I've done in the past.

This one is just for practice.

So lets start!

Weld together 2 pieces of 1/2 x .058 cro-mo.

Then hit it with a wire wheel to knock off the scale and shine it up.

Then start to smooth out the weld. I also ran a 3/8 drill through to open up the lug to allow the mitered tubes to pass all the way through and meet.

Now that I have the lug nearly done, I need a better way to hold it. Scratch head, think for a minute... time for a lug vise.

Now lets start vising some lugs!

Holds it good and tight, alright! Even holds tight enough for drilling!

Since this is just a practice lug I didn't want to go crazy filing pretty points.

Ready for some heat and bronze.

Basically the same but a lil bit different

2011-08-19T17:26:00.001-04:00

Basically exactly the same as the last rack, except wooden slats added. Oh ya, and I messed it all up and had to cut it apart and braze it back together. ;-)

For some reason there was a long strip of oak 3/8" thick, the width shown, just hanging out in the corner of the shop. Initially I did not plan to make the slats, but they were basically made for me already, all I had to do was cut 'em to length, drill a few holes and pretty up the top edges on the jointer/planer.

one of the the "repair" spots

Quick Update

2011-08-17T22:36:00.001-04:00

fixed it yay!

Lathe to the Rescue

2011-08-17T20:00:00.000-04:00

After a little bit of thinking about what exactly needed to be where, it turned out if I hacksawed the rack in 3 places and added a little length I could get the dang rack exactly where it needed to be. Spin some steel on the lathe to make some little bits to wrestle this rack into submission.

Sh*t Happens

2011-08-17T13:04:00.000-04:00

A very small simple error in the early stages of building this rack snowballed into a quandary of whether to be fixed or scrapped.
This inaccuracy makes for a very peculiar error. As I am building a rack, many of the locations for legs, rails, back stops, etc, are marked from the centerline of the rack. But one of the platform rails is offset about 5mm, which causes one side of the rack to stick out about 5mm more than the other side when measured from the main support legs. SO nearly everything on the rack is properly located and symmetric from the centerline, but then error shows its ugly face here and there if you start taking measurements with a ruler from the sides of the rack. Since the rack is about 97.524% done I am desperately trying to think of the best way to cut apart put in an internal sleeve and either lengthen or shorten something or other to make things right.

If that doesn't do it for me I guess I'll just redo the whole dang thing.

Ugh.

Monumental mistake.

I hereby promise to forever check and re-check then check again before sparking that torch.

Check out this rack...

2011-08-12T11:19:00.001-04:00

I think I finally did it....A rack that is supremely adjustable for nearly any brake setup- calipers, canti's, or V's, and is adaptable to most forks. I could even make an additional bracket to make it mount to cantilever posts instead of the fork crown.

Lots of little pieces had to be made.

The fork crown mount has M5 braze-ons in the ends.

The straps bolt to that so the angle can be varied to account for forks of different length. A stainless spacer fits into the strap to keep everything lined up real pretty like.

If added another strip to the front it would be very easy to add wooden slats. But I didn't bc I am running quite low on materials so I must conserve a lil bit.

The whole rack was internally vented into the rear cross-member then I plugged the ends to seal it off.

So I think that after 4 years of rack building I have found a basic design that I will stick with.

Where Blue Trail Meets White Trail

2011-08-11T09:02:00.001-04:00

, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

Riding the rocks at French Creek State Park.

Plugging Away

2011-08-09T22:40:00.000-04:00

Spent a good portion of the day standing at the lathe, filing at the vise, little bit of brazing, and some welding.

Twins

2011-08-05T22:08:00.000-04:00

Here is one rack, nearly done, but it still needs the fork crown attachment and back stop. Kitty was hungry, he was rubbing on my legs. So soft!

This is a second identical rack, legs and stays mitered.

Fixture and rack detail.

Platform marked in Sharpie for vent holes.

Jigged up to drill vent holes.

Vent location center punched.

Vent hole drilled.

Four holes drilled

Prepared for welding.

