The Ballistic Cruze Mule...da Bob

I like the light but will you be able to see the speedo? If you can see the speedo than I'd say rock it, but if not then it might be questionable.

I'm loving that barn you are working in. The detail on the outside of the doors is real nice. Oops, just went back and I see where you said that it is a friend's shop. Ok..., was it a barn? Looks like a cool place.
 
Yep you can see the speedo even with the light sitting as low as in the pic. And yes it was a Barn prior to being a cycle shop, very cool spot actually, whole upstairs is full of vintage goodies. I was running out of room in my shop and Adam was kind enough to offer up a small corner for my project.

Hope to get out and do a few things tomorrow.
 
Hell ya. Rock that baby!

What a cool site for a cycle shop! What is the spot right next to your bike used for? Looks like it used to be an old tack room then a horse stall.
 
Right on the money, tack room is now the furnace room, building suits the name as well, Black Horse Cycle.
 
This thing has the potential to be amazing. I haven't finished my first bike and I'm jones-ing for a bobber, and a brat for that matter. This site is pure evil...

I can't wait to see where you go with this.
 
After 4 or 5 mock ups of various shock layouts, I bit the bullet and ordered a set of Harley Softail shocks ;D

Got a bar end mirror, KZ400 oil pan to hide electrics, fabbed up my headlight mount ( think its sittin a little high, and I may ditch the lower tripple cover )
Havent had much time for the bike as I'm stuck painting the house...HoneyDo list comes first.
 
m357.5 said:
Havent had much time for the bike as I'm stuck painting the house...HoneyDo list comes first.

I hear ya man, same story for me!!

Bike looks killer
 
Bit of progress this week, nothing major though. The Mule is scattered accross the shop in pieces. Got the swingarm tottaly mocked up and awaiting the TIG, shock brackets for the frame are done and awaiting the TIG as well. I have searched high and low and have never seen another rear suspension setup quite like this....good or bad, at least its unique LOL. Probably get pic's up early next week.

Tank and Headlight are at my shop awaiting prep/paint, hope to get at it tomorrow....Was going to do the prep myself and get the paint done by a pro, but $$$ is tight, rattle can's it is ;D so I couldnt find a green I liked enough in a rattle can, so silver it is.
 
Yesterday I ground/sanded the tank, filled in the tank badge areas, and 2 large dents on the right side of the tank ( creased so didnt bother poppin them out )....wife will be home by noon, so I'll be off to the shop to Saaaaaaaaaand and Saaaaaaand.......and Saaaaand some more. Hope to get it smooth and primed today.
 
I hate BONDO, and I hate sanding even more LOL. But it's getting there slowly.

Headlight is done and didnt turn out too bad actually, I'm no pro with a rattle can and I still need to wet sand and do more clear. Whatcha think ?

Inprocess014.jpg


Here is a pic of the rear in the VERY early stages partially mocked up, we took 1" out of the lower mount to get the shocks tucked up closer to the frame. The plate is slightly forward of the swingarm pivot and set at 7* so the shocks stay parallel with the frame as they extend. Tabs are for mounting the lower tubes to triangulate the swingarm, had to make the left removeable due to the belt...no master link on a belt EH! so we made the right side to match. The shocks are very close to the frame now and no clearence issues, lots of ground clearance and lean angle isnt hindered surprisingly....lots of lean while hitting a large bump, like entering a parkinglot may get interesting though LOL. I'll have pic's of it closer to done on Tuesday or there abouts. I'm doing a chin spoiler/belly pan as well, it will follow the frame back to the shock mounts to fill in the gap and make it all flow better. I've got lots of fiberglass but think aluminum with dimple die holes would look cool, so off to get some aluminum sheet tomorrow ;D

Inprocess001.jpg
 
So she is sittin on her own suspension again for final mock up, seat support and electrics are next on the list then onto the pipes.

inprogress2010.jpg


inprogress2016.jpg


inprogress2018.jpg


After clear coat and a few days to dry the headlight actually turned out pretty good, tank is primed and ready for a final spot putty and prime.

