General Category => Introductions => Topic started by: Blaine on May 11, 2025, 11:48:42 AM
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Hello everyone. glad to see this site is back. i won't have to use the wayback machine to get my Servi-cycle fix. I saw a Simplex Servi-cycle for my first time at a swap meet in Oley Pa. probably 25 years ago and was in awe. but I've never had the opportunity or funds to purchase one.
i'm 62 now. My small bike love started many years ago. My first "motorbike" was a 24" bicycle that i cobbled a 3-1/2 HP Briggs & Stratton self propelled lawmower engine on to it. It was maybe the summer of 1976 or 77 when i was 13 of 14. The self propelled of the time had a 9 to 1 cam driven worm drive shaft sticking out the side of the block with a 9 or 11 tooth sprocket on it. It was held to the frame with one bolt through an existing mounting hole for the motor, and multiple coat hangers wired to the shroud bolts strung up to the seat post and several more to the head tube of the frame. original mower throttle was attached to the seat post. the entire motor stuck out on the side of the frame, but i didn't affect the balance of things once it was moving. Even though it was held on with coat hangers, it was actually pretty secure.
Direct drive to a 3 speed wheel with the twist grip shifter. Tilting the bike on the kickstand to lift the rear tire off of the ground, pull the cord to start it, left idling, i could drop it off the kickstand and walk beside it and hop on. throttle up and go. I knew from riding a friends CT90 that without eye protection, you were ok at 35mph, but 45mph would make your eyes water. My homemade motorbike would make your eyes water, and the tire balance/untrue wheel combo would make your teeth chatter at speed. I sheared several sprocket roll pins, I found a hardened concrete nail wouldn't shear, but then i broke several case halves where the shaft came through. Also destroyed the 2nd, 3rd gears in the wheel, but 1st still worked, so i then had a "neutral". so i could do neutral drop burnouts until the spokes got so loose that the wheel rubbed the frame. So then I put a 20" 5 speed wheel on it with a derailleur. That was great, until a corn stalk wrapped in the chain and ripped it the whole way up to the engine. The final iteration was a single speed coaster brake wheel. ran it until the spokes started popping. then i got my first minibike at a yard sale for $20. had it running the next day.
I've owned many motorcycles since then. Still have a 63 FLH and an old Sportster, but my favorite bike to ride is my white 1966 Honda 90cc CM91. I've done some upgrades to it. 4 speed gears, S90 cam and bigger S90 carb, and I designed and cast my own intake to run the larger carb. I"ve had it over 60mph, but it's happy at 50. Before it struggled to maintain 43.
Since I've never had the chance to own a Servi-cycle, I've decided to fabricate one...but in1/4th or 1/5th scale as a display model.
Years ago I had downloaded "blueprints" of a Servi-cycle that was several pages with dimensions, but I've lost them somewhere along the way. I've spent a bit of time on the site here but haven't found them. I was hoping someone here could help me in my search of them.
Thanks, Blaine
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We have been here for 14 years, and were only down for a short time a few years back while updating to new software.
I don’t remember anyone ever posting any “blueprints” for a Simplex, and I have been here from the very beginning, and have owned the site for the last 13 years.
That said, welcome aboard! I hope you find what you need, as your project sounds like it could be fun.
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Thanks for the quick reply Rick. I figured it out. It was actually detailed drawings in the OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE MANUAL copyright 1950 that i was thinking of. there are no dimensions. i forgot that i ordered a copy from ebay, or somewhere, i found it in the garage. If someone could put some dimensions to the drawing of the frame on page 83, i could extrapolate many of the others. i was going to post pictures, but the site does not play well with Safari on my iphone. I'll have to try the google browser.
thanks again, Blaine
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Test
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Blaine, I just did that photo above from my IPhone using Safari. I had never tried it before, because I hate browsing on my phone. The writing is too small for my old eyes! ;D
Attachments must be smaller than 1500kb, that is likely your issue.
I don’t know where you live, but if you can make it to the VMBC meet in Portland, Indiana in July, you will see plenty of Simplex’s.
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Thanks Rick. i was able to browse the site normally, but once i logged in, the page doesn't display correctly. The menu bar is floating across the middle of the page, text is ghosting in the background, and topic hyperlinks don't link.
i tried google browser on my phone, everything seemed to display normally, until i logged in. Same issues. I can't do anything at all logged in on my phone.
I took a screenshot and sent it to my laptop to show you what I'm seeing on my end.
Blaine
(http://)
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i just verified on my phone that once i log out, the page loads normally, topic links work fine and i can navigate the site.... but of course i can't view attachments or post without being logged in.
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Log out and back in. I changed your forum default look. The background should now be white with blue writing. See if this works for you.
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Working perfectly from my phone. Thank you.
Just a few guesses on some dimensions.
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Welcome Blaine . :)
Sounds like your project would be a great way to get to know these bikes .
Pete . :)
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Thank you Pete. Can someone confirm the frame tube diameter, and are the fork tubes the same diameter? And the diameter of the springer rods?
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Is the frame tubing 1” in diameter?
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Is the frame tubing 1” in diameter?
