Below 265 SQ/FT a small motorbike shop
- Thread starter slim_grim
- Start date
All workspaces below 265 squarefeet.
Some humor for the shop thanks to my lovely wife. For those that don't know Ewan McGregor and his buddy Charlie Boorman had a wildly popular adventure motorcycle touring documentary called Long Way Round that had a huge impact on the adventure motorcycle scene and that film is what got me interested in big boxer twins.
When it comes to janky clutch repairs, rounded fasteners, and broken moto parts, he's our only hope (insert lightsaber emoji).
When it comes to janky clutch repairs, rounded fasteners, and broken moto parts, he's our only hope (insert lightsaber emoji).
rd65
Well-known member
I tried watching his series but things just seemed too staged and janky for me. Two guys on bikes.....with crew.
old_smokey
Well-known member
Mondo Enduro for the real version!
When I was rebuilding the suspension on my XJ, I absent mindedly ran the M8 bump stop mounts down with my 1/2" impact. Of course, I went too hard and broke a fastener off in the frame. No biggie, I'll fix it one day...
One day came when I hooked my new to me toy hauler to the Jeep and decided that I need to stiffen up the rear a tad more. Not wanting to make the ride too harsh, I started looking at air bags and other options. Sumo Springs seemed like a good fit, so I ordered a set.
Now...about that broken bolt.
I tried drilling it out to no avail, so I decided to beat the weld nut into the frame and replace it with a rivnut. I set myself up with an extension and a big hammer and went to town. Town was very far away, but I got there. Amazon rivnut went right in and I got the Sumo Springs installed. Even with their kit made for vehicles lifted 2-4", they're too short to have an impact on ride height. Oh well. I stuck the factory bump stops on and I think this is my sign to see if I can ditch the Jeep in favor of a slightly larger tow vehicle. The Jeep is probably fine, but something larger will make the towing experience much more enjoyable. A weight distributing hitch is an option, but they can be kinda cumbersome when you get into really uneven terrain. Two door Tahoe? 90's Ford Bronco? RCSB 4x4 truck? So many choices.
Side note: The previous owner was confident that the Jeep had never been off-roaded. The hammered rear bump stop mounts and a bent trans cooler line up front from the suspension over travelling tell a different story. Still a dang solid little Jeep though.
One day came when I hooked my new to me toy hauler to the Jeep and decided that I need to stiffen up the rear a tad more. Not wanting to make the ride too harsh, I started looking at air bags and other options. Sumo Springs seemed like a good fit, so I ordered a set.
Now...about that broken bolt.
I tried drilling it out to no avail, so I decided to beat the weld nut into the frame and replace it with a rivnut. I set myself up with an extension and a big hammer and went to town. Town was very far away, but I got there. Amazon rivnut went right in and I got the Sumo Springs installed. Even with their kit made for vehicles lifted 2-4", they're too short to have an impact on ride height. Oh well. I stuck the factory bump stops on and I think this is my sign to see if I can ditch the Jeep in favor of a slightly larger tow vehicle. The Jeep is probably fine, but something larger will make the towing experience much more enjoyable. A weight distributing hitch is an option, but they can be kinda cumbersome when you get into really uneven terrain. Two door Tahoe? 90's Ford Bronco? RCSB 4x4 truck? So many choices.
Side note: The previous owner was confident that the Jeep had never been off-roaded. The hammered rear bump stop mounts and a bent trans cooler line up front from the suspension over travelling tell a different story. Still a dang solid little Jeep though.
rd65
Well-known member
I can get you fixed up with an Ohlins shock for that thing.Subframe: bent
Exhaust: bent and hitting the rear spring
Rear shock: a bit leaky
Solution: pull fender off, use a giant steel digging bar to kinda straighten it up, ignore the leaky shock for now
Good enough. Let's go on an adventure!
mschoo92
Well-known member
Just read through this thread, very cool shop! I'm considering either turning my 10x12 shed into a small workspace or building a 12x16 so this gives some great ideas. Do you notice any humidity issues in your shop without a mini split or is the vapor barrier/insulation doing a good enough job to keep things dry?
