post number 4

Here is a pic of a dayton, it used a spacke motor, and frame. This is a great looking bike. I cancelled my cell phone contract yesterday. I think that it was a big distraction in my life. I also quite eating red meat, drinking coffee and I am bicycling 3 to 5 miles a day depending on if I work out or not. I plan on cutting down to 180/185 for the motorcycle cannonball race.

Post 3

Well, today was a great day. I talked with Matt Smith from Oregon about building a Sears for the Cannonball race, and he said that it was a great idea. He told me that they are great running engines, and also told me that the spacke engine will be as reliable as the other 100 year old bikes in the race.

I have had mixed signals from a lot of different people regarding whether or not I should use a spacke engine, with that being said I was a little weary of moving forward in this direction. I have known Matt Smith since I was in middle school and I hold his opinion in a high regard. I am jumping in the deep end folks. I will probably build a sears, although I may change my mind and build a Dayton or an Eagle. Time will tell, but for now, I have made up my mind, I am using a spacke motor.

post 2

Well, I have been talking to a lot of people about the spacke engine that was used in sears bikes, and it sounds like the weakest link is the crankshaft. There is a crankshaft that has two flywheels pinned to it. A couple of guys have said that it would not endure the 3800 mile trip across the country.
I am a problem solver by trade, I make my living fixing mechanical short comings, so the obvious answer that popped into my head was to make flywheels with tapered shafts that are similar to a harley set up. I know people and businesses with equipment to do this procedure, so problem solved? I called Lonnie and double checked to make sure that changing the flywheel and rod assembly wouldn't be cheating, and he didn't see a problem with it.

Later on in the day I called Vince in Sacramento to get his input on the spacke motor and he said that he thought that it would make it. He had one in the past that had indian powerplus flywheels and rods in it. This scenario has happened quite a few times in my life already and I am sure it will happen again. I find a mechanical problem, and figure out a solution, only to discover that it has already been fixed in the past. I love the old motorcycle Hobby and the creative minds that are and have been involved with it.

First Post

Well Guys,



This is my first post on this site, I already have a blog-- www.oldbikesinsd.blogspot.com for pretty much everything that is going on in my life. However I thought that it was necessary to start a new one. A couple of weeks ago my friend Lonnie Jr. announced a cross country race for pre 1916 motorcycles. The website is http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/, ever since I found out about this run, I haven't been able to think about anything besides competing. I am 24, and do not have a huge budget to go buy a bike to use on the run, so I plan on building a bike for the race. I started this site for the sole purpose of documenting my progress on building a bike, and getting physically ready.
This last summer, I did two Iron Butt Runs in a week on a 1936 knucklehead, which was a challenge, but not nearly as physically demanding as what I plan on doing next september when I leave Los Angeles California headed for New York on a 1914 or 1915 single speed Sears Dreadnaught twin. I not only need to build the bike, but I need to change my body type from weight lifter, to something that can withstand a grueling amount of cardiovascular activity. I don't know if I can build the bike, or if I can get in the condition to do this run, but I am going to try my hardest, and I am going to document every step along the way. Wish me luck and please feel free to give me any advice that you think would help.
best,
Matt Olsen