Early AM 'crossing

2011-08-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

Made it to Belmont Plateau in Phila at 630AM for some wet cyclocross practicing.
It hurt. I have not ridden at a fast pace/high intensity for quite some time. Its hard to imagine that I used to be able to rock the house at 'cross practices. I called it at 3 laps the rest of the guys went on to do 2 more. While they did that I noodled around on a couple of the singletrack trails. Very nostalgic. Even riding the fixed cross-check I am still a log hopping machine, I guess somethings you never forget. Hey at least I got that going for me. :-)

Couple More Shots from the Pine Barrens

2011-08-01T15:23:00.000-04:00

Powering through the sand. The 650cc Rotax in its torquey element.

Best to go around the puddles in the Barrens (although I did risk it and go through a couple).

You don't always know what is lurking beneath that can bring you down quick.

Cargo Front to Back

2011-07-31T19:52:00.001-04:00

, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

Picnic supplies up front, tiny people in the back!

Rack em Up

2011-07-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

Four legs ready to be racked. Ran out of eyelets so I had make some.

So much easier to jig up that round eyelets!!!

Platform welded, covered in welding scale.

Shined up

2 pieces of tube become one.

Almost ready to weld the legs.

more up for grabs

2011-07-25T13:19:00.001-04:00

EDIT: This rack is spoken for. sowwy.

But, I may list more stuff over the coming weeks.

Have another rack available. I'm trying to liquidate some things I just don't need that are collecting dust.

Fork crown strap is drilled for a cross-check, but can be re-drilled/re-bent, or replaced altogether with whatever you can cobble up to fit most bikes.

I think it a great size for a front rack. Not quite a tiny rando style rack, wide enough that you can load it with a case of beer. Courier bags fit very well. Sits almost directly over the front axle so the load doesn't make the handling all that wonky.

It has dual upper fender mounts, so you can mount the fender directly to the rack, as seen below.

I used it for a while for commuting to work.

Then Laura used it.

Now YOU can use it!
Hit me up via the contact link in the sidebar.

up for grabs

2011-07-21T13:11:00.003-04:00

IMG_6870, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

will pass this rack along to someone who will load it frequently, for a very fair price (just want to recoup the materials cost basically).

keep in mind this is my first rack that was gas-welded (as opposed to brass brazed), so you will be a bit of a test dummy.

you can contact me via the link in the sidebar if you are interested.

edit: forgot to mention that it is made to fit a Surly Cross-Check only

edit 2: got a few quick replies so it should be spoken for

Tiny Fork!

2011-07-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

Fresh outta the dunk

Cleaned up a little

Tight!

Legs o' Fork

2011-07-19T19:40:00.000-04:00

Mmmmmm....delicious fork legs..

Shiny Fluxy Goodness

Post Soak

Jigature

Using a surface gauge to make sure the dropouts are properly located.

Next up- Building the fork crown.

Hanging in There!!!

2011-07-18T22:18:00.001-04:00

, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

Tiny hands in my pockets!
Note: we got her to wear the helmet and all was well!!!

Playing in South Jersey Sand

2011-07-18T10:32:00.001-04:00

Took a day trip to Hammonton, NJ for a free clinic and trail ride sponsored by RawHyde Adventures and BMW of Manhattan. We started out in the morning going over a couple basic skills then doing drills. Even with offroad experience it was really helpful having the 2 coaches from RawHyde to watch you and give you tips and pointers and answer questions to help hone your offroad riding ability.

AM goodbye from Laura

Last minute equipment inspection by the cat

Sixty miles later at the HoJo in Hammonton, NJ.

Doing some drills, very low speed turns around cones, getting pointers from the coaches.

All lined up

After the morning instruction was over, we had a good lunch of hoagie platters. I LOVE hoagies, for real. After the delicious hoagies (I love hoagies) we moved onto the trail ride. South Jersey, even well inland from the coast is sandy, very sandy. Very steep learning curve. I've ridden through brief sections of sand before, but not long continuous trails of sand, in some places very deep sand. The coaches gave a few very brief tips on navigating the deep sand. Stay ON the gas, bc when you get off the gas the front wheel buries. Shift your weight back a little, and of course stay standing and let the front wheel do what it wants.

The owner of this motorcycle was leading the trail ride, a local. The more dirt oriented version of my bike.

This guy was helping out also, KTM 690 Enduro R. Very cool.

Regrouping. About half of the people left at this point.

We were doing what is called a "Michigan Shuffle." The ride leader and sweeper stay the same throughout the ride, and the second person in line waits at a turn until the sweeper comes through. That way each person ends up at some point standing in the baking sun in full gear waiting for the group to come though so no one misses the turn. Good opportunity to snap some photos.

