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| By
Moen
- About a year ago I was contacted by Robert Send of Vern's Garage, who wanted to know if the VI would be interested in the Titanium and Carbon Fiber custom Scout parts he was making. As this is just the thing the VI is for (and as the editor has more than a passing interest in hot Scouts), we were soon knee deep in email messages and photos flying back and forth! Below are Robert's own words about his bike and parts. |
Robert named his parts business in honor of his father, Vernon |
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| When
you look through the different shots, you'll probably be shaking your head
and wondering, "Why would anyone make this stuff?" My reply would be "Why
not?"...
I've got a 1940 scout setting in powdercoat with a rebuilt powerplant, very very original, if you know what I mean... It's been sitting under my bench for five years. I got tired of working on something that somebody else already did. I needed to create! I got the itch to build a vintage flat track racer, which has turned into a cross between a chopper/racer/hightec thing. I get satisfaction from dreaming up the stuff and making it. Also, my goal is to make things stronger, yet lighter. I've got a slew of things in the design stage, mostly motor stuff now, just need more time and money. The racer project started with the three frame sections coming from different people. I had decided on the 741 frame, because in the books it said they were made of chrome moly steel, lighter yet stronger. I've added or subtracted metal on every square inch of the frame adding strength in weak areas and taking off weight in less critical areas. I've used aero tube (thin wall chrome moly in the shape of an airplane wing) for rear frame supports and replaced the rear brake cross tube with aero tube, repositioning it lower and inbetween the frame bars. It cleaned up the look. I noticed an article by Jim Wall about the same two things, I wonder if it was he and another guy who were over to look very very hard at my bike a few years ago at Davenport? I have never personally met the man. If that is where he got the inspiration, maybe I had a good idea. I've heard he does real nice work. The shock is made by Works Performance, and the adaptation to the fork was done by Steve Huntzinger (phone 805-489-4128). I had him make some adjustments in his original design, and then I did a lot of grinding, shaping, and polishing. I was interested in having him set this up because he had already made a few, and it had already been tested with very good results. Also, the dog bones have been ball-milled and ground down, and I replaced the thick steel washers with black delrin spacers that were also custom made. I've ground down every boss, and did considerable grinding on the "T". The aluminum Afam bars were anodized gold and are fit to rubber mounted bar clamps. The front and rear wheels are aluminum Sun rims which I had anodized red, which is a custom color. The front spool and quick change rear hub are aluminum and gold anodized. The spokes are polished stainless. |
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Adjustable custom clutch pedal on bike - notice the hotrod oil tank! |
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Titanium foot peg set includes: Ti bolts, Aluminum washers, Stainless locknuts. $150 per set. |
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CNC'ed Aluminum kicker mount. This one has Titanium stud with bushings for the pedal, but you can use a cut-down stock stud. |
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| I didn't
make any of the oil pickup tubes and plates that fit between the case and
sump, because on my racer I'll be going with the Chief-style scraper sump
housing, which I have a couple left made of aluminun with cooling fins.
The internal pickup tupe on the sump valve version is made from T6 aluminum
like the rest, and is installed. Both sump styles bolt right on and cost
$45 each.
I have a few of the aluminum kicker mounts left at $60 each. These things will never break, their stronger and lighter than the original. I'm out of the titanium shafts for the aluminum kicker mount, but original steel shafts can be cut down and lightened. If someone buys a kicker mount, I can send along drawings on how much and where their original shafts can be cut. I have done this and it works perfectly. |
Kicker mount (less pedal bushings) mounted on bike - |
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Valanced Carbon Fiber rear fender, streamlined frame bracing and adjustable axle mounts |
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| The
seat pans which could be used for any solo application are $200. Weight
about 10oz. Price could come down, if quantity goes up. Gas tanks are $1,500
with aircraft quality flush mount gas caps, and bonded-in aluminum gasline
tube connections. Again, if more than one set is ordered, I can get the
price down. Also, if someone wants to put in their own gas caps, the price
drops about $250, as these flush mounts aren't cheap. The rear fender is
around $750. I'm also working on a version that doesn't have side valances,
so the price will be much more reasonable. The little alternator drive
covers, which I'm working on, will be around $50.
As you can see carbon fiber isn't cheap! It's a lot of hand labor, and I've paid a lot for my one-off pieces. Like anything else, quantity demand would bring the price down. I've found the CNC made stuff to be the best bet on good prices for custom parts. |
Carbon Fiber tanks with flush mount cap and gauges |
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| Contact
Robert on vernsgaragellc@wi.rr.com
- or stop by and say hello in Davenport where he usually has a booth (and
where some of the top racers can be seen making good use of his parts!).
Vendor location map for this year's Davenport meet can be seen on the AMCA Chief Blackhawk Chapter site at www.chiefblackhawk.org |
Davenport a couple of years ago |
