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►It was about five years ago that I had an
opportunity to do a how-to-do-it story based on a relatively unknown
organization called Van Tech Engineering, who at that time was producing a small
displacement frame kit. Since that time I've probably done five or six similar
stories with various results (I even put a Honda 160 into a frame that was
designed for an engine half that size, and it worked out beautifully). For the
most part, the various stories were centered around 100cc or less powerplants.
Then a couple of years ago. I got this wild idea about building a special
chassis around a Honda 450 engine. discussed the thing with Bill Van Tech and it
seemed that it was about that time they were considering the possibility of
coming out with a large displacement chassis, so possibly my idea tied in very
nicely with their future plans. The result was a story on how to build a custom
450, complete with step by step photographs showing how the frame and complete
chassis were constructed. The results were startling. Mail and phone calls
poured in, not only from Honda 450 owners, but from people who owned Triumph,
BSA, Norton Matchless and even Harley. They had all seen the story and their
tongues were hanging out to purchase a replica. Unfortunately, this burst of
enthusiasm caught everyone unaware. We had done the story merely because it had
seemed quite interesting to us at the time, and we thought there were some
people who were curious as to how the project like this came about.
To make a long story short,
that was two years ago, and the phone calls and mail are still filtering in
regarding this earlier project. So the boys at Van Tech have finally done it.
Here it is, the big bike frame that will take anything from the smallest
two-stroke (although it would be foolish to use anything less than 250 here),
clear up to the biggest 650 vertical twin. I chose the BSA Victor because I
happen to be a big single fan, but the CZ-360 will fit in there just as easily
as a Triumph Bonneville.
Through some weedling and
cajoling, I convinced the Van Tech crew to let me acquire the first prototype
and build a motorcycle for this story. They consented, and here are the results.
If you have any ideas about
this being your weekend project, forget it. While it is entirely conceivable
that you can construct this motorcycle in a weekend, the results will be less
than perfect. The bike, as you see it here, is the product of four weekends of
hard work. Naturally, if you're not quite as fussy, you can be on the road (or I
should say, in the dirt) a lot quicker than I was. The cost? You can
buy the swinging arm frame
package for $300 (or $299 to be exact). If you have a large displacement
machine, you might choose to use the original forks, wheels and powerplant. If
not, you can purchase all of the pieces used in the story, brand new, for just
slightly more than $1,400. If you shop around and can pick up a used engine and
a pair of wheels, the price could probably be pared to $300 or $400, and it's
well worth the money. The whole bike, ready to run, only weighs 240lbs, (dry
weight) and handling is great.
I went first cabin on
everything, and bought all the parts brand new. The entire package was
$1,245.00. This included Ceriani forks, Koni rear shocks, a new Yamaha DT-1 21"
front wheel, BSA Victor engine, and rear wheel, a BSA Lightning gas tank, Bates
handlebars, Greeves front fender, K&N air cleaner and front fork brace. These
are all over the counter items that anybody can purchase. Also, I used a 3.25 x
21 in. front and a 4.00 x 18 in. back. Both tires are Dunlop Sports. I happen to
have a definite preference for this type of rubber.
You can save yourself a few
bucks and make up the oil tank yourself, but if you prefer, Roehr Brothers can
also sell you the oil tank if you wish to purchase one ready made. I must
mention here that this is a relatively simple item, and you can build the whole
thing out of a piece of large diameter thin-wall aluminum tube, or fold it up
out of sheet metal and have it welded down at your local welding shop.
The seat is another
scratch-built item. It was made out of 1 /8' aluminum plate, and the upholstery
was cemented and pop riveted in place.
One thing I found necessary was
to kick up the rear frame loop; otherwise there was insufficient rear tire
clearance when the shocks were fully compressed. Also, I have been advised that
the steering head has now been made longer so it was not necessary to add
spacers such as I have done.
The striking color scheme and
application can be credited to the Van Nuys painting wizard, Bill Carter. He did
an out of sight job that draws oh's and ah's from everyone who sees it.
You can use the Lightning gas
tank, or if you wish, you can buy a less expensive version from Webco. There are
several center mount fuel tanks available.
By the way, if you look around,
chances are pretty good that you might be able to pick up a 441 Shooting Star
that has a lot of the needed pieces. Usually you can get these bikes at a pretty
good price.
There will be a couple of
slight changes between my prototype frame and the production items, but these
changes are very slight and will not alter the construction procedure outlined
here. The whole job has been a lot of work, but a lot of fun and well worth it.
The only big trouble is that the bike looks so good now I'm afraid to go out and
ride it and get it scratched up.■ |
