Thanks for all the kind words and comments folks, I definitely appreciate it! Like I alluded to in the beginning, I'm the type of guy that builds stuff with what I have available for the most part. So my machines may not have quite as much polish and spit finish as others, but they'll be built with a bit of everything recycled or incorporated into it and that's my style. I look at some of the builds I see guys finish and my mind races wondering how the hell they got everything so clean, spotless, and perfect, and how will they ever keep it that way hahaha. Having a vision of an idea, and then cutting and welding stuff together isn't that hard. You just gotta be willing to try, fail, and retry until it works, failure isn't an option.
I was *completely* out of my league when I started building that hybrid engine originally. I didn't even ever really expect it to run. I started with junk yard engine cases (scrap aluminum bin, seriously) and a cylinder that had the skirt broke out of it, because the idea intrigued me but I wasn't about to try to start welding and milling on a set of good 250r cases ($$$). I eyeballed so much stuff. I remember the first time I had the cylinder bolted onto the cases with a crank in it, and it would barely turn through because I had the base gasket surface so out of square the piston was dragging on one side of the cylinder so bad it'd barely turn though. But, I did some thinking, some doing (always the most important part!), and I got it corrected. Somewhere a long the line I reached a point where I was like "Shit, I think I can actually make this work"...and I had friends, good friends, tell me it was a waste of time and would never run, or why would I not just go buy an aftermarket big bore cylinder and stroker crank kit for $2k and be done with it, but that's just not me. I like to take the long way around things. Its not just the end result that's important, the journey is too. And so that's been the story with this bike, beginning with buying a junk rotax cylinder in 2010. Kicking the stuff around for a few years and actually starting on the engine building phase later in 2013, finishing the engine in '15, and then starting the 2 wheeler phase in tail end of '16....I like to think of it as a little bit of my own "Munro Special" to a degree. No present plans to use old sewer pipe for cylinder liner, though.
Irk, I built mounts onto the sub frame for that seat (had to modify the mounts some). I'm not crazy about it, I wish it was a little bit longer as there isn't any room to scoot backwards really, but it was cheap, and it'll work. It currently bolts down with 6x 6mm bolts. I've been thinking lately most of my electrical including a small battery will have to go under it, so I may need to make a quick change or pin system to latch and release it. Probably some sort of aluminum trough to lay in the sub frame and then the seat goes over to house things. I intend to run it for the time being, but certainly subject to change.
teazer, bars are 7/8. I've now got double line banjo bolts in both 1.0 and 1.25 thread to fit whichever the master is. I never even knew banjo bolt mounts in 1.0 were a thing until this. I suspect a set of bars will be one of my next purchases. Another friend suggested "Clubman" style bars, and they look like they have a little bit of rise, as I'm trying to maintain a bit of rider up type position. The vibration and power curve will make it difficult enough to ride comfortably so I want to avoid clip ons or anything that is super low like that...
