[TC19] Foxbike

[BrickBuildingFox]

See all pictures of progress.

 

This is my first contest and also the first motorbike I will build... So I am very excited.

My current plan is:

- use the tires of the "Fat Boy" creator model... those are the only suitable ones I have

- orange or lime color... haven't decided yet

- single 2-cycle cylinder (build out of technic parts)

- kick start mechanism with working clutch

- 2 speed gearbox (if still space is still available)

I have no technic bike set, so the front suspension might be a problem. I haven't decided if I buy the Ducati (to use its parts) or just the order some springs from bricklink: either the 11L from ducati or the 9.5L used for other bikes. Which ones would you recommend?

Wish you all happy building and happy holidays!

Edited December 27, 2020 by BrickBuildingFox
add link to pictures on bricksave.com

[Rudivdk]

You should also take a look at the (building instructions of) the BMW motorbike set from a while ago. It uses car suspension parts to create the sprung front fork, including the more common 6.5l hard shock absorber.

The engine and the kickstart mechanism sound interesting, I'm curious what you'll come up with. Good luck!

[jorgeopesi]

2 hours ago, BrickBuildingFox said:

I haven't decided if I buy the Ducati (to use its parts) or just the order some springs from bricklink: either the 11L from ducati or the 9.5L used for other bikes. Which ones would you recommend?

Buy the Ducati, I do not like specially bikes but this is a master piece and its price is a joke for the parts it brings.

[Milan]

10 hours ago, BrickBuildingFox said:

This is my first contest

Hi, great to see you participating!

As noted in the rules, we need to have some actual progress in the first post, not just an idea.

[BrickBuildingFox]

16 hours ago, Rudivdk said:

You should also take a look at the (building instructions of) the BMW motorbike set from a while ago. It uses car suspension parts to create the sprung front fork, including the more common 6.5l hard shock absorber.

The engine and the kickstart mechanism sound interesting, I'm curious what you'll come up with. Good luck!

Thanks! I was not aware of this interesting mechanism of BMW motorbikes :-) Maybe I will go with this, then I don't need to buy more things... 

6 hours ago, Milan said:

Hi, great to see you participating!

As noted in the rules, we need to have some actual progress in the first post, not just an idea.

My apologies! I started today and build the 2-cycle engine and a concept for the clutch. I decided to go with orange color with some white... like a Fox :-)

For the Kick start mechanism, I only play with some gearing ratios... 1:15 means ~4-5 rotation per kick... guess that should be ok.

For the clutch mechanism I put a string through the hose... works better than I expected :)

This is the engine... quite big, but in comparison to the "Fat boy"-engine (which is a V2 where each cylinder has a similar displacement compared to this one)  so it should be still in reasonable proportion to the tires...

 

[Rudivdk]

44 minutes ago, BrickBuildingFox said:

Thanks! I was not aware of this interesting mechanism of BMW motorbikes :-) Maybe I will go with this, then I don't need to buy more things... 

Here's another one for inspiration: set 8857. Has a simple but really effective suspension setup with only very common parts. Can easily be converted to full studless as well.

[MajklSpajkl]

Very cool - string operated clutch! Fanatacstic idea. 

[Milan]

3 hours ago, BrickBuildingFox said:

My apologies! I started today

Thanks for posting the pics.
And wow, very nice ideas and progress! Keep up!

[2GodBDGlory]

2 hours ago, MajklSpajkl said:

Very cool - string operated clutch! Fanatacstic idea. 

I like that too! I have been planning on having some cable-operated controls on my entry using the semi-rigid hose, since I figured pneumatic hose would have too much friction, but if it works well enough I may have to switch to that, since I have a better supply of it.

It looks like an interesting model!

[BrickBuildingFox]

3 hours ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

... I figured pneumatic hose would have too much friction, ...

From my experience, the friction strongly depends on how strong you bend the pneumatic hose... I hope it will work in the final assembly.

[2GodBDGlory]

14 hours ago, BrickBuildingFox said:

From my experience, the friction strongly depends on how strong you bend the pneumatic hose... I hope it will work in the final assembly.

