I'm going for a more minimal, racer look. I already cut the supports for the rear carrier. I'd like to cut and remove as show in the photo, and behind the shock, but I'm not sure if those pieces provide structural support to the rear of the seat. Thoughts?
(The handlebars are loose in preparation of new ones on the way after moving the supports forward.)
Chop it off live your cafe dreams don’t let the structural man hold you back
That’s where you mount your cafe racer rear sets.
Writing jokes is hard. Evidently.
I left part of it to form a triangle with addtional steel to support the shock mounts
Thanks man! After looking more closely, the weakest area of the section is held together with four spot welds. I concluded that the purpose of that section was cosmetic and to provide fastening points for other parts, like the rear fender or side panels. I think the worst case scenario is I’d reinforce with a different brace if I feel it’s needed. So, end result is I’m cutting. I’ll post here if that doesn’t work like I think it will.
Yea that's just the mount for the side covers, which you don't even have.
Many people chop them off, some use the old points to mount a monoshock or convert to rigid tail
^ that one is a head scratcher!
Moving the shock mounting point lower and forward is appealing, but beyond my fabrication and engineering skills at the moment. I'm sure the stock shocks won't perform the same at that angle. Thanks for the input. Time for new hacksaw blades.
> CORN PED wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> ^ that one is a head scratcher!
Took my breath away for a second
That maxi racer seat on the green one is just waiting to snap and rip your junk off lol..
Form or function can’t have both unless you’re a hero
This is what I did, idk if it does anything but I feel very supported for the close to 4000 miles I've ridden on it
blessed by the Choke sticker as well
I like it!
The sticker is really what keeps it on the road
Chopped. I also cut the front fender and used some spacers to make a rear fender that fills that gap a bit, but mostly extends the rear of the bike just a bit. I didn’t love how the seat ended. I plan to go with a minimal led strip for a taillight, but I don’t hate this either.
engine rails need to be tied to the seat frame or you will ruin the frame eventually
I was too antsy for the handlebar delivery, so I borrowed these from a hybrid bike in the garage. I didn’t plan to flip and go so low, but it looks amazing and was fun to ride… for 5 minutes. Not sure how my body will like riding longer than that. Either way, this moped has totally transformed and I love it.
^ I hate to see 50v's chopped up, but that looks good, get some side covers and a front fender to really bring it all together. Love the headlamp, where did you get it? Low bars are back breakers, enjoy if you are young enough, but keep the old ones, EBR's are your next move. (edited)
> Jackerz ! wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> That maxi racer seat on the green one is just waiting to snap and rip
> your junk off lol..
^ Agreed!
Thank you. It took me 3 years to get out to be sure I wanted to chop it. Had the market not gone nuts, I would have got something else to Frankenstein, but it is what it is.
I have the side panels, but I’m kind of digging the minimal, lightweight concept.
Headlight housing is stock. I just sanded the rust and painted gloss black. The lamp is:
VSTAR PAR36 LED Bulb,15W 2000LM...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BW91ZLQ/
Yeah, I’m skeptical about the handlebars, but for now, they’re fun.
Sorry, what’s EBRs?
Better forks. Side covers add negligible weight. Fenders are your friend in real world riding. (edited)
Okay, gotcha. If I can fabricate a small front fender from what’s left, I may, but I’ve been riding it for over a year with no fenders and don’t mind it.
I hear you on negligible weight, but it’s more about the look and concept of shedding whatever isn’t adding significant value.
Whatever does it for you. :) It's just that the 50v is my favorite make and model of moped, so I'm a purist, but it's not my bike and it's cut now, so enjoy! I miss my last one...
That is a beautiful bike, sir!
How does that headlight perform? Flickers? mine was the brightest, best moped bulb I have ever had, most 50v I had were '78 on up and the light was a bit dimmer, after some "service" they messed up my ground strap and my poor headlamp was like a birthday candle with a hand mirror behind it...ugh. Was a Westinghouse sealed beam like from a Sears lawn tractor from the '70's -80's, worked great when the wiring was right, threw a real light cone on the road, like a motorcycle headlight, unlike every other make of ped I have had.
> Ron Kujawa wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> That is a beautiful bike, sir!
Thank you very much, it was mechanically bone stock except for opening up the stock exhaust a bit, see the Rebel Moby mod it the wiki. I was very proud of that machine, had modern tires on it and of course the leg shields, they were custom painted for me by Sundaymorningmotors.com back when, they were factory Orange when I found them. I would see about 36 mph wide open with my fat ass on it. A great machine, I regret selling it to this day. I have other mopeds, and they are good bikes, but with a 50v you feel some "weight" when riding, it's not like a bicycle, like a Puch or My Honda.
I do t do a lot of riding at night, but this one is better than what it came with. I also went through a couple flood lights there were awful. Light everywhere, but not enough to see anything.
What year is yours? Prior to that red one I had a few 50v and they were all '78 or newer, and the light was "fine" but something about the '77 was like a real motorcycle light, prior to having some work done where it got messed up, there is a difference in the years from '77 on down to '78 on up, it's cool that led lamp fits the housing.
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