Dan, former professional racer blasting through a turn on his BMW G450X.

One of the coaches had this prototype winch mounted on his BMW1200GS. Pretty cool idea.

The day was very fun, and I am no longer hesitant about riding in sand!

New BICYCLE project!!!! WTF!?

2011-07-16T21:36:00.001-04:00

HEY WOW its been a while since I fabricated anything bicycle related.

Don't judge me, I'll admit that I've headed to the dark side.... throttle twisters.. I know I know....

Anyhow now that Cate is old enough Laura and I plan to do more family bike riding to get back into it, slowly most likely. We have both been out of cycling for a while (except for watching the tour of course) but riding together the other day was very pleasant, even though it was probably only like a mile.

AnyHOO, here's a little taste of the new project...theres A LOT more going on behind the scenes. :-)

Handcut dropouts,

stepped washers turned from stainless,

and an oddball dummy axle spaced at 84mm.

Cate's First Bike Ride

2011-07-15T18:52:00.001-04:00

I want to give a GREAT BIG THANKS to Peter and Eleanor for giving us this great child carrier and helmet for Cate's 1st birthday!

Didn't start out so well, not a fan of the helmet.

Quiet neighborhood road with no traffic.

There's that smile!

Swing by and see a local celebrity.

Wilbur!!

CL174!?

2011-07-12T09:40:00.001-04:00

IMG_6793, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

calling it a CL174 just doesnt sound right

Gearing Change

2011-07-10T18:15:00.000-04:00

Change the gearing last night, went from a 16T to a 15T. The difference is night and day. No more lugging and I get to use 5th a lot more frequently. Maybe my fuel mileage will go up a little too?

Testing out the new gearing

Headlight Guard

2011-07-09T23:31:00.002-04:00

After the Seven Mountains Dual Sport I realized that if I were to take part in another event like that, I had to have a headlight guard.

Why?

Because for some reason, unknown to me, some people absolutely HAVE to kick up a rooster tail every time they start from a stop on loose ground. If you happen to be behind this person, you WILL get pelted with debris. This debris could possibly break your headlight glass leaving you with a costly repair, or stranded until the sun rises if you planned on riding home in the dark.

All stainless steel (except for the side brackets)

The guard does diffuse the light a little bit, and it reflects a little light back at you.... but it removes easily if you happen to be riding at night for an extended period.

The Divider

2011-07-09T23:07:00.000-04:00

The divider is one of the handiest tools for bench work fabricating.

A 5" and 3" divider will do a lot for you.

Set it to 3/8" and mark a spot to center punch.

Setting the distance between hole centers, 3". Using a 5" divider for this action.

Set one end of the divider into the punch spot to mark the second hole location.

Punch the other hole center and use the spots to layout the shape.

Drill, 1/4" and 5/16" holes.

Get busy with some filing.

It's that Time of Year

2011-07-08T09:56:00.000-04:00

Tour day France (as Bobke would say)

Working at a Cannondale shop for a number of years I collected a few nice T-shirts. Thanks Kremer!

We watch it as a family in the morn!

time to clean chips

2011-07-07T21:49:00.000-04:00

Um...you know its time to clean up your lathe when you just turned a fitting, parted it off, then lost it among the chips.

There's the little guy!!!! It took a good 10 minutes to find it.

metal weaving

2011-07-07T14:19:00.002-04:00

IMG_6797, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

stainless steel spokes silver brazed together.

not the first time ive woven metal..
http://racknroll.blogspot.com/2008/07/arts-and-crafts.html

Video Update

2011-07-05T10:46:00.001-04:00

Here's a compilation video of bits and pieces of the ride to Seven Mountains, and some of the ride itself. Shot by Ethan with a Drift 1080 camera. He is one of the guys that came down from NYC that i met up with in Kutztown and did the ride with.

Not Outta the Woods Yet

2011-06-30T10:57:00.000-04:00

Since there was always someone riding in front of me, there was a lot of dust.

Probably a good idea to clean out the air filter.

You can see the hole for the air intake is about as high as it can get.

Good design, will help to prevent "swamping" the bike, and will allow very deep water crossings.

Air filter exposed. Its pretty dirty. K&N filters are cleanable.