Good to know

 

[BrickBuildingFox]

I made some progress on the frame and suspension. It is far from perfect, but a good base to continue. Next step is to fit the engine and clutch inside. While browsing the instructions of the BMW (42063) I found that bevel gears are used instead of a chain to drive the bike. I like it and adapted a similar solution.

Here are some pictures:

 

[Jurss]

Nice progress.

I think, that sections with axles in fron can be done at leas 2 studs narrower.

[BrickBuildingFox]

7 hours ago, Jurss said:

Nice progress.

I think, that sections with axles in fron can be done at leas 2 studs narrower.

Yes, you're right. I made a new design of the front suspension, lights and also added the engine. Next step will be to marry front and back.

 

[BrickBuildingFox]

I added the clutch and a 2-speed gearbox. However, as you can see from the previous post, the cylinder hub had a small inclination. I thought it  would look better, but I found it is impossible to connect the crankshaft with the gearbox in a stable and legal way :( Therefore, I decided to go with a vertical cylinder hub (see picture below).

Next step will be to add the kickstart and optimize thr frame of the gearbox.

[Dazzzy]

Really digging the fox theme. I must admit though, i wasn't too keen on the angle of the headlight/nose fairing when i first saw it, but now the 2 pieces of the frame are connected, it really does work well. 

[Jurss]

Interesting, that You use swingarms, but not for suspension.

[BrickBuildingFox]

On 1/1/2021 at 8:30 AM, Dazzzy said:

Really digging the fox theme. I must admit though, i wasn't too keen on the angle of the headlight/nose fairing when i first saw it, but now the 2 pieces of the frame are connected, it really does work well. 

Thanks! I am very happy with the new nose design as well. Only th foxtail need to be a little higher in the end.

On 1/1/2021 at 8:59 AM, Jurss said:

Interesting, that You use swingarms, but not for suspension.

Yeah, unfortunately the lower swingarm sometimes detaches if the forcing on the front wheel is too strong. That's one issue i need to fix...

Another is the gearbox and kickstart mechanism. This gave me some headaches the last days. This is what came up with so far:

Lots of troubles though: The engine is misplaced one stud off center, the stability could be better and the kickstart (read handle) stands too far out, because the mechanism is too wide :(

Good side: the high gearing ratio of the kickstart makes the engine turn several times. This gives a nice feeling and sound :) so I hope I can keep it.

[Bluehose]

String into a hose and a rubber band... I find that very interesting

[BrickBuildingFox]

Finally, after many trials I made some progress to make the gearbox and kickstart work smoothly :) also I make the first iteration on the chassis. 

The video demonstrates the kickstart mechanism...

https://bricksafe.com/files/BrickBuildingFox/tc19/20210113_213538_1.mp4

There is enough space in the chassis to fit the fake engine and gearbox... it will be next step to merge them.

[MajklSpajkl]

Awesome kickstart mechanism!!!  And the string clutch idea very much the same - Briliant!

[BrickBuildingFox]

15 hours ago, MajklSpajkl said:

Awesome kickstart mechanism!!!  And the string clutch idea very much the same - Briliant!

Thank you!

[BrickBuildingFox]

Put the gerbox inside the Cassis, clutch works very well as you can see from this video:

https://bricksafe.com/files/BrickBuildingFox/tc19/20210114_203336_1.mp4

Next step: add fake engine

[Dazzzy]

This is really coming together strong now!    Even if it didn't have a title, could still easily tell it's fox inspired. Awesome! 

[BrickBuildingFox]

New video of the Kickstart mechanism:

https://bricksafe.com/files/BrickBuildingFox/tc19/20210117_210910_1.mp4

and I added the fake 2-cycle engine:

The drivetrain:

Next step is to prepare the digital model (and probably instructions) and make some small design changes here and there.

On 1/15/2021 at 3:33 PM, Dazzzy said:

This is really coming together strong now!    Even if it didn't have a title, could still easily tell it's fox inspired. Awesome! 

Thanks :)