Looking forward to see how this progresses!
Looking forward to see how this progresses!
BlakeTheCarGuy
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Awesome shop and progress so far.
rd65
Well-known member
Just have the one off my 400xcw. Sold the fork cartridges already. Lowered the stock suspension 2" along with valving and springs under the assumption i would ride more. Hasn't really been the case yet. Your shock is already leaking so your going to be spending money.
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Thanks!
My 350 shock has had some work done to it at some point and I'm pretty fond of it. Gonna have a buddy split it and give it a refresh.Just have the one off my 400xcw. Sold the fork cartridges already. Lowered the stock suspension 2" along with valving and springs under the assumption i would ride more. Hasn't really been the case yet. You shock is already leaking so your going to be spending money.
I ordered a cheap KTM clutch lever on Amazon and received an OEM Brembo lever with a nice little card and microfiber towel. Nice! Gonna have to remember this seller.
I also checked the valve adjustment on my mighty R1200GS. Sure is easy when the heads poke out the sides and there aren't any fussy shims to deal with.
I also checked the valve adjustment on my mighty R1200GS. Sure is easy when the heads poke out the sides and there aren't any fussy shims to deal with.
About a year ago, I took my old F100 over to my folks place to grab my dump truck to bring home to replace the fuel pump. Luckily, it made it home but it was running VERY poorly as I sputtered into my drive. I let other projects take priority and I've had a broken down dump truck at my hose and my old Ford was left sitting in my parents barn
Fast forward to last week when I had a colleague visiting from Brazil who's a car nut and I shamefully didn't have my old Ford to take him on a cruise. Evidently, old pickup trucks are kinda rare in Brazil. That shame motivated me to get the dump truck sorted so I can bring my hot rod home.
The good news about waiting so long was that buddy decided to Cummins swap his dually and gave me a fuel pump. I had to get creative with the fuel line routing, but it's hard to beat a free fuel pump. Time will tell if the float works or not. Might hit the inside of the tank...
Either way. Planning to go revive the old Ford this weekend.
Fast forward to last week when I had a colleague visiting from Brazil who's a car nut and I shamefully didn't have my old Ford to take him on a cruise. Evidently, old pickup trucks are kinda rare in Brazil. That shame motivated me to get the dump truck sorted so I can bring my hot rod home.
The good news about waiting so long was that buddy decided to Cummins swap his dually and gave me a fuel pump. I had to get creative with the fuel line routing, but it's hard to beat a free fuel pump. Time will tell if the float works or not. Might hit the inside of the tank...
Either way. Planning to go revive the old Ford this weekend.
About the old Ford. Total budget build. Reman 302 roller short block, Craigslist GT40 heads, $200 C4 transmission, 3.25 open diff 9". Built it when I was in school and had no money...
In keeping with the spirit of the build, I've got a world class T5 that I paired with an S10 tailshaft housing to put in it, 3.70 gears with a tru-trac, and I'm planning to add power steering when I find the parts. I've convinced myself to keep the twin I-beam setup and just give it all a refresh. The reason that I haven't done any of this? I hate the idea of laying in the grass and I don't wanna clog up a buddy's shop with a potentially time consuming project. Might just have to build myself a small shop.
In keeping with the spirit of the build, I've got a world class T5 that I paired with an S10 tailshaft housing to put in it, 3.70 gears with a tru-trac, and I'm planning to add power steering when I find the parts. I've convinced myself to keep the twin I-beam setup and just give it all a refresh. The reason that I haven't done any of this? I hate the idea of laying in the grass and I don't wanna clog up a buddy's shop with a potentially time consuming project. Might just have to build myself a small shop.