Remove it, squirt some cleaner on it, hose it off, and re-oil it

The Day After

2011-06-27T16:27:00.000-04:00

Cleaning/Inspection time.

dirty

Why did I bother painting it? Anywhere anything contacted it the paint came off.

Time for a powdercoat.

All cleaned up.

Except for inside my turn signals!!!

My skid plate took a pounding.

The drain plug is not supposed to hang below, nor are there supposed to be huge dents!

The only reason it is not dented in the middle is bc that is where an oil line exits the bottom of the motor, and I'm pretty sure the plate is pressed up against it right now. Could have been bad, very bad.

Maybe next time I do a ride like this I'll slow down a little.

Seven Mountains Dual Sport Ride

2011-06-26T23:33:00.002-04:00

Left early Saturday AM to meet up with a few like minded riders also headed to the Seven Mountains Dual Sport ride.

Only 30 miles from home I get a rear flat. Not a good way to start the day.

Break the bead, pry off one side of the tire. Reinstall new tube.

Ready to install back onto the bike.

Made it to the diner in time, with 15 minutes to spare! I planned to show up early enough to grab some breakfast with the guys, but I was just glad to get there before they left.

Taking back roads, dirt twisties, and stripping roads through coal country.

Blasting around on the stripping roads was too much for my panniers. They flew off 2 times before I lashed them on. For dirt roads they would have been fine, but I was not expecting the kind of terrain we were on. Luckily I brought ample extra tie downs for just this sort of thing.

After a long day of fun gnarly back road adventuring we made it to the campground. Ready to embark on the event the next morning.

Just into the ride Ron gets a double flat!!!

I took the opportunity to photograph some blooming Mountain Laurels. The state flower of Pennsylvania. There were everywhere.

Got the rear tire repaired, working on the front.

Lunch is served!

Scenic Vista

Yep, thats my shift lever. Luckily I was only a mile from the end and could putt along in first gear. I went down a few miles earlier on some rutted muddy slick puddles and bent it skyward. I had to remove it and reposition it on the splines to get it into a usable position. It was still sticking out enough that I clipped it on a rock, and ka-blammo! No more shifter. I have no idea where the middle section of the shifter went.

If you can believe it, there was another rider there on a BMW x-challenge, who had a spare shifter he loaned me. Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you, Chris. You are the best!

Got the shifter installed, quick snack before the ride home.

Alright, ready to go!

Taking a coffee break at a highway rest stop before the final push home. I 'slabbed' it the whole way.

All in all the ride was amazing, and the trails were terrific. Our little group were definitely the oddballs, considering every other rider trucked or trailered their 500cc or less [plated] dirt bike. A few glitches but it all worked out. It was fun pulling people outta the mud, picking up dropped GS1200s (which happened quite a bit), and performing road and trail side repairs. I hope to do it again next year.

"Look at Me" White

2011-06-24T20:27:00.002-04:00

, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

ohhhh yah...

racks done, knobby tires mounted, ortlieb panniers modified, tank bag acquired, drysack borrowed, camping equipment getting organized....

almost ready.

Rack Alert

2011-06-22T22:30:00.000-04:00

The Rack is completely done. Just need to slap some paint on it.

The cross brace has 2 bicycle hourglass rack mounts to affix the rear fender to.

Some extra loading points on top of the side racks.

Drilled out the shift lever. It is so strong that it has been reported it will break off the shift shaft where it exits the transmission. Hopefully the holes will allow it to bend rather than break the shaft. Maybe I'll add a couple more holes!

Left side rack and a tiny hand

2011-06-20T07:43:00.001-04:00

IMG_6660, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

The left side is done. Currently working on the right side. Should be much for straight forward. After the right side is done then all thats left is the cross-brace, doing a braze on or 4, then slapping a quick and dirty paint job on.

Any color suggestions? Black is so bor-ing. I'm thinking white maybe? Or a different color for each piece, hehe....

teaser pic

2011-06-16T07:19:00.000-04:00

some things i build

some things i buy

like this Scheffelmeier Skidplate...very well built, just look at those welds!

A Rack to Carry my Sardines

2011-06-13T13:01:00.000-04:00

Finished the top rack, went very smoothly after making the addition to the fixture.

Now onto the side racks, and maybe more fixture making (which takes longer than building the racks)!

Then I'll be ready for a camping excursion into central PA at the end of June.

