10/22/2006 -
Steering, clutch and brakes All text by Stephen W Nolen
Side shot of the steering support bars in place. The
lower bars run from front back to the steering support bars.
Front view of the steering support and template for the
steering wheel mount. Not perfect but it should work and looks nice
with the curves.
Rack and Pinion mounted to the lower bars. Ended up with
some u-bolts that allow adjusting the angle but still tighten down
quite well. I had to add an aluminum tube over once side of the rack
since it had different size tubes on each site.
Back shot of the rack and mounting. Still need to get
some type of boot to cover the rack ends but all is working. Yes
that is a 1/2" socket swivel for steering. With U-joints being
$30 to $60, this seemed like an affordable solution.
Steering and dash panel top fitted. I ended up bending
the top section to allow for matching the angle of the steering rod
and make it look better.
Top shot of the steering solution. There are bearings in
the top mount and the bottom of the steering tube as shown in the
next pic. A salvaged 1/2" socket snaps into the swivel at the
rack.
Bottom shot of the steering mount/dash top. The steering
tube is some pipe from an old hand dolly with a bearing in the
bottom of it. A collar (not shown) is used to keep the shaft down on
the rack.
View with the wheel attached. The top has another old
1/2" socket welded to the steering wheel underneath. I drilled
and tapped a hole in the socket and the steering rod so it locks
down. You slide the steering rod up through the mount, mount the
steering wheel to the rod, snap the rod onto the swivel at the rack
and then use the collar to keep it from moving up.
Test fit time.. the steering wheel should work for both
small and larger riders with the adjustable seat. Steering is nice
and tight but turning radius may be an issue. The rack moves the
wheels just perfect to keep them from rubbing the frame BUT with the
long wheelbase it may not turn very sharp.
Clutch linkage setup. The mount is now tacked to the belt
clutch release lever with various holes for adjustment. Not sure
exactly where to put it until I get a belt the right length. Still
hoping the idler pulley will work properly with such a short belt
and high gearing.
Brake linkage in place - The brake needed push action to
activate the small disc brake on the tranny. This lever converts the
pull from the brake pedal into a push action for the brake and hides
under the seat.
Straight Pipe Anyone? Left side exhaust fabbed up. I
re-used the cut off sections of the old pipe that dropped down into
the big muffler and inverted it to route the 90 degree turn. Some 1
1/8" pipe runs it out the back. I'm sure we'll put a muffler on
it eventually but I have to see how it sounds without one first.