Sportsman Flyer at Bonneville

So, what did we get for our efforts?  A cool trophy, a certificate to validate our record, and a nice plaque.  Aside from all that we took home of lifetime of memories.  If you have never been to Bonneville you need to go.  If you can somehow set a record, then do it!!!!

Sportsman Flyer at Bonneville

Here we are lining up for another run.  From the left, Rich who is my brother and a big part of Sportsman Flyer, me probably wondering what I have got myself into, Shane of AGK who built out our motors, and Gunther who has ice water running through his veins.  Gunther was so cool on the bike.  Absolute confidence!



This is the entire team.  Dorathy in the middle and that's Skip and Dave on the right.  Skip was a big part of our testing and tuning efforts and Dave handled all the machining.  Thanks team!

Sportsman Flyer at Bonneville

Here  we are talking strategy before another run.  Our strategy?  Nail the throttle and run it as absolutely fast as it will go!  This is Bonneville, what other strategy is there?  My brother Rich on the left, Gunther on Bonneville Flyer Chassis #1, and me on the right. 

 Here is Gunther at speed.  This picture really captures the essence of Bonneville.  Stark beauty of the salt flats and a rider at speed giving it all it has.

Sportsman Flyer at Bonneville

Has it really been a year since I have updated this section?  Yes it has.  I have plenty of excuses, like spending too much time on the computer and in the shop, but really, a whole year?  The biggest news from 2012 was our trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats.  With Sportsman Flyer as the manufacturer and Gunther Maier as our team rider we set a land speed record in the APF 175cc class at 73.526 mph.  Not only that, we entered the course seven times, and with the exception of the first run which was a rookie pass required by the rules, we bettered the existing record and then our own record every pass down the stip. 

Sportsman Flyer 200 Article on Pipeburn

Pipeburn on-line magazine did a nice article on the new Sportsman 200 model.  You can check it out here: http://www.pipeburn.com/home/2012/1/24/the-sportsman-flyer-200.html
Thanks, Pipeburn, for helping to spread the word and for the cool black and white photo! 

Latest Model Release
Sportsman 200

Here it is, the Sportsman 200 model.  We call it the 200 model because it carries a GX200 clone engine that has 200cc and is putting out 15 hp.  This is one seriously fast bike!



It looks similar to other bikes in the Sportsman Flyer family, but this build is different in so many ways.  The biggest difference is in the performance.  This bike can comfortably cruise at 50 mph!

Here you can see the beautiful custom drive assembly available only on this model.  It is a very original vintage style reduction drive system.  The engine mounted twin disc centrifugal clutch works perfectly.  No slipper clutch here, the clutch grabs at 2800 rpm and off you go.  Acceleration is impressive!

Of course the bare frame looks the part of it's vintage relatives.  Classic loop frame design, heavy duty rear dropouts, proper triangulation of the engine mounts, and of course true lugged and brazed construction just like the original board track racers. 
Sportsman Flyer LLC will be building just 20 of these frames for 2012, of which a handful will be full race models.

Monark Style Forks

I have been remanufacturing Monark forks for my builds.  Felt makes a beefier modern fork that looks similar to the Monark and they call it the Abraham Linkage fork.  Problem is people can't use it on vintage builds as the newer fork uses a 1 1/8" threadless stem.  Vintage bikes require a 1" threaded stem.

I am in the process of modifying these newer forks to the 1" threaded stem.  It will take a bit of machining from this point and I should have the first test unit ready soon.  These are going to be so cool!

BTR Seat Cover

I finally got around to improving the cover on my BTR seat.  I gave a local upholstry shop a bare steel pan and a bunch of pictures of original boardies.  Here is what the shop came up with.

Once mounted the new seat gives the bike a heavier and more filled out look.  I have brass badges coming which will mount to the rear of the seat and carry the Sportsman logo.

Heavy Duty Drum Brake Hubs

I have been having trouble getting the correct tooth count and offset sprockets for the large drum hubs I use.  Finally I just had them made.  These sprockets use an adapter plate that carries the drum brake bolt pattern and then I went with split sprockets to make gearing changes easier.  The split sprockets use an standard bolt pattern used in Kart and Jr. Dragster racing.

Here are the hub components.  Stock sprocket is shown to the left, adapter in the middle, and new split sprocket on the right.

Here is the hub assembled with the new adapter and sprocket.  Also shown is the bicycle side freewheel sprocket.

Revised BTR Handlebars

I have continued to improve my BTR style handlebars and here is the latest version.  It took awhile to settle on the right combination of parts to get the vintage Indian motorcycle shape I was after.

The handlebars are aluminum and the drop bar clamps are CAD designed and CNC machined out of billet aluminum.  These bars are light weight and very strong.

Here is a close-up detail of the drop clamps.  The CNC machine work is perfect!  Bars are available in silver powder coat or black. 

Vintage Green

Just built up this nice Sportsman Flyer model using a vintage Harley green color. 

Loop frame with weld-in engine mounts for a 66cc Grubee engine. 

Detail shot of my latest billet aluminum BTR style drop bar clamps for the handlebars. 

Rear wheel detail shot showing the Worksman aluminum rim with a satin silver annodize finish.  Also shown is the latest version of the Sportsman HD sprocket adapter. 

Racing Improves The Breed

The Sportsman Flyer company participated in the recent Willow Springs motorbike races.  Our street gearing kept us out of the winners circle, but we still had a great time and learned a lot about our Racer model.  Bikes handled nicely as seen by Skip, our number 1 team rider.  Nice lean angle, Skip!

What we lacked in speed on the track we made up for in the looks department.  We won BOTH 1st and 2nd place in the bike show.  I was more than happy about that!  The blue bike, our prototype Racer took 1st place and our factory R&D bike, the raw finished chassis #5, took 2nd place honors. 

These two bikes belong to a friend of mine, Doug.  They are beautifully detailed vintage Schwinn Panthers and are running Sportsman Panther tanks and reinforced Monark forks.  Nice builds, Doug!

More WZ Flyers

Here are a couple pictures from our coming website photo shoot. 

Sportsman WZ Flyers

Here are a couple WZ Flyer chassis getting ready to ship.  These will each be getting a jack shaft kit to drive the rear Nexus internal geared three speed hub.  Jack shafts will be installed by the customer. 

Black Racer

A Sportsman Racer in a fresh coat of black powder coat.  This bike came out very nice and is a good example of what a solid design and standardization of components can achieve.  This bike kicks ass!

Indian Red

Pictures of an Indian red Sportsman Racer awaiting final assembly.  All this one will need is the wheels, tires, and controls.  Looks like a fun project for someone to finish up. 

Sprocket Adapter

Here is an improved sprocket adapter design I have been working on.

The clamping part of the adapter is composed of three small pieces that easily fit between the spokes.  Once inserted the three pieces are then bolted together around the bicycle hub.  The motor side sprocket is then bolted to this assembly.

The three clamping pieces are all of a commom design forming a dynamically balanced assembly.

More Racers Coming

More Racers are being built. 

More Kits

Pictures of the next Racer before paint.  This one will be gloss black with raw tanks.

Racer #2

Couple pictures of Racer #2 before final disassembly.  This bike will be painted vintage Indian red.