Fixture Addition

2011-06-09T23:29:00.001-04:00

Shortly after starting to bend, miter, and fit up tubes I found a shortcoming of the fixture. Keeping the left and right sides of the rack aligned and parallel would not be easy to do by eye. I added an extension to the rear that should make building the rest of it smoother.

Below is the start of the rack, before I added to the fixture.

Here is the addition to it. Getting the rest of the rack built should be pretty straight forward. Hopefully.

New Fixture

2011-06-07T22:51:00.000-04:00

Fixture is done...sort of. It is completed enough to build a top rack. When the top rack is done I'll have to make some additions to it to allow me to build the side racks.

I had to do pages and pages of trigonometry to get everything positioned where it should be, all because the rear mounts on the motorcycle are at an 11 degree angle. That made it tough, especially because getting measurements off the subframe of the bike was not very easy. There were definitely a few head scratching moments.

Soon I should have some pictures up of the fixture in full blown fixturing action. Oh goody. Stay tuned.

Motorcycle Rack Fixture

2011-06-02T13:47:00.001-04:00

In order to keep myself from having to go from my workshop to my motorcycle and back and forth about a thousand times I figured I might as well make a simple fixture to fabricate my motorcycle rack. Shown below are the 4 mounting points for the top rack and upper mount for the side racks. The rear mounts are at an eleven degree angle, the first time I got to use my angle plate for the milling vise. I am pleased with the results!

Attachements Complete

2011-05-30T20:46:00.001-04:00

IMG_6606, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

All the connecting points for the rack are done. Now it is fixture making time!

Patience Patience Patience

2011-05-22T20:31:00.000-04:00

Patience is what Senor Chris (lockringnotincluded) had lots of on Saturday. When a dedicated bicycle commuter goes for a ride with a one time active cyclist turned sedentary, patience is a must. A 22.5 mile ride, some dirt roads mixed in and some good elevation change. Supposedly I was "leading" the ride, which consisted of me calling out the turns to take. This was what I was looking at most of the time, when Chris was actually in my sight...

OH BOY, I'm ahead of him!!!

Oh wait, thats bc he was waiting at the top of the climb.

I'm going to try and do this bicycling thing some more, even though it kicked my butt, it was fun. Thank Gosh I took my triple chainring bike.

plug-in

2011-05-20T23:09:00.000-04:00

Although it seems like making these plug-in attachment points is adding steps to the rack build, I feel that it will make the assembly of the rack simpler, and more accurate. Start with a 1/2 x .125" tube with one end turned down to 3/8". Hacksaw off a chunk to make a nice flat section.

Weld the tab into position.

A slip fit into a 1/2 x .058" 4130 tube. These will be brass brazed into place.

highway dirtbikes handguards

2011-05-18T17:09:00.004-04:00

These handguards offer nice wind protection, but more importantly will protect your controls in the case of a crash. Riding home with a broken clutch lever could be an issue!

Nicely integrated. The stock handlebar top clamp is removed and replaced.

The handguards bolt to the new top-clamp. Optional mirrors available also. I opted for them so I could remove the stock antenna mirrors, which are prone to getting damaged riding offroad (ask me how I know). Integrated LED turn signals are also available, if you look on the right side of the shield you can see where it would go. Maybe down the road I'll do that.

Mirrors fold away nicely for offroad riding.

For my particular motorcycle the handlebar endplugs need to be modified. They need to be re-tapped from and M6 to an M8. Its not necessary to perform this operation on a lathe, but hey, since I got one...might as well! :-)

update alert

2011-05-17T21:43:00.000-04:00

did a little test...brass brazed one, welded the other. decided to weld them.

since i used up 2 of the parts as test pieces, i had to make more.

made a little welding fixture.

it works well, i can easily rotate the piece as i weld.

3 down, one to go.

new rubber-- these things mean business!

moto rack project continues

2011-05-15T21:28:00.000-04:00

turn a few more fittings

bore out some 3/16" plate

drill a hole

shaped

the above fittings will bolt to the motorcycle subframe where the pillion handles are, and the rack(s) will bolt to them. these ones are for the right side. the left side needs to be a bit different to fit around the exhaust.

almost time to start brazing bending and brazing

water crossings, rocky trails, and pouring rain

2011-05-09T09:30:00.001-04:00

Yes that title about covers my mini adventure from Saturday.

