I got an email yesterday morning asking essentially “where the hell have you been?” and it’s a very valid question. Things have been quiet here at Project Streetliner for the past six weeks or so — not for lack of activity, but for other priorities. The Mrs and I bought a pair of three-decades-old Honda motorcycles for a laughably small sum of money about a month ago. We wanted to be able to wander the tri-state area the way we can wander the Twin Cities on our scooters, and now we can. Or at least, we’ll be able too after I do a little more wrenching. So work on the Streetliner R/C prototype has paused until I get these machines sorted out, but that should only be a few weeks. The flip side of this, however, is that these being my first interaction with the mechanicals of proper motorcycles, I now have a much better understanding of this sort of machine. This can only help me make better decisions on the Streetliner. As I’ve gotten more familiar with the simplicity of these machines (especially these early ’80s Honda bikes we’ve got), I’m considering a lot more motorcycle components in my end vehicle. I’ve even toyed with the idea of changing from scooter to motorcycle drivetrain. The cost savings alone are pretty compelling. But that’s a bit rash at this point. We’ll see.
Sorry for the long silence, progress is indeed being made. In the mean time, please enjoy some snapshots of my R/C prototype in-progress. I’ve since re-made the rear swing arm almost entirely out of brass and abandoned the profile body, but these first efforts were very enlightening.