I was in Pottery Barn Kids, some time in October, or November, where they had little steerable ducks that you could sit on, and thought "hey, I could make a little motorcycle that Kayley can ride!" If I kept the plan simple, I could finish in time. So it started off as a cut out frame, engine bits glued on, cut out tires.
Somewhere along the way, I decided it was no big deal to cut out the frame instead
of having it as a solid piece. It really wasn't that big of a deal.
I actually dropped that piece, and it cracked, because the grain ran widthwise
for the vertical pieces. The new one is jointed at each corner instead. The
frame pieces, tires, and side panels are made of Peruvian walnut.
The seat is cut out of plywood, overlaid with foam, and finally covered with deerskin leather.
I actually attempted to carve in "Triumph" into the badges, but didn't have
the tools or the patience. The badges reflect the shape nicely, and
any Triumph afficionado will
recognize them, I think. I decided to make the chrome pieces on the bike out of
birdseye maple, or maple. The badges were cut from left over pieces of my
hardwood floor. The duller engine pieces are red oak. The knee pads are made
of cocobola.
I would've liked to have followed the same colour scheme as my motorcycle, but I love the natural colours and beauty of wood on it's own. Since a pronounced green is hard to find, I went with red, and the fenders, tail light, and tank are made from African paduok. The pinstripe down the tank is yellowheart.
Yes, the wheels were very difficult to do. I think I made around 10 in total, before
this last pair, and the back one isn't as nice as the front one (and also wobbles a
bit because I didn't tweak the bearing location). I cut out the pervuvian walnut first,
and then the maple. Then drilled the holes for the dowel, before cutting out the rim,
and then the hub from the remaining piece. The dowels were then inserted through the
rim, into the hub, glued in place, and the walnut tire set over that. The front tire
fit loosely, and I screwed it into place, covering it with plug holes. (I purchased a
drill press around this time).
About halfway through cutting the first 5 or so wheels, I decided that the
bike looked much better with fenders. It was pretty simple to modify my circle
cutting jig that I made, to cut out the fenders, and they were a great enhancement.
Also around that time, came turn signals, and headlight. Those parts were made
up of wooden eggs purchased from Michaels, and cut appropriately.
The pipes were one of the last enhancements. I tried a steam bending experiment that failed before I decided just to cut and sand out of maple. The pipe itself is a thick dowel, with a smaller one at back to get the pea-shooter shape.
And finally, the shocks. Yes, I tried to cut them out of wood, and just couldn't
get it, and relented to using a metal spring. Looks fine, and I've learnt to accept
my failure. Actually, I blame the lack of a lathe.
I purchased precut black maple letters for the license plate, and signed and dated it using a woodburning kit. In place of the speedometer is a clock insert. I almost put a barometer in for the tachometer, but you know what? I don't have a tach for MY bike.
All in all, I'm extremely proud of how it turned out. It was my most ambitious project
to date, and I'm glad that I didn't settle along the way, but kept pushing the design. Yes,
I was late :) I missed Christmas by exactly a month. Which for me isn't bad.
I still need to put training wheels on it, now that Kayley loves riding it.
The following is a list of visable wood on the bike:
- African Paduok
Peruvian walnut
Black walnut
Red oak
Birch
Birdseye maple
Maple
Basswood
and the orange wood for the turn signals. I have to find out what!
