three wheeler progress

[Iron Maiden]

Love the running light bracket !! 4 custom builds going on here on the boards- suspense is killing me!!

[Imzz4]

Wow it's been cold here( and everywhere) but I got 1/0 cable and made brass ends for the batt. I had some #6 fine stranded and used it for the master relay,fuse panel, and to the alternator. Now some temporary wires can be added just to get it fired up...

[Imzz4]

It now turns over ,and has a very healthy spark.The coil sees 560 volts. Here's a bunch of wires that need shortened.

[Imzz4]

Well , so much for a first kick start up. It was my time for snags. After 5 seconds of cranking without a fart, I stopped ,and pulled #1 plug. Wet. All were wet. The 'prime' function seems to be in overdrive so I dissabled it and did some other small "lean" changes to the system. Now that it starts, something starts chirping/squealing after about a minute of running. Too soon to know whats going on...and too cold to work with the garage door up. So I put it on hold . At least the return line looks good and the water pump lines up like a champ!

[petitemoose]

Closer than ever before! Look forward to the first ride report

[tjy]

Iv' been following this from the start and thinking this is like watching some famous builder on Discovery channel! Everything is perfection! Like it could fly into space. I'm sure your going to keep her but if you sell Somebody is going to get a true custom! Congratulations Jeff!! tom

[Iron Maiden]

Well it is said things happen in 3's - there are 3 custom builds on this Forum and all 3 are having issues . We are all so close to having these magnificent machines running - we hope to have ours home by Friday- Jeff, hopefully it will warm up soon so we can hear yours roar!!!

[Grand Canard]

Jeff, looking damn fine; I'm envious of your machining ability and ingenuity.
I wish we lived near each other; scratch that, I wish we were neighbors. We could've helped each other, shared knowledge and learned much from each other, Berzerker could've used alot of your expertise and talent to make it even better.
I too am greatly looking forward to seeing your trike finished; going to be one-off, fucking bad-ass!
Rick

[Imzz4]

Rick thats a good idea. Matter of fact there is a nice home for sale about 1/4 mi from here ! The weather is perfect for a move. Raining, sleet, and 6in. snow on the way. It has a real nice garage too ! How are you making out on your fuel situation now?
I made progress. The noise was the starter drive not fully returning when it didn't want to, even after all the messing and checking. A new one is on the way. I was fooled by the way it didn't make a noise till after a minute or so. Still puzzled. I seperated the converter from the flex plate and it made the noise right away.
The motor is running after I connected the tach and found the tach program in the MSD that was dissabled was really not, and sent prime fuel thru the injectors for a given rpm value. I dissabled it again and verified it was off. So it idles ,but rolls up and down like it has a blower . If i play with the throttle, it stalls from no fuel. It can't "learn" until the water temp is 160 and it hasn't been there, Yet. The motor is quiet, smooth, has 65 psi oil, 17in. vacuum. Its starting to get back on track, but that sure did suck the other day as you have experienced yourself...! Thanks all ! j

[Grand Canard]

Jeff
I appreciate the info, but was kinda thinking you'd move down here to Louisiana; all you can crawfish, shrimp and crabs, boneless stuffed chicken and ducks, boudin, pig roasts, Mardi Gras, etc.
Besides, you need to get away from those Yankee's, Pennsylvania is too close to DC, the stench of Washington travels far. hehe

[Imzz4]

I was gonna head on down, but , as of an hour ago I think I have the EFI snags behind me. Its running nice, and the stall at idle has not apeared since the last tweek of the fuel prime, throttle stop screw ,target rpm, and one more TPS recalibration. I might celebrate with some boudin . (Being from Pa. I had to look that up !) Sounds good. Jeff

[Iron Maiden]

You can't tease us like that!!! Saying it's running and not post a video!

