The MechaniK

[Gabi Nicolae]

The fixing system for the coolant reservoir is almost done.

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[Gabi Nicolae]

And the million parts that form the headlight assembly. It is a tricky one :) It rotate around two bearings, kept in place by two uniball arms on each side. That way we will have 2 bikes in one : normal position, headlight. Second position, when the entire assembly is rotating 180 degrees, you have a racing plate number facing the road. With a switch that shut down the headlight, of course. I think that this approach is a first - at least I don't know any custom or standard bike to incorporate that feature :)

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[duckytran]

Very innovative Gabi. Where are you placing that coolant reservoir?

[Gabi Nicolae]

Very innovative Gabi. Where are you placing that coolant reservoir?

I'm placing it right behind the radiator, aligned with the chassis and with the exterior of the fuel tank. Shaving the 2 existing tabs and welding a new one, the one in the pictures.

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[alexg]

Hi Mechanik:
I have been following your posts with much interest, not that I want to change my bike, but to see what is out there. Great CAD and fabrication techniques.


I saw all those 2D parts cut from sheet/plate. I initially thought that they were cut with a laser. Then I saw the 1/4" aluminum plate.... Are those cut with a water jet?


Just curious.

[Gabi Nicolae]

Hi Mechanik:
I have been following your posts with much interest, not that I want to change my bike, but to see what is out there. Great CAD and fabrication techniques.


I saw all those 2D parts cut from sheet/plate. I initially thought that they were cut with a laser. Then I saw the 1/4" aluminum plate.... Are those cut with a water jet?


Just curious.

Hi, thanks for your comments. All the parts are laser cut, except the 1/4" (you have good eyes :), that ones are CNC machined.

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[Gabi Nicolae]

Some more work in progress.

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[Gabi Nicolae]

The headlight is done, already disassembled and ready for the anodizing, together with the other aluminum parts.

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[Laitch]

If I thought drinking Pepsi could elevate my creativity to your level, Gabi, I'd relocate to the neighborhood of a bottler. :giggles

[Gabi Nicolae]

If I thought drinking Pepsi could elevate my creativity to your level, Gabi, I'd relocate to the neighborhood of a bottler. :giggles

:)))))) That's a very good one, my friend! :))

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[duckytran]

Looking forward to seeing how the headlight assembly works Gabi. Also, are you planning to incorporate an LED strip for the rear brake and turn signals into the seat hoop? Previous pics doesn't show any indication of this.  :2thumbup:

[Gabi Nicolae]

Looking forward to seeing how the headlight assembly works Gabi. Also, are you planning to incorporate an LED strip for the rear brake and turn signals into the seat hoop? Previous pics doesn't show any indication of this.  :2thumbup:

Hi, ref the led strip I'm reluctant a little bit. As it was already done by a lot of builders. Not that it's something wrong with it, but I feel we can do it differently, more like "outside the box" thinking. We will keep you posted :)

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[Gabi Nicolae]

I fabricate the upper triple clamp out of wood, just to be sure that it looks proportionate with the bike and it works. So far so good.

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[Gabi Nicolae]

And the first painted parts.

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[Gabi Nicolae]

The wheels are sand blasted and epoxy primer is applied. Now are in the painting process, trying to level the small imperfections...

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[Gabi Nicolae]

And some more fabricated parts. The rear fender (better said, kind of mud guard :). The front fender is under work still.

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[Gabi Nicolae]

The aluminum fabricated parts are back from the anodizing process. I have to say that I'm impressed and very happy! :)

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[duckytran]

You're going all out on this project Gabi. Starting to look like one of the more extensive custom K-bike build that I've seen.  :2thumbup:

[Gabi Nicolae]

You're going all out on this project Gabi. Starting to look like one of the more extensive custom K-bike build that I've seen.  :2thumbup:

Actually, I'm all in... :)) Thanks my friend. I'm very happy with the result, really. I can't wait to see it finished.

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[Gabi Nicolae]

I couldn't hold myself and to not put together the headlight assembly with the anodized parts. It is ready to be mounted on the custom cnc triple clamps, which will be done hopefully next week.

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[riots100]

This is a huge amount of custom fabrications!  What other fabrication processes are you using besides CNC Machining? (Water Jet, Lathes, etc.)

[Gabi Nicolae]

This is a huge amount of custom fabrications!  What other fabrication processes are you using besides CNC Machining? (Water Jet, Lathes, etc.)

Hi, we are using laser cutting, mainly, as well as lathes and various types of cnc machines. But the most important resource is the Autocad. Not to understand that the cad programs are doing anything without the human input :) But you can save a huge amount of time designing the parts.

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[The Mighty Gryphon]

Two things bother me about an otherwise spectacular build.  The top triple clamp looks scary.  You are replacing a forged steel part with an aluminum part that has been pretty well carved away.  If that thing fails at speed, the resulting crash will be instantaneous and awful.

Second, what looks to me to be a mount for the rear shock is again machined aluminum, and not robust enough to make me feel comfortable about it's life expectancy.  As with the triple clamp, failure at speed will be painful. 

Have you done any stress analysis on these parts to confirm that the designs are up to the task?   

[Gabi Nicolae]

Two things bother me about an otherwise spectacular build.  The top triple clamp looks scary.  You are replacing a forged steel part with an aluminum part that has been pretty well carved away.  If that thing fails at speed, the resulting crash will be instantaneous and awful.

Second, what looks to me to be a mount for the rear shock is again machined aluminum, and not robust enough to make me feel comfortable about it's life expectancy.  As with the triple clamp, failure at speed will be painful. 

Have you done any stress analysis on these parts to confirm that the designs are up to the task?

Thanks for your comments. I really appreciate the fact you are concerned about the bikers good health and I mention the following : the OEM bmw triple clamp is not forged steel, but 1980' technology aluminum. What we are using for the triple clamps is aircraft specs 7075 aluminum. A much better material quality. Yes, we did the math (actually not us, but the CAD we are using) and apparently the new clamps are about 80% more fatigue resistant than the original ones.
Second : the rear suspension is bolted on the chasis, at one end (through steel plates, reinforced), and to the transmission at the other end, using also steel plating and roller bearings. (if you are talking about the aluminum traction arm, this one is genuine Suzuki, using roller bearings at both ends. Hard to believe it will brake - and if so, the rear wheel will still be supported by the fully compressed shock and will not gona touch anything)
I don't know if I mentioned here : our business is not custom bikes but building racing cars (rally raid and off road). I'm not sure if the bike design is ok, but I'm pretty sure that what we are building /fabricating is not gona fall apart... As with the Dakar cars we built: I'm driving the bike (or the cars)! So I wanna be sure that ar least what we do is well done :)
But thank you for your concerns.

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[The Mighty Gryphon]

Glad to hear you have done your homework.  A lot of custom builders are 95% artist, and 5% engineer.  Looks like you have reversed that equation.  Anyone who can build a successful Dakar rally car certainly knows what they are doing.