Staying the course!

It may not look it from my lack of posts but things are moving along well with the BSA. I have the wheels back from Buchanans and they look awesome! Tires are mounted and I am really happy with my tire, rim, and hub combo.

A while back I purchased some 1" x 2" race-track oval tubing to use in the frame construction of the BSA. A couple of weeks ago I made some 1" diameter rolling dies and rolled a length of the tube the hard way. After determining the lengths needed for the chainstays I chopped up the arc I created and then began to taper them down like a bicycle chainstay. I was able to cut out curved pieces of pie from the flat sides. After dressing the weld area I tacked then fully tig welded each of the tapers up.

After all this work I was only about half done because now I needed to bend them in towards each other to wrap around the front of the tire. This was done by bending a piece of 1" tube which I split and welded in 1" flat bar to make my bends. After much more welding and hand finishing I think they came out pretty nice, I'm really happy with them.

Oh, forgot to mention what I did about three weeks ago... I brazed stainless steel axle slide plates to both sides of each drop out. It took so much heat to flow the silver, it was a big pain in the butt. I ended up having to use some fire bricks to make an open top furnace to get things hot enough to braze and get full coverage.

I'm really wracking up the hours on this build. Between the cainstays and drop outs I have about 40 hours :P

Tire mounting magic!

My BSA project utilizes clincher rims and tires which I had no experience with until today. I found this a couple of weeks ago and tonight I was amazed how well it worked.

Tire Mounting MAGIC!

Being framed

Finally after countless hours building the girder fork I have started on the frame. A portion of the frame is made of stainless with the majority in mild steel. Where the two materials meet I wanted to treat it like you would a lug on a bicycle frame so I coped the steel and press fit the stainless into it after which I ran a little tig bead around. I love the zen like moments that tig welding creates... I love the focus!

Rita says:

Have a Happy Turkey Day!!!

Model A

Built between 2001 and 2005 by Speed Shop Design this 1931 Model A Ford is now owned by a gentleman named Tim in Tacoma, WA. Tim laid down a sick black paint job that simply makes the car look amazing. Like any true hot rod the car seems to constantly evolve to improve reliability, performance, and style. I love seeing this car around at all the local gatherings.

More Hot Bike

Hot Bike

Go get your copy of the January 2010 issue of Hot Bike on the news stand today. Not only did Special #6 get a five page feature but it also made the cover!

Too many ideas!

I feel like I will never get around to all of them so I sketch them real quick in my sketch book in hopes that some of them make it into future projects. In this drawing I particularly like the idea of making a sprung sissy bar/banana type seat that hides the spring under the tail piece.

One of these days! ;)

one part Triumph + one part Norton =

"TRITON"

Over the past few months my dad and I have been talking allot about the bike I am designing for him. I had been playing with the idea of making a frame from scratch but with the BSA project being so labor intensive I was a little worried that doing so would take forever for him to get his bike made. So... after lots of thought I figured the best frame I could buy would be a feather bed and low and behold I was able to score this 1965 slimline feather bed frame. I like the slimline frames over the wide because I feel the waist will lend it's self to a more sculptural tank and tail piece. I want to make a roller of the parts asap so I can start the sheet metal work. This thing is going to be kick ass!

Parts is parts...

... well not really. Last week I spent allot of time on the lathe, mill, and the belt sander making more components for the BSA project. This bike is about 95% one off components, pretty much the only thing I'm not fabricating is the engine. What your looking at here are a couple of top plates for the girder fork as well as some front axle pockets. I also machined some stainless exhaust couplers for the unique 2 into 1 system the bike will have. The other pieces are aluminum and something I am not going to talk about... you will just have to wait and see the finished bike to understand what they are ;)

Hopefully next week I start welding some frame components together but I'm not so sure, I still have a shopping list of parts to machine about a mile long.

Sick Food :(

This week the flue decided it was my turn to be sick. All I have been able to do is a few sketches here and there and no fabrication time in the shop. Last night Lynn stopped by our favorite noodle spot, Samurai Noodle, and got me the perfect comfort food :) I love my tonkatsu ramen!!! Thanks babe ;)

The Willys

I started building this rod a few years ago. It is pretty unconventional because it is powered by a 1970 Datsun 240Z engine and trans.

My old "Blue Balls"

Behind the scenes...

at the photo shoot to finish up the web site. This is the cyclocross bike I designed and built as well as painted last year. The color is not for everyone but I like it... Pink is a Power Color!!! ;)

Special #6 on display

Thanks to Scott at East Side Harley, Speed Shop Special #6 is proudly displayed with the beautiful north west (Seattle) in the background. It is for sale so if you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket go talk to Scott ;)

Winter Bike

Other wise known as a rain bike here in Seattle. I had it apart for a while because I had stolen some parts from her for my cross bike. This bike is my commuter for the most part so she only gets about fifty wiles a week put on her. I built and painted her back in grad school around 1995... I wish I had more of that lace I used in the paint because I have not been able to find it since.