[Imzz4]

Uh-oh no video, because it stalled out again. hmm? Started right up and then stalled. Fuel pressure was falling off according to the gauge needle. Oh, that happens when you get low on fuel and there is a near empty tank. (Dumb-ass) . Two more gallons of 93 and it was back at 43 psi and fired right up!
Yeah, moving on finally,,smooth idle ,hmm water temp is climbing, come on fan, time to turn on....what now ? OH look, a blown 30 amp fan fuse. I see. the fan blades are not moving. They are "locked" ? WTF? Are you shitting me ? I'm looking forward to going backwards again.

[randy burkey]

Thanks for keeping us posted on progress/setbacks, we are all closely watching and hoping for success..Very entertaining and informative..Gotta go now , for some reason I'm getting hungry.Good luck to all who are turning their dreams into reality.. And continue the coverage!

[Iron Maiden]

always something - You are soooooo close!! Keep us posted!

[Imzz4]

Randy, its always good to watch your video then get hooked and watch a bunch more! Even better after
your fan motor magnet gets loose and does a dirty dance..
Where did I read that happens to everyone quite often?
New one on the way.

[Imzz4]

I started making the handlebars after my bender guy called saying the pieces were done. I used 1 1/2" chromemolly , and tacked them after cutting the miters.
I ended up not liking the angle the Dakota Digital would be at when attached to the bars, and cut the top piece apart so I can redo them again tomorrow.
I think when you screw something up ,it wasn't because you were a dumb ass, it was because you were 100% sure you were right the first time...and thats fine.

[hogv8]

Trike looks great Jeff , love the bars . The short risers are good for some adjustment front to rear plus the bars can be raised easy with higher risers or riser spacers . They also look like a small wind shield would be easily adaptable .
Jack

[V-MAN]

Jeff -

Hows the build going? Have you got it to the point to run and idle ok with fuel pressure? Looking forward to hear it running and see you hit the streets.

Don

[Imzz4]

Two guys came over tonight and I started it for the first time in about 2 weeks and it did fine,no stalling,leaks, noises or funny stuff. Just very smooth. Holley sent me a new O2 sensor and covered it under warrenty since that tech has been following the project. I'm to install it when its road ready and able to do a normal "learning" procedure.We still think the one was possibly damaged from the fuel soaking it took. The bars and risers are being powder coated black chrome. I'm working on the body and trunk lid fabricating internal hinges to make it open like a rumble seat. I gave up on painter A, and now have two real painters in mind after allot of phone calls and footwork .One is coming here Sat. to look it over. I'm going to the others tomorrow. Both within 20 minutes. Check out the Nova he just did for my friend....sweet! thanks jeff

[V-MAN]

Awesome, your really getting close now. I like "black chrome" look, are you doing other items besides the handlebars? Is that being done local also? I have found in my dealings that many painters are just "a little touched" ... maybe too many paint fumes?! Have you decided on paint scheme yet? Good to have a local painter, you can visit the shop and speed things up if/when the 6-8 week estimate turns to be 16 weeks (my own experience)!!! Internal hinges and reverse opening will be very cool on trunk. Looking forward to seeing it complete!

[Iron Maiden]

[Imzz4]

Now that the hinges are in the works , I see what a crumby fit it is between the lid and the body. Body radius is lower on the right and allows the lid to sit above it, where as on the left side its the opposite. Its not horrible ,but it will show up like a sore thumb later if I don't fix it.
The three square "lumps" inside the trunk lid appear to be plywood after drilling small holes for a hinge part. I'm gonna remove them since I don't see why I should leave them alone. The other painter is so talented also. He could easily go crazy with the paint but i want to keep it a few notches calmer. I got a fender and trimmed that down so I can add that to "ready for paint". Getting there....

[Imzz4]

While everyone else is now riding their finished machines, I plod along between work, family, and the dreaded honey-do list....But the trunk is done along with a 35lb "popper" to open it. It is quite loud when it opens since its inside a fiberglass drum, but thats another fab job I'm glad is behind me !

[Imzz4]

Still waiting on the powder coater, so I had time to make a passenger backrest frame and get that to him to be done same as the bars. The frames for the armrests are done so the three pieces of foamed birch plywood can go to my seat man for covers. slow we go, and still working on the seam between the trunk lid and body, but I think its close enough.....