Waiting in the AM to meetup with Rudy.

Headed down to Bucks County to meet Ron.

Quick tour of some of the fun dirt roads in Bucks, including this road with 2 water crossings. Thanks to Rudy he filmed Ron and I crossing.

Now head up north of Allentown for some powerline trails.

This low section of the trail had a lot of water runoff. It was basically a stream at the bottom! We stopped briefly here to help get Ron's monstrous 1200GS back onto the trail.

Shot from the top. Some sections of this trail were basically all rock. I took a risk riding it on slicks and without a proper skid plate. As Ron told me these kind of rocks can brake open you engine case. Not something i want to happen 100+ miles from home.

Stopped at a gas station to add pressure to the tires. I let them out to about 25psi for the trails, from the normal 31/33 for the street. It made a world of difference offroad.

This is Rudy's bike. It may look like a dirt bike, but he motor is 610cc and is very light. This thing can get up and go!

Then for the ride home the rain started...pouring rain. Good thing I packed my heavier gloves. I forgot to clock the distance, but I think it was somewhere about around 250 to 300 miles judging by how much gas i had to put in. Lots of fun.

start of a new project

2011-05-06T22:54:00.001-04:00

IMG_6526, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

racks for my motorcycle....
time to get serious about carrying shit!

in the catskills

2011-05-01T19:45:00.000-04:00

this past week i was in the catskill mountains of new york state. here are a few pictures of interest:

catskill ephemera from the early 80s

i really like this sign. gotta respect the cows.

interesting tree stump

dilapidated shack on my cousin gays property

big old beaver lodge and dam.

Hello, Delaware.

2011-04-22T21:04:00.000-04:00

Tearing it up along the C&D Canal in DE. 50 miles from the house, about 50 miles of canal roads and trail action.

broken spring, WTF!?!

2011-04-10T21:10:00.000-04:00

Late last week I was doing some "routine" maintenance to our Ford Focus ZX3. This car basically eats up its front stabilizer bar (sway bar) linkages. They connect the sway bar to the McPherson struts. If you get the replacements from CarQuest auto parts they have a lifetime warranty. In a few years of owning this car we had to replace them 3 times, so the lifetime warranty saved a lot of money. Pictured below is the nice and clean new linkages.

Something else didn't feel right lately while driving the car, so it was an opportunity to inspect everything else. I quickly spotted a broken spring! The lower section encased in plastic is cleary not attached!

The first step to replacing the spring is to loosen the clamping bolt on the bottom of the struts.

I promptly split the socket. It is a tight bolt!

Undo the bottom bolt, undo the 3 bolts on top of the shock, and remove the unit.

Tightening the spring compressors to relieve all the tension of the spring from the shock absorbers. You can rent spring compressors from Pep Boys for free. THAT IS AWESOME!

Once removed it is clear why the spring broke. Water trapped in the plastic bit rusted it. Oh oxidation, whyyyy youuuuuu!!!!

Install shiny new springs, reverse of removal.

And then, after all that, Laura and I got a-talking. The Ford isn't big enough, it has got a lot of miles, it's gonna keep breaking...yada yada yada....so we bought a new car over the weekend. Hello, wagon...

delivery!

2011-04-03T19:25:00.000-04:00

took a trip to trophy bikes in the big city to deliver and install a rack.

built from numbers, couldnt ask for a better fit.

mcget with cate!

Complete

2011-03-25T23:32:00.000-04:00

This one is for a buddy over at Daruma Cycles, er fer his lady friend or sumthin like dat.

http://darumacycles.blogspot.com/

sweet racing stripes

lug detail

50 thousandth thick stainless spacer

so the bolt sits flush.

scramblin!

2011-03-13T21:38:00.001-04:00

, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

progress

2011-03-09T23:04:00.000-05:00

platform cleaned up

lug making

laura's first ride

another rack-o in the making

2011-03-08T10:06:00.000-05:00

half soaked

still fluxy. mounting for a fork crown strap, recessed bolt heads.

a match made in heaven

2011-03-07T16:40:00.002-05:00

, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

brought it home!

Magnetic Field Lines!

2011-03-05T20:58:00.001-05:00

IMG_6326, originally uploaded by rackntroll.

i need one of those tool de-magnetizer dealies!