I look and think of this blog every week, almost every week have another project that I am working on, but haven’t made it to actually post in over a year, yikes!
So, whats a years worth of mopeds look like?
Build Rigid Freespirit
Get Moby 50v
Get Peugeot 103
Get Peugeot 103
Sell first 103
Trade second 103
Get Tomos in trade
Rebuild MB5
Put MB5 in basement
Pull MB5 back out, don’t touch for 2 weeks
Throw a rally
Ride the fuck out of the Freespirit
Put MB5 back in basement, build.
Ride the fuck out of MB5
Start building a new Batavus.
So, Batavus and I have had a torrid relationship. My first bike was an ’81 Starflite top tank, beautiful, ran like crap, I learned all of my base moped knowledge on that thing. And, I’ve been neglecting the bike (though now I have 3 of them, egh) it’s time to revisit it.
So, with that, first post in many to come about the lowly Batavus and it’s trip to a new birth in PedCave 2.
The frame being used is the same frame that I started with 5 years ago, a Batavus Starflite toptank.
First off, hydraulic forks; my rigid freespirit also has hydros, they are from a CRF50. The ones I am using on this build are similar, but a knock version. Whats the first step in modifying a frame? Measure everything, then measure it again. After you know how much you need to take off the frame, get out a tube cutter.
And wahla! Got yourself a smaller frame.
Okay, so remember when I said measure twice? — Make that 3 times. And Maybe a fourth:
I had to make two cuts on the frame, but there still isn’t a enough room to allow the steer tube to come out enough for threading, so I am going to have to modify the top tripple tree. Anyone have any suggestions?
That’s it for now! Getting the MB5 ready for the Cold Trailers Rally (GYDS 2011), so photos on that beast coming up later in the week.
It’s way easier, and more structural, to modify the steer tube. Just cut it in half, slip a tube inside and weld the three pieces back together. You get a longer and stronger tube that way.