HEAVY METAL: The Re-Cycle

[SpyGuy]

Thought I would show off a little project I've been building for myself. I've been doing some practicing with my little MIG welder, and finally decided to put my welding skills to the test and build a pocketbike. This is not just any pocketbike, mind you - the entire bike is built from scrap metal I had laying around, plus parts from junker pocketbikes and gopeds.

So it begins ............. the Re-Cycle.



Height: 20" at handlebars, 15" at seat
Length: 28"
Width: 8"
Wheels: 4" goped wheels, running 9x3.5-4 tires
Drivetrain: 47cc pocketbike engine with CVT

Required:
-Needs to be short enough to fit under the tonneau cover of my truck so it can be fully closed and locked - max height 16".
-Front end easily removable to accomplish this, perhaps removeable handlebars.
-Use pocketbike engine and goped wheels for drivetrain - #25 chain.
-EXTRA CHALLENGE: make it all from recycled metal laying around. Only purchased items can be drivetrain and wheels.

[SpyGuy]

The frame is made of four tire irons welded together, the inside of the wrench ends filled with - what else? - car lugnuts. The engine plate used to be part of an office keyboard track, with a curved slot cut out for carburetor clearance, and the crossmembers on the frame were bicycle kickstands.

The head tube is a small section of pipe with car lugnuts on either end, and a large 1/4" gusset plate to tie it into the arms of the frame.






The rear wheel mounts are cut-down training wheel mounts. A funny thing about goped wheels - the axles are fastened INSIDE the wheels, and can't be slid out like regular pb wheels (or if they have, I haven't found out how yet.) To accomodate this, slots were cut in the axle mounts with a 4" angle grinder and cutting wheel.

[aametalmaster]

Like the tire iron frame. Looks good...Bob

[SpyGuy]

Here's another shot of those rear wheel mounts, and the mockup with the rear wheel in place:





And please no comments about how bad the welds look right now - these were all before cleanup ..... They look a lot better now.

[SpyGuy]

Starting on the top half of the frame:




Top of frame in place and welded up:

[SpyGuy]

(** Note: Earlier photos show a different head tube, made from a small section of 3/8" water pipe inside two sleeves, attached to one arm of a 3-piece bicycle crank. This design didn't work out very well, as the pipes wouldn't take a good weld and hold together. After several hours of frustration and easily-broken welds - not to mention enough cussing to make a sailor blush - out came the cutting wheel. **)

[SpyGuy]

The front forks are also tire irons, with 1/4" steel plate for triple trees, and chopped-down training wheel mounts, doing the same trick with the slot. (Been using a LOT of cutting wheels - that 1/4" plate is tough stuff!)






(Yah, I know, the front forks aren't gonna turn with that big plate like that. I just didn't get a picture of the bottom end cut out yet.)

[SpyGuy]

Hey, starting to look like a bike now!

[SpyGuy]

Well, let's drag out one of my REAL pocketbikes, and check out the difference:





For reference, that's a full-sized Cagllari/Daytona pocketbike, aka "Cag." The Re-Cycle is approximately two-thirds its size, and is running the same 47cc engine as the Cag, except for the transmission (trans for mine is actually off a larger bike).

[SpyGuy]

Gas tank is a stock Cag/Daytona tank, secured with a big ol' hose clamp in pure redneck style. Have another tank on the way, and it will be hard-mounted to the frame using small wrenches as support brackets.





Yup, that IS a bicycle seat! The pipe it's mounted on used to be a set of mountain bike handlebars, cut and notched to fit on the new frame, and supported by a really big nut.

Here's a shot of the bike next to my Kragen Zooma goped:



Kinda hard to believe those ar the same size wheels, huh?