Part 1 of 29 - PVC 4-Wheel Bike - How to Build the American Speedster Side-Kick

[@fernandoherrera3592]

hello Sir. that's a great side kick cart, congratulations......

[@NormanGooch]

Thanks for watching my video! Norman

[@reginarodriguesminde8219]

Como conceder seu contato para obter essas pessas d bicicleta me responda brasil ms

[@NormanGooch]

Vaya al sitio web www.americanspeedster.com, allí podrá comunicarse con el propietario del negocio. No estoy seguro si enviarán a Brasil. Podrías preguntar y ver. Te deseo suerte en tu proyecto. ¡Gracias por ver mi video! normando

[@newfarmerdon]

Good morning, Norman. I have another question, if you don't mind. Can you tell me what tires you are using ? I had purchased four wheels that I thought would look really good on our "Quad"....they are 20" 48 spoke, and they came with white wall tires which I thought would be an added bonus, however, after adding a 48v, 1000w hub motor and only going about 15 miles in a five trip total, we got a blow out on the r/r drive wheel, and the tire looks like I had beed doing "burn-outs". It is totally worn through the cords and all ! I am thinking it is because the tires that came on the wheels are just very cheap, but the other three are not showing any abnormal wear. Any ideas? Thank you again in advance, Don P.S. Thank you for your response on my last question.

[@NormanGooch]

For tires I use Kevlar belted tires which provides great puncture and cut resistance. For tubes I use extra strong self-sealing bicycle tubes which contain Slime. For tire liners I use Rhinodillos tire liners. The additional weight, coefficient of friction, and travel speed can wear out regular bicycle tires very quickly. Go to Slime.com for tubes, search google for Rhinodillos tire liners and for Kevlar tires, they are available from many different sellers. I hope this helps, Thanks, Norman

[@newfarmerdon]

@@NormanGooch Thank you, Norman and Happy Hollidays! DON

[@LambertLittle-tm9wf]

I am very frustrated. The American Speedster website is inaccessible. Do you have knowledge of them being out of business? Any ideas of where I could get a set of plans????? THANKS!

[@NormanGooch]

I'm not sure what's going on with their website. This is the only company I know of where you can buy the plans. If the site is not running in a couple of weeks, they may be temporarily offline due to technical issues, closing the business, or trying to sell their business. Try calling the phone number to see if you get a response or a recorded message. I will also check back with the site next week. Thanks for watching my video! Norman

[@newfarmerdon]

Good morning, Norman. Could you please let me know what the Length of the Side Kick is. Thank You, Don

[@NormanGooch]

The total length is approximately 80 inches, depending on the size of the front and rear bumper installed. Thanks for watching my video Norman

[@newfarmerdon]

@@NormanGooch Thank you for your response. I bought the "side-kick 2" plans, then saw your vids on the the "Classic", I do prefer the looks of so I ordered those plans. I thank you for the Videos, very helpful information! Don

[@NormanGooch]

Building the sidekick is a fun project, you may come up with new modifications or find easier ways to build as you begin building the bike. Thanks again for watching my videos. Norman

[@newfarmerdon]

Hello Norman. I have a question about "caster". I know for positive caster the top of the "spindle" has to tilt towards the rear, however, in the video #1 it shows that yours' are tilting forward. Am I seeing wrong? I know in some videos the motions(like screwing a nut on, looks like they are un-screwing it) but, yours is basically a still shot.? Can you shed some light for me ? Thanks, Don

[@NormanGooch]

Don, The spindles in the model shown are slightly facing forward. When the spindles were facing the rear, the right front turn radius was not right, so during the front-end building process, I made small adjustments by moving the spindles forward and making adjustments to the front-end steering components to see if any improvement was made in the turning radius. There was no significant difference either way. I decided not to change the front spindles back to their original position. This was the first Sidekick model I built, the pictures shown in the video came from this model. However, you are right, the spindles should be facing the rear. In part 6 where I build the front end, I state the spindles must be facing the rear. Thanks for watching my video. Norman

[@charlesbrentner4611]

@@NormanGooch I imagine first builds are always prone to a few problems of some sort. I'm curious, how many hours approximately did it take you to build the first one?

[@NormanGooch]

Don, Sorry for the late response but I did not see the question in my messages until now. I did not record actual hours it took me to build the Sidekick, however I would spend between 8 to 10 hours per day when I did work on it. I worked on the build almost every Saturday for about 4 months. I took my time and did not rush through the process, so I probably spent more time than necessary. While I worked at a steady pace, I was cautious with each step so I would not make any mistakes and have to do over. Not only does it slow the build, it can also be costly if you have to cut out incorrect measurements or remove hardware parts. I enjoyed the project and since have built 5 Sidekicks for other people who did not want to build from scratch.

