In the fall of 2004 I semi-retired from racing drag bikes and needed a two-wheeled fix. I found a sweet ‘80 Shovelhead rigid on an EBAY ad but was beat out of it by less than 30 seconds.
In spring of 2005 I acquired a 1993 883 Sportster that already had a 1200 kit installed. It had some live-to-ride junk on it that I ripped off even before I rode it. After riding it for a couple of months and seeing a hundred like it, I decided a change was in order. I had been building and racing Dragbikes since 1994 so the influence in style of the end result comes from that.
The requirements for the build were simple:
1) 330 mm rear tire
2) Spoke wheels
3) Low as possible
4) Convert to Foot Clutch / Hand Shift
After looking at a large stack of magazines, I didn’t see what I was really looking for. I finally found a frame maker on the web who offered a 330mm frame, but it was too damn expensive. I started to gather cash and after many months, bought a 330mm Avon Rear, Got a sweet deal on a 17×11 Black Bike Spoke rear. This killed the bike money for a few more months, but I had enough to start getting measurements for the rear section of the frame.
In early February 2006 I started taking it down to the bare frame which I completed in about 6 hours. After seeing the piles on the floor I called it a day.
I fought the 330 tire onto the rim, took a measurement from the sprocket face to the center of the tire, added 1-½” then doubled, now I had my inside measurements for the axle blocks. Fired up the mill and made some blocks out of 1-¼ “ bar stock. After getting some 1-¼” chrome-moly tubing, I calculated out where I wanted the axle to sit compared to the old swingarm mount and made up some plates to hold the axle blocks in place, then connected the dots. After about 30 hours of hacking up the rear stock frame, bending tubing, and TIG welding I had this.
Now it was time to tackle the front of the frame, after fabricating my neck jig and attaching the neck to it, I cut the down tubes just above the motor mount tabs, and cut the top of the backbone just forward of where I just welded the rear frame rails and raised the neck 2-½ inches. This did three things:
1) It lowered the front of the lower frame rails
2) Gave me about 2 degrees more rake.
3) Straightened out the line from the neck to the rear axle blocks
Now to the dreaded rear fender. A friend hooked me up with a raw spinning for a rear fender, which I cut in half. I added 1-½ inches to the center to get it wide enough to clear the 330 tire/wheel combination, then made the fender mounts and tabs to attach to the frame.
I now needed an oil tank (4-Quart) and battery box.
Since I wanted minimal wiring on the handlebars I made up some cover plates to house the switches and wiring.
Now onto exhaust. I found a set of pipes that were close to what I needed on EBAY and cut, turned and re-radiused to fit.
Mock up complete, break it down again, send the frame to powder coat and the rear fender to be smoothed out an painted.
While the frame was out for powder coat, I decided to take the crumbling, factory, clear-coat off of the motor, leave it raw, and burnish the surface with Scotch rite. Now, I need to clean the motor is some carb cleaner and Scotch rite, and it looks GREAT just like that.
To accommodate the 330 Avon rear, I bought an Exile Sprocket/Rotor and had to make an offset sprocket and support. One 23t Sprocket and about 4 hours later I had this.
Finally the wiring was done, refit the front end, hung the tins, and fired it up on the table. Now I have to gather a couple of friends to lift the damn thing off the table.
Time for the first ride in 7 months. After taking it for a short spin I had to re-clearance the chain spacing in the fender but other than that just ride!!!!
All I can say is after the months of hacking, welding and building, the first ride was great! Out of pocket expenses were limited to the rear tire, wheel, and sprotor.
It really helps keep costs down if you can weld, and know how to run machine tools. My mill and lathe were manual machines. As for Welding, TIG is the only welding that belongs on a bike. (IMO)
The fact sheet:
Owner:Dick Boxell
Address:Cornfields of Indiana
Frame by: Dick Boxell
Foreword controls: Dick Boxell
Rear Fender Fabrication:Dick Boxell
Rear Fender Paint:by Fuzz
Rear Tire:330mm Avon
Rear Wheel:Black Bike 17×11 SPOKE
Rear Sprocket:Exile Sprotor
Exhaust: Santee/Boxell
–Dick Boxell
dboxell@ashinmold