Depends on the year. The earliest bikes used 7/8, then 15/16, and by 1938, 1” 16 gauge tube. This continued until the end.
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Excellent. Thank you Rick. I’d like to a later Automatic in 1/4 scale. Most fabrication will be in steel and some aluminum casting, and probably a few 3D printed plastic parts. I’d like to add as much detail as reasonably possible, but I don’t have a bike to scale from.
I read through your restoration post of the 55. I’ve learned a lot of details of the frame from the pictures. Beautiful work. Do you still have it? I don’t want to be a bother but any actual dimensions you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again, Blaine
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That 1955 is in a museum in a private in Pennsylvania. I have another ‘55 that is currently undergoing a restoration, and I will be assembling it at the VMBC show in July. I have most of the bike ready, with the exception of the tins. Just waiting on the weather to be a little warmer to get them in paint.
I’ve been very busy lately, I’ll try to get dimensions for you in another day or two.
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No hurry. I’m sure it will take some time to go through things. I thought of editing some photos with some lines and arrows that you could quickly measure and just fill in the blanks. Just knowing the tubing diameter has gotten me started. I realize the Automatic has a dogleg in the upper rails, i just haven’t figured out how to draw that yet.
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If you can do that, I will get any of the dimensions you need.
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Here's a few photos with a rule to get you started. Let me know what else you need, between what points in a curve, ect. I think the tubes are bent on a 3.5" CLR.
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A few more.
BTW, where do you live?
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Great pictures. Thank you. Since you have a bare frame, this is an excellent starting point for me.
That image of the frame from the manual wasn’t the best example. For starters, i could see that the wheels weren’t round so i had to stretch the image in the X to 105% to make them round, then adjusted the scale of the imported image off of the “known” 26” tires. But i’ve read that the wheelbase is approximately 48”-49”…. My drawing is a bit short at 46.8”, and the image was based on a manual and not an Automatic, so i want to start over with my drawing.
Since you have a bare frame at the moment, if i could ask you for few rather specific pictures that would greatly improve the accuracy of everything.
Close-ups are great for showing details, but don’t work very well for importing in to CAD to copy accurate dimensions. For smaller hand sized parts, i place them on the floor, stand directly over it so I’m perpendicular to the part, then i’ll zoom in with the camera to fill in the frame to take the picture.
With something as large as the servi-cycle frame, you’ll need to be several feet away. Ideally, far enough away that the farther (left) frame rails is hidden behind the (right) rails in the foreground. Being perpendicular to the center mass (red dot area in the attached imagine). Once you’re far enough away that the farther rail is mostly hidden, just use the zoom to fill the frame in the camera.
If you could assemble the fork assembly to the frame, even if in a temporary fashion, that would ensure that i can get the correct rake angle on the neck. A white sheet as a backdrop to eliminate the background, or a large piece of cardboard so the frame stands out.
It will be impossible to hide the entire left rail behind the right rail in the picture …so if you center the left rail inside the right rail while viewing through the camera, you know you are perpendicular to center mass. If it’s difficult to discern the right rail from the left in the picture after you take it, you can cover most of the insides of the left rail with the sheet and re-take the picture, just remember the exact spot you took the original picture.
If you could put a black dot on a piece of painters tape like i’ve shown in the attached picture, that will give me a point to scale from. Two known points of the largest dimension will increase the accuracy of scaling.
In the one picture of the neck, you show what looks to be about 4”. What is the width of the neck “box”? I added some arrows, if you could take pictures of those views also…curious as to the details as to how the seat strap is attached to the frame.
Before assembling the forks, if you could take a picture straight from the front. Since the crash bar is not straight across the top, i need that angle. “straight” as in perpendicular to the crash bar uprights, not the frame itself, since those uprights aren’t straight up and down.
I live in Dover Pa. in York County, about 15 minutes northwest of York city. It’s been rain every day this week, so i haven’t been able to ride the Honda at all. Next week is supposed to be a little dryer.
I’m constantly thinking of ways to fabricate all of the parts involved. Also fixtures, jigs and make some special tools to make things easier. I used to have a 0-80 tap and a small assortment of 0-80 screws and nuts, but i haven’t seen them since we moved 12 years ago. They make a nice quarter scale 1/4” bolt. For each part i make, i’ll make 2. One for me, one for you.
Thanks again, Blaine
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Image
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All of that rambling and all I really needed to do was post a picture of the shot i need. I hope my words don’t come off as condescending. My wife always tells me how awful my social skills are. She lovingly calls me “old and stupid” in Italian quite frequently.
If you have a tripod and can get set up to mimic this image as best as you can, then cover the left rail so the right rail stands out in the picture, that would be perfect…. And then move the camera position to the right, directly straight from the crash bar to when the left crash bar disappears behind the right crash bar for a second picture, that would greatly help my define the crash bar in space.
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No worries. I don't have a tripod, but I'll see if I can get what you want. The front end and all the other parts are wrapped up and packed away for the trip to Portland on July 5th. If you have never been, you should go. A great meet with like minded people. It's not that far for you, only 8 hours.
Funny the picture you posted of the width between the crash bars is from my shop, probably a dozen years ago. That was likely when I restored a 1953 Automatic.