Project: Build trailer to haul the GL1200 ASPY

[DaveKamp]

Next, I dropped it back into the saw, set the blade for 'more squareness' (it was off a bit), and cut the ends clean

then cut a piece of scrap plate to go across the face for more strength...

Then welded it, and the eyelet brackets in place...

and it fits nicely on my simple test fixture:

 

[DaveKamp]

Now, just in case you think I missed a step somewhere, these mounting brackets were actually pre-made for another purpose, but as a result of an alignment defect, they're unusable. I, however, find ways to rescue and reuse resources, so I cut about 50% of the bracket off, and repurposed these.

I also re-used shoulder bolts and bushings that'd been removed in the field... they were basically unworn, so a visit to the wire wheel cleaned them up like new... I drove 'em in using a bolt that'd been visited by a hammer at least once before.

Then I placed the works on the inverted trailer for a general look-see:

And it looks pretty good so far:

 

[mcgovern61]

Nice having that kind of scrap laying around. Trailer is looking good! :rocks:

 

[DaveKamp]

Took a few minutes out of mowing-time today to tack on the bracketry for a few basic tests:

And aside from needing to come forward about 8", it's good-so-far... my riding height empty is about 12"... it should be about 7" once loaded... so CG of the loaded system will be nice and low, but there'll be sufficient clearance for most any curb with no problems at all. Suspension looks good... camber appears excessive with no load, but once loaded, should be about 1.8 degrees.

 

[Ansimp]

Looking good. :good:
opcorn: opcorn:

 

[DaveKamp]

Apologies for the delay... I had to divert my resources to getting the Studebaker moved, which involves tires, which is a rabbit hole of seemingly epic proportions.

The 1953 Studebaker 2R16 is a 1.5t farm truck that has only 22,000mi on the odometer, and still has it's original, yet very degraded tires. The size is 6.00-20, on 'widowmaker' type two-piece rims, 5-on-8" bolt pattern. The rims are well-rusted in many places, such that disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling with new tires is NOT a possible option... corrosion has weakened the structure enough so that the wheel halves will not safely grip. The 6.00-20 tires are 32.75" outside diameter, and replacements are ghastly expensive, I need to make this truck roll in and out of the shop on something that will hold air, and be inexpensive to obtain.

I called over to my local used truck parts place, they happened to have some wheels and tires off of 1-ton GMC pickup trucks scrapped from railroad high-rail trucks. These wheels are fitted with offset spacers and have wheel centers made from 3/8" steel... they're rediculously heavy, so they'll have no customers interested in those wheels unless it's a railroad (and railroads don't buy used wheels). The tires are 225-70-19.5's, which are a common size, but for high-rail vehicles, they're extra heavy tires. These are worn, but in excellent shape, so I'm repurposing them as my 'shop wheels'.

 

[DaveKamp]

I realize the order is probably backwards, but this is pretty self-explanatory, ask questions if you've got 'em...

 

[DaveKamp]

So the process is... first, build a torch-holding fixture... like... a centerless trammel, to yield a nice cut. Prep the cut path so that it's clean, and cut both centers out. It's best to have the centers properly sized so that they fit up nicely in replacement. Grind 'em clean, and prep the welding path.

Locate the new one with some sort of a locating fixture. In the case of this, I used a locating tool as a more common idea of 'centerless trammel', that fit into, and rotated into the original pilot hole. I have a torch-mounting lug on one side (to cutting a proper diameter for good fit) and a measuring 'finger' on the other. I initially placed the new wheel center by eyball, then used vise-grips to temporarily mount the measuring lug. Once I had a fairly good idea of the lug's position, I welded it onto the trammel beam, set the wheel center by eyeball with the trammel, tack welded the center in place, then bent the trammel's measuring lug out 'till it was really tight against the rim. i had to grind off my tack welds and re-center, but once I did, the trammel's indicator lug was about perfect contact all 'round.

Tack weld the exterior, then finish weld inside and out.... apply paint.

Oh, and yes, I removed the valve cores during this process... failure to do so would be very dangerous.

Three down, three to go...

 

[joedrum]

Really nice work ...love it

 

[DaveKamp]

Yeah... I'd put in more time on the trailer, but I've been doing all that in my driveway... which is gravel... with my stick welder. I get to weld in the rain as part of my occupation, so I avoid doing it on my avocational time... instead, I carry dirty parts into the wash bay at work, spray them all down, and carry 'em into the company shop, where it's always a sunny, dry, 70F day. She wanted 'Mater' moved, and it needed round wheels to roll, so that's what I did this weekend. Weather patterns this summer have made outdoor projects an interesting challenge.

 

[Ansimp]

:good: nice work as always! :salute:

 

[DaveKamp]

Yeah, sorry for the 'switch'. I have lots of projects going concurrently, which at times can be a bad thing, but on the good side, is that some projects hit a state of empasse for some reason... materials, space, weather conditions, etc., and when that happens, others get attention, and when conditions reciprocate, the empasse is broken, and I can make more progress.

One of the larger states of empasse, is a matter of conceptual- an indecision about how to proceed. It may appear that I engineer things on-the-fly, and there's some things I do, but most of the time, I've already figured it all out, looked through my stores, selected parts, built it in-concept several different ways, changed my mind, selected different components... and changed my plan... prior to even picking up a tool. That's entirely normal.

Sometimes, especially when weather is bearing down and an emergency exists, I improvise it totally on-the-spot. When this happens, things often appear crude, and when done, I dismantle whatever I put together, knowing that if I were to be faced with that scenario again, I would do it differently. Necessity is the mother of invention, and unfortunately, time requires some rather drastic action, so I do what I have to do... and at times, it ain't pretty. Long term stuff, though, gets done right, even if it means totally nixing the 'temporary solution' and building something more substantial.

Right now, the trailer's empasse is kinda necessity-based- I've got other things that need to happen before snow flies, and that requires other things to happen first. compounding, is the lack of a suitable tongue, and rather than use new steel and a new coupler, I'm awaiting the opportunity to find a good donor from a wrecked trailer. I've got a buddy that has access to regular opportunities, he's away on biz for a few more days, once he's back, I'll have him check-see what's available, and if he finds one I like, I'll nab it, and not long after, I'll get back to the trailer. Looks like my next assignment is close to home and very short, so I won't have an opportunity to tow the bike, but when January rolls around, I'll be vying for a shot at an assignment somewhere in the sunny south, out of the snow and ice... in which case, it'll be trailer-time. :salute: