The Chopper Compendium

Heres the basic set up.Have to raise the shocks a little bit to clear the axle nut, but more or less this is it.Im gonna strip them down & polish them. Think Ill have to get different springs for them cause they are really stiff.

So the shocks im using for the front, I think they are a rear shock for a single shock bike.Like I mentioned they are really stiff.Came up with the idea of taking the springs out of the old shocks on the rear of the bike. Cut some off the top, & heated up the coils & bent them to sort of flat. A little more tweeking along with grinding the end flat, I think these will work. Once I take the new ones apart, Ill know how much needs to be cut from the old springs. Eventually they will be sent out for chrome with other parts.

You do know that cutting down the spring makes it stiffer ?

Even so, they will be softer than the springs that are on there now. If it turns out they are to stiff, maybe sill look for some old external fork springs & try cutting that down.

Made the rockers (not thrilled with the shape, but I can change that). Also made some of the more boring stuff... rocker studs, axle, & rotor mounting studs. After measuring for the brake caliper & floating mount, seems there’s interference with the shocks. Gonna look for a drum brake, so that’s it for the front end until I track one down. Might start on the tank.

Look what I picked up (would’ve been a good buy at twice what I paid). I think drums look so much nicer than discs.

Is that a Honda brake? The Yamaha I used on my 50 looks almost the same but it is mirror imaged to this one with the plate and levers on the other side. Those old duel leading shoe brakes look so much better than a disc and work pretty dam gooder.
This Triumph vented conical hub Duel Leading Shoe was my best find sofar. Dusty

It’s honda. I like the comical hubs too, had them on the other build. Was considering putting them on the Honda, but this one looks great. I had made a screen for my conical front hub

I had a stroke of luck, came across another bike with a title. This ones a CM450. Also came with 2 engines. The CB is a much nicer looking bike but I already have one title to deal with. Anyway I stripped it down & got it up on the table. Everything that I wanted gone is cut off & I did make slugs to stretch the swing arm 1 1/2".Desided to go with 2 1/2",this is how it sits in the pic. Now to go get some tubing bent up & start putting the puzzle together.

oh yeah, chopping it up! what are the plans for this one? continuing with the same, but with this frame, etc?

can't wait to see what ya do!

take care,
-dan

Yes sir…same basic plan, course now the rear ends a little more involved.

tore down one of the engines the other day. It sucked a valve. I was told one had a bad top end & the other a bad bottom. Ill have to wait & see what the other one looks like.

reshaped the swing arm & got most of the rear section of the frame back together. The tire is sitting at the inner most point of axle adjustment. It will never be run that close. I need to cope & weld the 2 tubes that suport the set rails. Once thats done I have to clean & put the empty engine back in so I can start on the tanks.

Got the rear of the frame welded back together. I also figured out the shape of the tank & rear cowl. Did this with CAD (cardboard aided design)...I heqard this on another board Im on & thought it was great. Will have my gauges ordered in a week & will start transfering the cardboard onto steel.

Cool projects.