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About building a small auto shop. I did a very rough lumber BOM to gauge financial feasibility for an 18'x24' pole barn shell with 12' walls to accommodate a 2 post lift. Lumber comes out to $2242.52 using big box store prices. Doesn't count plywood gussets for the DIY Fink style trusses and I assumed 2x4 furring strips for the roof & exterior walls. That's not nearly as scary of a number as I expected. Gonna do some CAD work and actually come up with a proper BOM including exterior cladding, doors, fasteners, etc. Also gonna take some site measurements to see if I can bump up the depth a bit.
Construction style will be similar to my last project shown below.
Construction style will be similar to my last project shown below.
Cdubu52
Well-known member
Make it as big a structure as you can afford! You can finish it as you go.
Make sure your county or town doesnt have lot coverage requirements. Im on 1.5 acres but had to attach my 30x50 to my house with a breezeway to meet under roof requirements my town has. Go as big as y like @Cdubu52 said You can always finish out later. Make provisions for lift and concrete and you will never regret either one.
cccoltsicehockey
Well-known member
I had a similar issue as this. Could only be the size of the heated square footage of the ground floor of the house. I connected by a breezeway as well to get around this size limit. I also echo to go as big as you can on the outside that you can afford and do everything else down the road if needed.
I don't have any size restrictions aside from property line setbacks. I could go bigger, but have really enjoyed the small space of the moto shed and I've arrived to the contrary opinion that the ideal size for a shop is as small as you can live with. I feel the same about houses. Even the small moto shed tends to accumulate stuff, but the size is constantly reminding me to keep the space focused and avoid the trap of keeping everything that I think might be useful someday. I think a bit more depth will be SUPER nice for engine swaps, so I'm gonna try to grow a bit in that dimension.
There's gotta be a clip floating around somewhere of Marie Kondo extolling the virtues of a small shop. "Does the extra square footage spark joy, or is it just a place to put more stuff?" - Marie Kondo probably
There's gotta be a clip floating around somewhere of Marie Kondo extolling the virtues of a small shop. "Does the extra square footage spark joy, or is it just a place to put more stuff?" - Marie Kondo probably
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cccoltsicehockey
Well-known member
That is a very fair and logical point. I know I suffer from flat space and free space disease for sure. Another problem is the thought that I definitely might use this piece of wood or metal 14 years down the road for something. If it works for you, that is awesome. Almost strikes me as a bit of european mindset vs american build as big as you can.
I think the added length you mentioned is a good idea. It was in some thread on here that mentioned a minimum of 27ft and preferably 28-30ft for depth with a 2 post width. This allowed for a 22-24in deep workbench in front of the vehicle. Then this allowed at least 25ft for the lift space to fit vehicles. Your dump truck is long, though, so maybe account for 27- 28 ft for the lift depth. My lift can be used asymmetric or symmetric though, so I figured worst case, I can do my engine pull with the door open and the vehicle in asymmetric if it is extra long to complete the task up front. One last thought, is if you go to 20ft wide in a storm, you could fit two wide in that garage.
I think the added length you mentioned is a good idea. It was in some thread on here that mentioned a minimum of 27ft and preferably 28-30ft for depth with a 2 post width. This allowed for a 22-24in deep workbench in front of the vehicle. Then this allowed at least 25ft for the lift space to fit vehicles. Your dump truck is long, though, so maybe account for 27- 28 ft for the lift depth. My lift can be used asymmetric or symmetric though, so I figured worst case, I can do my engine pull with the door open and the vehicle in asymmetric if it is extra long to complete the task up front. One last thought, is if you go to 20ft wide in a storm, you could fit two wide in that garage.
I've got no idea why giant shops (or houses) no longer appeal to me. Maybe all the 5S talk at the European company I work for has worn off on me. I might have to put an American flag on my desk as a countermeasure.
That's a fantastic point.
