Attika Posted March 26, 2017 Hello good people of Eurobricks, The other day I built up the set 8051 motorbike applying some minor modification like different color scheme and some change on bodywork to make it look like more like a stuntbike. These changes did not alter the basic geometry and size. (apart from the rear fork what is one stud shorter.) Despite the fact that I caught the stuntbike feeling quite well (for my taste at least) I couldn't get along with the end product. I figured the wheels were slightly bigger (in diameter) than they supposed to be. So I grabbed my tape measure, digged up some pics on google of real bikes and came to the conclusion that these wheels are about 10 percent out of scale compare to the real proportion. The lack of width made the impression even worse to me. Trying to solve the problem I begun to play around with the old type bike wheels. I found their diameter is just the desired size but these were ridiculously narrow for the job. Searching in the forum here I've seen some builders used two of these rims with this tyre from the set 8448 Street sensation. The flat profile didn't make me happy though. Finally I worked out something using two rims and two tyres of the old type. The result has the right diameter, width, and rounded profile as it should be. (video at the end of the post) Here is a picture to illustrate the proportion problems: Upper left: Original 8051 Upper right: A random naked bike Lower left: my "pimped" 8051 with smaller wheels Lower right: The original wheels of 8051 built into a frame with realistic proportion As I said above the difference isn't huge, but it is there. Here is a few more pic to highlight the point I'm trying to make: I wonder if you guys share my opinion on this subject... Few more pics of these bikes: I know the front tyre sholdn't be this wide, but still better than a single (IMHO) Please note that this "connector bike" is still under development. It is meant to represent the size of bike I found appropriate to the wheel size. On the rear wheel I'm using the rear tyre of 8420 Street Bike. It fits perfectly on the new rim. Also I made a tutorial video, how to make that wide tyre modification: (Purist may find it disturbing . I can ensure you no harm done to any parts. Luckily those old tyres are so soft they can take any abuse.) Hope you can find some usefull in the post. Happy sunday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrickbyBrickTechnic Posted March 26, 2017 Though I'm not into motorcycles that much, this is quite interesting! Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
offroadcreations Posted March 26, 2017 (edited) This is pretty useful, I like it, and the connector bike is my favorite. I want to make the tires for the 8051 mod, but the video isn't showing up, so can you please try adding it again? Thanks. Edited March 26, 2017 by Offroadcreat1ons Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Attika Posted March 26, 2017 17 minutes ago, BrickByBrick Official said: Though I'm not into motorcycles that much, this is quite interesting! Thanks 4 minutes ago, Offroadcreat1ons said: This is pretty useful, I like it, and the connector bike is my favorite. I'm glad you like it guys. 4 minutes ago, Offroadcreat1ons said: the video isn't showing up, so can you please try adding it again? Thanks. Click on the picture where you see my hands and the wheels and it diverts you to the flickr. You can watch it there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Void_S Posted March 26, 2017 (edited) Nice observation and clever ideas how to resolve this disproportion: "updated" bikes looks very realistic, but let me add that some bikes has narrower front wheel (because of stability, handling requirement etc.), so sometimes it could be enough to make a custom (watch out for purists ) rear wheel only. Also, it's interesting, that there is an opposite situation for cars there: it's wheels are abnormally wide I suppose that one of possible reasons is a balance between the size and cost: smaller bike with bigger wheels is big in total, but contains less parts and cheaper in production and for customers. Take a look at your MOCs: White&Red is so cute (I really like it! ) but geometrically less then original 8051 and another one, White&Black that shares the same wheels, needs much more parts for a chassis and even more for a similar livery. So, realistic look versus economy... Edited March 26, 2017 by Void_S Minor typos Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Attika Posted March 26, 2017 7 minutes ago, Void_S said: but let me add that some bikes has narrower front wheel (because of stability, handling requirement etc.) Thanks Void_S, I'm a big fan of bikes for twenty some years now, and happened to be a motorbike courier for 3-4 years in London on a CB 500(killing business ). Combining this with being a mechanical minded person I gathered quite an experience on this subject. There is a delicate balance between the front and the rear tyres of a motorbike. If the difference is to big -like on custom made choppers- the two wheels choose different path on uneven road surface or let say tram track. The narrow (front) goes one way, the wide (rear) goes another. The only exeption I know about is the Ducati Diavel where they nailed the perfect handling despite the significant difference between the two wheels. But back to the Lego: I've tried the single rim on the red-white's front, it was looking funny at best. As I had no intermediate solution so I went with the double. Shame on me. Regarding the Connector bike (black and white) that is just a sketch. I've built the frame just to find out what size it suppose to be to match the scale of the wheels, but it is yet to work out. The empty "belly" is waiting for a proper transmission etc. So it won't be so deserted on the end of the process. In it's current phase it isn't more than an experiment stuck between being a double cradle and a delta box chassis. Time will decide how it ends up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Void_S Posted March 26, 2017 Well, you're pro then (I prefer 4-wheeled ones ) and doubled + doubled wheels anyway looks much better and realistic P.S. Looking forward to see something interesting once, curves of the Connector Bike are so curious... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Attika Posted March 26, 2017 9 minutes ago, Void_S said: Well, you're pro then (I prefer 4-wheeled ones) Yeah, Rossi pops in every now and then for advice too... Hell, no, lately I'm an armchair biker, gone for 4 wheels too, it is much better (dryer) under the British skies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agrof Posted March 26, 2017 (edited) Nice experiment, I am also for the connector bike, though the 8051 rebuild looks great too. It is a pity, that those wide tires have horror price on the market... (Okay, much cheaper, than the ones for my ZRX ). Edited March 26, 2017 by agrof Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1gor Posted March 28, 2017 Connector bike is the best choice IMHO, but generally it depends upon what bike you want to make from technic parts...Choppers are usually the ones with bigger wheelbase, so here you can make longer bike...classic bikes from 30s have shorter wheelbase and usually 2 cylinder engines (V formed or flat/boxer)... Tires idea is great Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Attika Posted March 28, 2017 (edited) On 2017. 03. 26. at 8:13 PM, agrof said: It is a pity, that those wide tires have horror price on the market... (Okay, much cheaper, than the ones for my ZRX ). But unlike for your ZRX, you have to buy it only once for a lifetime. It wont wear out. 10 hours ago, I_Igor said: Connector bike is the best choice IMHO, but generally it depends upon what bike you want to make from technic parts...Choppers are usually the ones with bigger wheelbase, so here you can make longer bike...classic bikes from 30s have shorter wheelbase and usually 2 cylinder engines (V formed or flat/boxer)... Tires idea is great The whole experiment gone around modern big ccm naked and sport bikes. You have definitely right about different styled and aged bikes require different wheel scaling. Even the same type from same year differs by engine size. I mean the proportion of the wheels are different on a cb125 than on a cb1100. I'm glad the connector bike has quite a success in public as it is an unusual building style at least on the field of Lego bikes. Edited March 28, 2017 by Attika Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Void_S Posted March 28, 2017 2 hours ago, Attika said: I'm glad the connector bike has quite a success in public as it is an unusual building style at least on the field of Lego bikes. And I just realized why: it's 8880 but two-wheeled! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Attika Posted March 28, 2017 1 hour ago, Void_S said: And I just realized why: it's 8880 but two-wheeled! This is the biggest possible compliment I can ever get. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
