Simplex 5 speed build

[ndian22]

Lovely weather there, but zero wind chills in the early mornings here warming by late afternoon into the upper thirties, so I'm still riding a little each day.

I've been getting a small amount of fabrication completed on the "torpedo tube" style fuel tank for the V-twin. It's 1/8" steel tube and 6" in diameter...2 gallon capacity & now baffled. I'll cap it with round dome caps on both ends. It's got to be study as it comprises the complete upper frame and supports both the steering head & is the upper connection for the dual down tubes and the rear saddle tube. I plan on using dual fuel bungs located side by side.

I' don't get much done but I'll keep pecking away at it.  Rick C.

 

[pd]

Any progress is progress .

Just keep doing , it'll get done . One step at a time .

Pete .

[ndian22]

Pete it's good to hear that you will be staying out there awhile longer. It's nice not having much weather to deal with. As for Indian Territory I shouldn't whine it's not been protracted cold here just bad spots. Yesterday and today very mild low 60's....followed by a couple of cold days etc. been that way most of the Winter. I actually put in about 4 hrs. on bikes yesterday after lunch & made some progress & plan on more today. All of it just detail & upkeep yet necessary.

I lost my main fabrication buddy, a great guy, yesterday after a brief but painful illness & I felt it best to stay busy. We built some cool vehicles together & most were drivers/riders that still won trophies when shown. He will be missed by many & all have their own good memories of a good man. 

Rick C.   

[pd]

Sorry for your loss , Rick .

Agreed , keeping busy seems to help .

Pete .

[ndian22]

Thanks Pete.

Forecast for 85 degrees her today in Indian Territory...12 degrees three days ago. So I'm going to ride a little and continue on bike upgrades & service....clutch hincky on one moto bicycle and headset bearing replacement required on another. I'm hoping to get started on the Simplex Copper Gator as well. I've determined to convert the foot operated shift to a hand shift lever; as I like the look and feel of the hand shift on the Harley Peashooter, but will convert both bikes to a right hand lever & left hand clutch. If you recall I went to a left hand throttle and brake on the Harley & left hand shift lever/right hand clutch. While it feels strange, it works well. I don't really like operating the controls on it & seldom ride the Harley because of it, so I'm changing things around.

Also both these two bikes have operable bicycle pedals as did all early day moto cycles. These also operate the rear coaster brakes (as did the early day bikes) but the right side pedal has to be in a perfect position to use the kick start lever. Poor design on my part, but a folding pedal will solve the problem & allow starting from the straddle position as I now have to place the bike on stand before starting from the standing position next to the bike. Try that  after a stall at a busy intersection, not recommended. Living in a small town it hasn't been a problem, but it's not right & I've known it from the jump so I'm making it right.

Both the Simplex & Harley bikes run and ride great, but little things make the difference. I want the look & feel of classic early 20th. century bikes while having the dependability of a more modern power & drive train. At least that's my motivation.

Though I've a load of work to do on my V-twin, side car etc. I need these things sorted first on the ones I put on the road.   Rick C. 

[pd]

Ha . Sounds like me .

Things that need done on each machine . Life ... always something with these kids . LOL

Pete .

[ndian22]

Yeah Pete I've been tinkering on "completed" projects my entire life. I can't seem to let them be. Selling has been the only answer I've come up with, when it's gone it's done! One of the things that I've wanted to add to the Simplex Gator was a copper velocity stack & a brass one on the Harley "pea shooter". So I'm adding those to my to do list while I'm tinkering on bikes.

It's been a solid sheet of ice here in Indian Territory for the last two days, but should melt off today. I was at lunch when the roadways glazed over & it was a "fun" ride for a couple of miles getting home on my 2.235" tires & 48" wheelbase Grubee, just a couple of slips, no falls & much relief on shutdown. For certain it really wasn't a good decision to take the chance.  Rick C.

[pd]

Ha . Ice ... two narrow wheels and two feet . Very easy on the throttle and brakes . About triple time for any distance .
Yup . I've been down that same road , more than once . LOL
Good you made it home without too much 'pain' .

The copper and brass stacks sound like nice additions .

Pete .

[ndian22]

Praise God next 10 day forecast is high 50's to mid 60's I'm so ready. I'd perish in a really cold weather area, probably whine myself and all around me to death in the process as well.

I'm hoping to get in a few hours of work each day & make some real progress on my current projects as my health has been much better despite the cold. I've also received some really needed parts that should add some incentive to accomplish more.  Rick C.

[pd]

Great that you're feeling better , Rick .

Maybe you hit the h in the second sentence by mistake .

Pete .

[ndian22]

Pete I decided to forego adult beverages 3 decades ago and I've used the savings to build vehicles. I'm even harder to get along with as well & not nearly as much fun.

I started on the Simplex yesterday, but first took it out for a half hour cruise in the country. Nice day & she performed well, first time I've ridden her for more than a couple of miles at a time, all in town. I've mentioned that I'm pleased with the way this bike rides, but I've decided to change several things that will definitely alter the look, feel and operation.

