Piper Pa1200 BugSmasher Build

[CPOTED]

A MAJOR step forward on my project:

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I gave it a bath.

Well, that, and I also marked out internal bulkhead locations, seams and panel lines and other stuff. You can see that I included a 48 inch ruler to help. I will fill in the lines and such on this photo when I get time today.

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Until now I've only been working with scale drawings, 3 views, internet dimensions and photographs to determine measurements. Now that I have the fuselage I can work a little more accurately. I will be a VERY happy planner when I have the Honda and the VW parts in my hands.

Before I bobbed Henry, my M35a2, I read EVERYTHING I could find on what others had done and found that a lot of guys who tried this on their truck got big spaces between the cab and the new bed or the bed rubbed against the cab. What's more, they didn't get the rear wheels centered in the new wheel arches on the bed. Finally, they didn't cut the chassis and mount the push bumpers so that the tailgate stopped squarely on its rubber bump stops when opened. These and other details really do make for a pretty ugly truck and I agonized over getting my measurements correct. Thankfully I had full sized Henry and the M105 trailer in the yard.

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There is a lot of stuff going on doing builds like this. The BugSmasher is not going to be a "show car" or a "hot rod"; I intend this to be my daily driver for about the next 10 years ... or until my "forever" comes to an end. I need this thing to be safe, strong and reliable, and the best build I can do.

After all, I plan on taking my little dog, Fritz with me when I drive it.

[Rat]

Neat stuff …

Gord

[Track T 2411]

Nice work on the truck!
I agree that until one has the majority of the components, plans may be only useful as paper airplanes...

[CPOTED]

Nice work on the truck!

Thank you. I've had Henry over 12 years now. Besides being a very hard worker and reliable as a wood-handle 16oz. Stanley hammer ... he never fails to put a smile on my face whenever I drive him. He LOVES to blow his air horn at kids and pretty gals and they all wave and smile back. For the record ... I don't think ol' Henry ever saw a gal he didn't think was pretty.

Henry got his name from a song that was popular when I was in the USandA Army more than 50 years ago. The song is about a guy named ... well, Henry, who made a wild run down to Mexico.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCqSIch ... 6OLLdaBksH

I agree that until one has the majority of the components, plans may be only useful as paper airplanes...

TRUE THAT!!!

Before I take on (meaning SPEND MONEY) anything big, I like to gather up as much information as I can, ESPECIALLY, when its something I don't know anything about.

I'll be the first one to tell you I don't know NOTHING about Hondas in general and Goldwings in particular. That's why I'm here. That silence you hear is me keeping my mouth shut and reading everything you fellas say about the 1200. I'm thinkin' about getting "REPLACE THE FREAKIN' TIMING BELT" tattooed on my chest.

[Track T 2411]

Before you set the appointment at the tattoo parlor I'd just like to point out that there are two timing belts. You don't want any mistakes on a tattoo of such importance!

[CPOTED]

Before you set the appointment at the tattoo parlor I'd just like to point out that there are two timing belts. You don't want any mistakes on a tattoo of such importance!

THAT is the exact reason I'm here. You GW boys are already doing a good job of keepin' me straight!

[Fred Camper]

Henry is one beautiful truck, love him. Hope your daily driver does not love a gallon as much as Henry.

[CPOTED]

Henry is one beautiful truck, love him. Hope your daily driver does not love a gallon as much as Henry.

In all the time I've owned him, I have rarely spent any money on diesel. Henry is a Multi-Fuel M35a2 and has given a steady 13 to 15 mpgs on any petroleum product I can pour into his tank. I've run him on a varied blend of old motor oil, old atf, old gear lube, old stale gasoline or transformer oil. I even got a call from a local airport which had about 600 gallons of old jet fuel, which is basically kerosene, that they had to get rid of.

All I do is pour it into 300 gallon totes, let the water settle to the bottom and drain it out, thin everything out with some old gasoline or the jet fuel, mix it all up using compressed air, let the crap settle to the bottom ... then pull the top 250 gallons through a filter assembly I built and put it into storage for use as I need it. I have about 1,500 gallons on hand, ready to go.

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There is zero change in performance of mpg's or mph's. Henry just doesn't care what I feed him, just as long as it's some kind of petroleum.


The BugSmasher, on the other hand, will be more choicy about what it will eat. I read that the GL1200 >might< get between 40 and 44 mpg's. My Daddy grew up on a chicken farm and taught me not to put too much stock into "mights" ... he used to say mites could be found on a chicken's rear end and weren't much use for anything.

The total curb weight of the 'Smasher will be between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds, and it will have a much-reduced frontal area and somewhat better aerodynamics. If I don't push too hard on the accelerator too often, I'm kinda hoping for something over 35 mpg's.