I considered going wider for this reason, but I think I'd rather leave space on the side to add a lean-to when time, money, and motivation align.
rd65
Well-known member
I went as large as I could w/ county rules - no larger total footprint than 2000 sq/ft without hiring a surface water engineer. That includes gravel around building as gravel is impervious surface. Wound up w/ 32'w 28'd 10' walls. I screwed up and did not plan for 2 post lift and with the saw cuts on the slab right down the middle in both directions it makes it very difficult to add. I may look into a 4 post at some point. I would like to add another larger toolbox but I do not want to give up the square footage.
I had a HECK of a weekend doing hotrod stuff. After a quick wiring repair for my temp gauge, a buddy and I rode out to a Ford show at the NC Transportation Museum. 98% of the cars were pretty garish underhood, but I was able to brainstorm accessory drive ideas based on a few of the stock small block Ford powered cars that were there.
After that, we rode out to a buddies house so I could pull the clutch and bellhousing from his old 302 to use on my T5 swap. He gave me a silly cheap price to take the whole engine to free up some space in his shop so I loaded the whole thing thinking that I'd pull my parts and sell the engine to raise some funds for the old truck. Feeling like kings riding around in my old F100 with an engine in the back, we decided to detour a bit to hit up a nearby cruise-in. We joked about selling the engine before even unloading, but didn't actually think there was any chance of that happening.
We pulled in to the cruise-in and were immediately over run by folks looking at the engine. It's a neat combo. 1969 302 block with 4V Cleveland heads. Basically, a Boss 302 clone. After the maelstrom of interest and giving a few guys a price, we walked next door to grab some food. One guy walked over and said he wanted the engine and that he'd grab cash on his way home if I wanted to drop it off when we leave.
Heck yes. I got my parts and had enough cash to cover gas, tamales, and a little extra to finish accumulating the remaining parts needed for my 5 speed & power steering swap.
The next day, a guy messaged me that he had a parts truck that probably had some parts that I need. I drove out to his place and was able to pull a set of pedals and get some good pics of the power steering column to see if I think it'll work. I'm gonna search another week or two for a column that'll bolt in, but the one he had will work with a little effort (shorten the shaft and weld on a rag joint coupler).
After that, we rode out to a buddies house so I could pull the clutch and bellhousing from his old 302 to use on my T5 swap. He gave me a silly cheap price to take the whole engine to free up some space in his shop so I loaded the whole thing thinking that I'd pull my parts and sell the engine to raise some funds for the old truck. Feeling like kings riding around in my old F100 with an engine in the back, we decided to detour a bit to hit up a nearby cruise-in. We joked about selling the engine before even unloading, but didn't actually think there was any chance of that happening.
We pulled in to the cruise-in and were immediately over run by folks looking at the engine. It's a neat combo. 1969 302 block with 4V Cleveland heads. Basically, a Boss 302 clone. After the maelstrom of interest and giving a few guys a price, we walked next door to grab some food. One guy walked over and said he wanted the engine and that he'd grab cash on his way home if I wanted to drop it off when we leave.
Heck yes. I got my parts and had enough cash to cover gas, tamales, and a little extra to finish accumulating the remaining parts needed for my 5 speed & power steering swap.
The next day, a guy messaged me that he had a parts truck that probably had some parts that I need. I drove out to his place and was able to pull a set of pedals and get some good pics of the power steering column to see if I think it'll work. I'm gonna search another week or two for a column that'll bolt in, but the one he had will work with a little effort (shorten the shaft and weld on a rag joint coupler).
Cdubu52
Well-known member
And what about that awesome cooler! Or is it a tool box?
Pulled it from a scrap pile somewhere and it has been sitting in my carport for years as a makeshift table between a couple old steel patio chairs. The bottom exterior layer has some rust holes, but the internal galvanized tub is solid. Stuck it in the truck on Saturday to keep a case of water out of the sun. It's already been pressed into toolbox duty so it's found a permanent home. Kinda wanna find one that's more solid now that I see how handy it is.