I was recently gifted with a set of Simplex fork rockers & this generous act jump started my interest in building a leaf spring girder fork that I've had in mind for a long while now, but always put off waiting for the right bike to come along. I've decided the Simplex Copper Gator is the right bike. The rockers will be reversed to allow the wheel axle to trail (follow) the fork rather than lead as it does with the dual spring Simplex fork. Ride characteristics will no doubt be altered as a result since positive trail is increased, but I'm hoping that I won't have to change head angle to compensate at higher speeds. Generally speaking increasing trail tends to slow responsiveness while promoting stability at higher speeds. I'll just wait to ride it and see.

Though I like the bikes look with the Sunlite dual springers & I've no complaints as to the ride quality; I'm wanting to go with a more robust fork construction because I'd still like to fit a sidecar to the Simplex at some point & I'm afraid to push the limits of the Sunlite fork any further.

I'll also abandon the foot shift feature of the 5 speed transmission & add a hand shift lever on the right side of the bike. This alteration is purely nostalgic on my part 'cause to foot shift works great and is no doubt faster to operate, but I've enjoyed riding my Harley Peashooter that has a left hand shift lever (which will also receive a shift switch to the right side) & is a bit more classic in both look & feel.

The Simplex tribute bike will also get some minor changes one of which is a rear sprocket change from 54 tooth to 44 tooth at the moment 1st. gear is so low it's useless & I'm sure this will put the over all ratios closer to what the factory intended.

Like I said it's getting close to Spring & I'd like to have my so called completed bikes ready for some riding time & three of them are, which just leaves the Simplex and Harley to attend to. I'll hopefully have the V twin running by next year & if the leaf fork is a success perhaps the sidecar complete & mounted to the Simplex by Fall? My plan is for one car with unique adapters for both the Harley & the Simplex.

Lot of bikeplans for an Old Guy!  Rick C.     

[Ricks]

I can't wait to see this frontend.  Those Indian Leafspring frontends make those bikes!  Rick, when you flip those rockers around, are you planning on welding them closed and remachining them to fully enclose the axle?  Simplex had rockers just like that on some of the trucks.

Here's a few pictures of a SimplIndian!

[ndian22]

Rick thanks for everything. The Indian Simplex is a treasure! I love it when bike owners just go with it & have fun.

The closed axle rocker is a necessary safety precaution with the leaf design. I will not weld this one closed but rather insert a 1/2" bushing to enclose the axle this allows simple bicycle type hub/wheel removal while still preventing catastrophic wheel loss. If I ever decide to go with D.O.T. hub & wheels with motorcycle style through axle I will weld the rocker closed and re machine the levers.

The center hole on the rocker is where both legs of the girder fork are to be supported by a ground shoulder bolt, which is the normal vertical drop out location on the fork for the wheel axle, and that open fork drop out will need to be re enforced, welded and enclosed as it becomes the primary load bearing/connection point for wheel to fork. The final rocker hole is for the leaf spring suspension rods connection. The sweet little Indian Simplex fork retains the leading axle design of the original Simplex and probably works just fine, but it is not typical of leaf fork design used through the years by most manufacturers domestic or foreign they predominantly utilized trailing axles.

I should be getting some parts in over the next two weeks and will post 'em up as I go. I decided to use the same type girder fork that I recently installed on one of my China girl 2 strokes & have been riding a lot...it's way over built for bicycle use & much more robust than the Sunlite forks currently on my Simplex. I also decided on using forged eye bolts for my spring to rocker connection & ordered another leaf spring rather than use the old one that I had on hand and was unsure of as to load bearing. I didn't want to waste time cutting & tapering each leaf only to realize the spring was sprung.

One final point. I will attach the spring to fork from the bottom of the fork plate, using the forks steer tube as the  major load bearing component for the leaf spring via an expansion tube inserted inside the steer tube & bolted through the spring pack. This solves two problems (strength) and appearance while creating another...minimal tire to spring pack clearance, by shortening the length of the spring rods, which lowers the axle position at pre-load, an inch or so of clearance is gained. After that only lengthening of the fork legs can add any additional room for tire clearance. Of course I can drop down to 24" wheels, but I'd rather not.  Rick C.       

[ndian22]

The girder style steel 1" threaded fork I'll be using for the basis of the 4 leaf springer on my Simplex Copper gator.

[ndian22]

Mock up of the leaf fork for the Simplex. Spring pack is 1 3/4" wide & 13" in length. I'm thinking the short pack leaf will be eliminated, so 3 leaf total? 1750 lb. utility trailer spring with a nice 3 1/2" arch. The basic elements are pretty much a go. First thing will be to cut the spring to length and taper the individual springs. Not shown are the 7/8" quill I'll use to attach the spring pack to the inside bottom of the interior of the steer tube & square U bolt 3/8" diameter bolt (seems a contradiction) that will secure the pack to fork plate. I'll use .120 wall 1/2" D.O.M. tube for the spring legs with solid rod insert for a stiffener. I will use  at least one adjuster per side for pre-loading of the spring. Seems a pretty straight forward project at this point & quite robust.   Rick C.