FJ2400 - Bonneville Land Speed Racer

[Waiex191]

My two year airplane build has stretched out to about 8 years.  I understand project slips!  Never give up.

[Firehawk068]

Sorry, it's not an intended radio silence, just life (and the opposite) tossing a few curves my way.

Ultimately, I have no one to blame but myself, maybe having TOO much time over COVID made me lazy.  Right now, I'm still moving ahead with The Juggernaut, but -most likely- will not be running it this August, I just let too many things slide.  I'm currently in a mad scramble to build/re-build one of my older Salt Race bikes for August 2021.. and then I still have to decide if I want to run in the 750cc class or the 1350cc.  Instead of trying to rush to get the FJ(x2) completed, I'll push it's racing debut out to 2022... but I'd really like to roll it across the Salt this year just around the pits to see how she feels.

Fran,
Glad to hear you are still plugging away at this.
do you have a checklist of things that need to get done?
I might have some free-time within the next couple of weeks that I could come down and lend a hand, maybe help check some things off the list?

Alan

[freakhousecustoms]

Hello all!

The current plan is to get back on The Juggernaut project the first week of the new year!

The Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials was a blast!  Lots of highs, a few lows, but honestly, it was just great to see all my friends (who I consider my Salt Family) again after missing out on 2020.  I've always said that records are secondary for me, it's more about dreaming up a build, then being able to run it up and down the Salt.  If I happen to set a record, that just icing on the cake.

Speaking of which, I managed to set the 1350-A-CG record for almost two whole days.  Then a better man on a better bike came along and stomped a mudhole into my MPH.  If you know Bear from Old Bike Barn, give him a pat on the back, he's got a MONSTER of a Honda CB!

Me & Bear and his bike, about 23 minutes before he took the record from me.


Me & Bear next to my GS1100E a couple days later.

[freakhousecustoms]

So, after figuring out I didn't bring enough bike to compete in the 1350 class, I swapped in the GS750 engine I brought with the intent of running for the 750-A-CG record.  I took one pass, ran her up to 116-ish MPH, she was running great!  I went to do a back-up run and.... I tossed the master link on my chain! :-O



Of course, I have a spare.  In fact, I have a bag of 10 spare master links.  Except that I left right under my workbench, at home.  So that ended my chase for a record for 2021.  I have zero regrets.  If Doc Brown showed up in his Delorean and offered to take me back to the beginning of the week, but I was not allowed to change anything, I'd do it all over again without hesitation.  That's the magic of Bonneville.

[freakhousecustoms]

Now - onto some FJ-related posting!

After running Bonneville, it reminded me of something I already knew.  You've GOTTA have spares!
I've been running GS's for so long, I have spares on top of spares.  I can build a double engine bike and still have THREE spare engines to take with me.  But it got me to thinking... I don't have any spares if anything on The Juggernaut goes south.

And a month or so ago, this "beauty" showed up on FB Marketplace.

Click the pic to watch the video, seriously, it's a fun 5 minute clip.

[andyoutandabout]

He's back, bolder than ever. Bartering bikes is best. Brilliant.

[freakhousecustoms]

He's back, bolder than ever. Bartering bikes is best. Brilliant.

What an awesome array of alliteration! 
Glad to be back! 

[freakhousecustoms]

Now, as a total aside to building the Juggernaut, I somehow(?) ended up with a 1977 Yamaha MX80.  Fun little ripper, I figured I might use her as a pit bike, but then I got to thinking... how much fun would it be to have the Big FJ2400... but then a Little MX160 as a pit bike?  It would give me the chance to see if I could couple the 80cc's together at the crankshaft and "setting the timing" between the two motors would be quite simple in comparison to a four-cylinder, four-stroke.

So I started with this:

(Click pic for video)




Got that little sucker up to 48mph with an Amazon replacement carb!

[freakhousecustoms]

Then I went to the greatest motorcycle junkyard ever:  Ty's Cycle Salvage up in Longmont, CO.  While there, I filled a milk crate with the equivalent of 2 MX80 motors and when I got home, I was able to cobble together one good, running motor.  So, out came the engine in the mini bike (Hey... I just bought that!) and then I built a jig to hold both motors together.  Then I drug an old frame I had built for another project out of the rafters and cobbled all the bits and bobs together.

Here's where I got everything running, separate of each other:

(Click pic for video)

[freakhousecustoms]

Then my new carb came in!  And then my Banshee 2-into-1 throttle cable came in!
And THEN we had some fun!



Click pic for Video:






So, next up is finally chaining these wee beasties together and crossing my fingers that parts don't go flying!  Hope to put that video up this Friday!

[fj1289]

Fran - good to see you back! 

Wanting to see the Juggernaut build return with a vengeance!

[freakhousecustoms]

Glad to be back!
I picked up a mini-lathe - which is a big deal for me.  Now I have no excuses to build the transmission shafts and finally join the two FJ's together correctly!   I'm going to hit the ground running once 2022 rolls around!

[freakhousecustoms]

Speaking of joining two engines together!
One of the reasons I started the whole MX80 Double was so that I had something to practice on with my lathe work. 

Here's video showing the fruits of my labors:

(Click pic for video)

[fj1289]

Have you discovered "free machining" steel yet?  Cuts like butter in a mini lathe!  Not we'll suited to welding though.  It is my go-to for any bushings or spacers I need to make. 

[freakhousecustoms]

No, but now I know what to fill my Google search with for the rest of the day. LOL!

For the driveshafts I'm building, I'd have to be able to weld it together.  But for other things, like you said, spacers & stuff, Free Machining seems like the way to go!