My nine to five

My day job as designer at www.gulassaco.com gives me the opportunity to design some pretty cool pieces. Here I am adjusting a detail on a glass topped table for a photo shoot. I designed this piece a year or two ago. We collaborate with a local glass artist who makes the top for us. The three inch think glass weights about 450lbs all on it's own. The steel legs are the lightest parts because they are English wheeled 16 gage steel. I like this table lots and so do our showrooms ;)

Coming soon to your computer....

My web site!

I'm pretty excited to get it finalized and fully operational. My goal is to have it completed for November 17th because that it the day that the January issue of Hot Bike comes out with a feature on Special #6. It takes so much stinking work to take all the images, edit all the images, write something clever, and get it formatted and working. I'll be so happy when it's done!

Bustin some BSA butt

I have been working every spare moment on the BSA project these past couple of weeks. Lots of parts machined and cut out of sheet steel for the front end. I also have the hubs and clencher rims prepped and ready for powdercoating then off for some custom spokes.

Here are some images of the steerer tube and head tube assembly. I'm pretty close to starting the sheet metal for the front end so I am super excited!!!

I am machining lots of stuff from stainless on this bike like my last one(#6) because it allows me to not have to worry about plating effecting my tolerances plus a stainless finish never fails ;)

Mags RULE!

I just love this bike. The metal finishes on it are perfect.
I can't imagine what it is like riding it with those ribbed car tires front AND rear.
Enjoy!

Lots of chips but no fish

Spent the day at the mill and the lathe making components for the BSA projects girder fork.

I will whittle down the aluminum linkages some more once I am happy with how the fork works and I don't want to modify anything.

Working my nine to five at www.gulassaco.com makes it hard to spend as many hours as I would like on this project but I am working like hell when I can to have this bike done by May 2010.

Crossing my fingers!!!

and so it begins...

I got a good solid week end in on my BSA build and I am so excited to see ideas I have had in my head for months now start to materialize in metal. What I have planned is not easy but it will be well worth it. I hope to have it ready for the Legend of the Motorcycle show next May, that's if I can get into the show??? I'll be posting obscure snippets from time to time because I want to keep it a surprise for the show next year, that's why this image really doesn't show you much ;)

My little co-pilot

After the swap meet on Sunday I took the kids (dogs) to the shop to get some work done. This is Sophie on the way back home doing her best puppy impersonations. Little Sophie just loves to drive up front in the Jeep with me and is a constant source of amusement.

One Holy Wheel:

Or should I say holey wheel ;)
I saw this at the A.B.A.T.E. swap meet yesterday and thought it looked so frackin cool... don't think I would ride it but cool none the less.

Money talks and....

... and my roadster goes away :(

This past Tuesday I met a man that drove up to Seattle from NM to pick up my Datsun Roadster project. After some beers and some heavy lifting we had it in the rental truck.

I am excited to see this car go to someone who is going to finish her up and do her right.

Now I have the funds to finish a couple more bikes!!!

:)

A round peg in a square hole.

Sunday I took a little road trip to go pick up a 1965 BSA A65 for one of my next projects.

The people I purchased it from were like, "you sure it's going to fit in your Jeep? Sure you don't want to rent a trailer?"

To their surprise it fit in like a glove!

The sound of beezzzzzz..zz..zz.z.z.

Special #6 has been getting some nice write ups(buzz) the past week or so. You can check it out at:

http://www.bikeexif.com/harley-sportster-custom-2

and most recently at:

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2009/08/24/speed-shop-design-special-6-by-chris-flechtner/

Thank you all for your support.

Chris

Happy Birthday Little Brother!

Thank you Jim!

I just received a great set of photos of Speed Shop Special #6 from Jim Gianatsis at fastdates.com



The pin up shot will be in the upcoming 2011 Iron and Lace Calendar.



I think they came out really great. Thank you so much Jim for all your support and enthusiasm.



I can't wait to have my new builds in the Long Beach show next year!!!



See the rest of the set at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/motormaniac/sets/72157621956362249/

You learn something new every day!

Polishing steel

A simple and inexpensive way to remove rust from and polish steel surfaces by hand is to rub it with aluminium foil dipped in water. The aluminium foil is softer than steel, and will not scratch the surface. As heat is generated by rubbing friction, the aluminium will oxidize to produce aluminium oxide. Aluminium has a higher reduction potential than iron, and will therefore leach oxygen atoms away from any rust on the steel surface. Aluminium oxide is harder than steel, and the microscopic grains of aluminium oxide produced creates a fine metal polishing compound that smoothes the steel surface to a bright shine.

Slayer Espresso

I designed this machine last year with a team of crazy coffee scientists. I was in charge of the outer appearance and over all feel of the machine, the other guys did all the hard work! It was such a fun project and the machine is totally changing the way people think of espresso.

Check it out at www.slayerespresso.com