[Whiskerfish]

The Huey Flight manual had a page devoted to fuel alternates. It was an entire page and consisted of basically anything that would burn!

[CPOTED]

The Huey Flight manual had a page devoted to fuel alternates. It was an entire page and consisted of basically anything that would burn!

Some years ago, operators' manuals put out by diesel truck engine builders had instructions for burning alternative petroleum fuels, but the fuels have to be cut with a LOT of diesel fuel ... perhaps no more than a 50/50 mix, as I recall. The motor in the M35a2 and its injection system was designed for alternative fuel.

Turbine motors are great. I remember when Chrysler came out with their Turbine car in 19and63. Unless I am mistaken, I seem to recall that a LOT of military equipment is turbine-powered.

A while back a turbine powered motorcycle crossed my radar, but I didn't keep up to see if anything came of it.

MTT Y2K Turbine SuperBike 01.jpg

I wish more work had been done with automotive applications of the turbine. Could imagine doing a Honda TURBINE powered Piper BugSmasher build? The mind boggles.

Speaking of alternative fuels, a while back I put together a lot of material on wood-gas burning vehicles. Over the past 10 years I see folks have done more work with it. Lots of how-to vids on YT.

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Also, there is a process for turning all that waste plastic we've created into fuel. Folks say non-no-no you can't do that, but we got to get rid of it somehow.

When times get tough, it's good to have alternatives.

[Sidecar Bob]

Plastic comes from petroleum so why not turn it back into oil when you're done with it?

[CPOTED]

Plastic comes from petroleum so why not turn it back into oil when you're done with it?

It's not really all that hard to do ... a number of folks on the internet and YT have posted information on the diy.

Doing it large scale is problematic due to environmental concerns some have about the process to turn it into fuel and then using it as fuel. It only takes a couple of the right people saying no to stop projects like this from moving forward.

[Easter]

Love this, I thought a lot about turning a GL1500 I had acquired for free into a reverse trike, even bought a front axle from a VW, but in the end turned it into "Big Bertha the bike Honda never built." viewtopic.php?p=802890#p802890 (A bike of the month by-the-way.)

[Easter]

Just a thought or two about power for your bug smasher. My hobby for the last dozen years has been buying junk bikes, mostly GL 1000 and 1100 series bikes with a few 1200s and 1500s plus a few others and customizing or restoring the ones I could. As you mentioned in one post torque is the most important issue for a project like yours. I messed around with the cx500 a couple of years ago and after finally getting it running properly promised myself I would stick with the GL series. Apparently Honda felt the same way. The 1200 is in my opinion, probably the best suited of the GL series for your application. Still mechanically simple with no special carb or electronics issues. The 1500 is just way more complicated to sort out but the extra torque couldn't hurt. You have already mentioned the issue of weight on the rear wheel for traction and my guess is the extra weight of the larger GL engines would help rather than hinder with traction. As far as cost goes there are always bargains on FB marketplace for bikes that haven't run for a while or need something or another. Spare parts are readily available on ebay or from dealers. My current 1100 project cost $300. Of course there will be parts to buy but since you are disposing of most of the bike anyway, you could easily keep the bike part of the build close to the $500 range.

Some years ago now we bought my wife a new Can-Am Spyder reverse trike which she adored and rode often. Arthritis in the hands eventually caused her to part with it but she still morns the loss.

[CPOTED]

1. The 1200 is in my opinion, probably the best suited of the GL series for your application. Still mechanically simple with no special carb or electronics issues. The 1500 is just way more complicated to sort out but the extra torque couldn't hurt. ...

2. As far as cost goes there are always bargains on FB marketplace for bikes that haven't run for a while or need something or another.

3. Spare parts are readily available on ebay or from dealers. My current 1100 project cost $300. Of course there will be parts to buy but since you are disposing of most of the bike anyway, you could easily keep the bike part of the build close to the $500 range.

4. Some years ago now we bought my wife a new Can-Am Spyder reverse trike which she adored and rode often. Arthritis in the hands eventually caused her to part with it but she still morns the loss.

1. We are in complete agreement on the GL1200 and its comparison with the GL1500. I have researched this quite a lot and everything I read tells me it's the best choice for this project. Remember, I am building this as a daily driver ... the simplicity you mentioned is exactly what I am after. I HATE overcomplicated emission controls and electrickery.

2. Facebook Marketplace is where I found the Piper! There are a lot of low-mile, RUNNING GL1200s at decent prices to be found there.

3. This is almost as though we've been sitting in the garage talking!

4. Sorry to hear about your wife's arthritis. I had to have the knuckles and first joints of the fingers on my right (dominant) hand "rebuilt" earlier this year. I wore the joints slap out over the years and the fingers wouldn't bend without locking up. The Doc did a GREAT job. I'm pickin' guitar and banjo like I did back when I was 35!