inprogress2002.jpg


inprogress2007.jpg
 
Innovative or crazy, I don't know which. But that is very cool! Way to think outside the box! I love it. Internal sprung? Looks like a good design to me and Very well executed. At first glance I thought you might experience problems with shocks rotating into the frame as the unit articulates. Then I noticed the distance from the pivot point and how the length probably affects the arc. Very well done. It will be interesting to hear others chime in. i for one love it! Would like to see more photos. Maybe a stance view and more photos of all that work you did.
I'll be interested to see what you do with electronics and seat (seat rails/support??) etc...
Edit: I was just kidding about the crazy part ;D
 
The thing I can't wrap my head around is how it is sprung. I guess I don't understand the workings of these shocks themselves. I can't wait to watch this thing progress. Very cool!
 
Innovative or crazy....definetly BOTH ;D the shocks are internally sprung and are in tension....extending as the suspension compresses, only the shaft pulls out of the body ( sounds kinda pornographic dont it :eek: )

In the original mock up the shocks sat much lower, but as the suspension cycles the shocks actually drop away from the frame, so we could mount them closer to the frame. The mounting plate is afixed slightly ahead of the swingarm pivot and a 10* forward angle was used, originally set at 7*. So as the suspension compresses the mounting plate afectively gets longer therefore drops away from the frame....compressed past centre it gets shorter again and draws the shocks upward, by then the tire has travelled through more than 4" of wheel travel. Good to go ;D I hope...may have to limit up travel so I can get my seat as low as I wanted. Its a bit stiff as the shocks are meant to hold up a pig....eeeerrrrr I mean Harley. We were originally intending on running them under the bike to hide them, but I was concerned about losing more ground clearence as they would have been lower due to the oil pan needing extra clearance.

Seat rail will be very small with no lower support, want it to look as if its floating. Electrics are going to be housed in an old finned aluminum oil pan attached to the rear down tubes of the frame, battery and solenoid will be housed in the front hidden by the belly pan.
 
That is so awesome. I figured it had to be internally sprung but I couldn't figure how it would work. That is very cool. Well thought out and executed. I love it. I really hope it all works out. I can't wait to see how it handles.
Oh, and I kinda like it exposed. It is so different and shows off the innovation. Bravo my friend.
 
Handling ought to be just as unique as the look itself. Shake down run may be more eventful than hoped for in that respect. Shooting for very early spring for its shake down run and if it all goes well we will be heading to North Carolina the second week of June....Adam on his 68 Triumph hardtail bobber, and Bob on his 360 Yamaha hardtail bobber ( by 360 I mean 2 stroke 360 single ) yeah Bob is crazy.

Got a few things that need sorted, Exhaust is an issue right now. Thinking High pipes both on the left in a staggered Shot Gun style. Also thinkin Wide Whites, and a tank bra done in the same material as the seat ( I hate body work and this would cover up the uglies LOL ) Plate mount and tail light mount.

I think I remember in my original post that I said something along the lines of....I dont want too spend to much time on this build. Well fuck me this build is gonna take all winter :eek:
 
I was wondering about exhaust, you filled up the space where it normally 'lives'.
Is that 1/4" plate?
Not sure about putting things in tension the way you have them?

PJ
 
Yes its 1/4" plate, there are two 1/4" drilled gussets on the underside of it, plus the DOM struts that triangulate the lower portion. Also corner gussets at the shock mount itself, hidden by the shock rubbers. I had doubts as to how strong it would be, but after taking a look at a stock Harley Softail swingarm I'm not worried about this one at all.
The frame mount will have another section of tube further forward that the pivot pin will be tied into to add strength to this area.

It is a little difficult to get your head around the whole tension thing, at least it was for me :D
 
I hear ya PJ, if anything looks suspect after the initial ride I'll modify it to withstand the stresses. And thanks for the compliments troybuilt and JRK, I value all of your opinions and critisisms.

OK, need some opinions. Yep, I'm staring at the KZ and thinking it would be rather bitchin with clipons, rearsets and a seat hump. Mix a bit of Cafe and Fighter into the Bob, just cuz its different. Its not looking like a traditonal bobber anyway so what the hell might as well fawk it up some more EH! ;D
 
Back
Top Bottom