[@100musicplaylists3]

It would be cool if you made the chairs into a fold down double bed or a double hammock.

[@NormanGooch]

It sure would be cool! You can easily modify the seat frame and rear frame to accommodate a folding bench seat. However, to add a double-size bed frame, you would have to design and rebuild a new frame, drive system, and front end, and increase the size and weight of the axles, wheels, and steering components. Thanks for watching my video! Norman

[@100musicplaylists3]

@@NormanGooch i think there would be a market for a pvc double bed off road camper. i think golf courses would love it. maybe your next project.

[@NormanGooch]

Something to think about. Thanks again Norman

[@markharrison8330]

@@100musicplaylists3 i beleave removing the PVC and replace with aluminium tubing or I beam would be work and a shell

[@goreyboggs]

Are the plans still for sale? It says out of stock.

[@NormanGooch]

You should call the number it is on their website, not sure why it is out of stock, but could be a problem with inventory. Thanks, Norman

[@jerrymoya9237]

What is cost of bike,before I get started?

[@NormanGooch]

Jerry, The cost to build with all new parts is around $950. You can reduce the cost by building with used bicycle parts. Thanks Norman

[@mikeebbert500]

are the bike parts for the Side-Kick 1 and 2 interchangeable?

[@NormanGooch]

Mike, Please contact Dan at American Speedster, he can give you the specifications on parts and parts interchange questions. He is the designer and creator of the PVC bikes. Thanks for watching my videos Norman

[@mikeebbert500]

@@NormanGooch i did that==happy to say he said yes

[@NormanGooch]

That's great - I hope you have fun building your bike. Norman

[@mikeebbert500]

@@NormanGooch i got the plans so next step for me==acquiring the parts may take a few months to get them but i will get their by this time next year==at least that is my goal

[@mikeebbert500]

@@NormanGooch i'm one step closer to starting this project==placed my order for the specialty parts and hardware yesterday.. next step will be acquiring the bicycle part's==step by step it may take a few more months but we are past the stage where it is a fantasy now we are at the stage where it is getting real.

[@craigbrowning5186]

The one PROBLEM with KZbin is you can't message the video creators... nor can I find you on Facebook... soo many questions about this

[@NormanGooch]

You can send me an email message with your questions and I will try to answer them for you. Send to: [e-mail] Thanks for watching my video. Norman

[@marisolalvarado7478]

Cuánto cuesta. Me gustó mucho para poderlo conducir

[@NormanGooch]

El kit de hardware para este modelo cuesta $465,00 y las piezas de bicicleta cuestan $294,00. El costo total de construcción es inferior a $1000,00. La construcción dura unas 20 horas. La calidad de construcción depende de usted. Se puede modificar fácilmente para un perro de pasajeros o de familia. También puedes añadir un portabebés para la compra o un asiento orientado hacia atrás para los niños. La rueda derecha gira libremente y puede funcionar con motores de gasolina o eléctricos sin afectar el sistema de accionamiento del pedal. Algunas ruedas eléctricas ahora se pueden utilizar en la parte trasera derecha. La autonomía de un eléctrico de 48 voltios con baterías de 14 AH será de aproximadamente 17 millas en terreno llano. ¡Gracias por ver mi video!

[@izuy5441]

How do u make it FAST

[@NormanGooch]

You can add an electric motor to the rear non-drive side wheel and have speeds between 15 & 20 MPH. Thanks for watching my video Norman

[@milonmondol2306]

Nice

[@NormanGooch]

Milon Thanks for watching my video Norman

[@trinapenno6554]

What's this cost to make?

[@NormanGooch]

Trina, Depending on if you use new or used parts and if you make your own parts or buy a parts kit ready to install. Using all new parts and complete part kits the cost will be between $700-$850. Building with used parts and making your own parts will cost between $400-$550. Thanks for watching my video Norman

[@charlesbrentner4611]

Hi Norman, Has American Speedster changed its email? I tried ordering a set of plans at their site and couldn't get it to work so I tried the email they provided to contact them. Same result.

[@NormanGooch]

Charles, I just checked the link and the website opened, I clicked shop, clicked plans, gave me a choice of models, clicked Side-Kick, and the plan order came up, the cost was 26.50. I did not complete the sale but it looks like it is working. Try it again, and see if you can order the plans. www.americanspeedster.com. It may possible they are having inventory delivery problems and may have deactivated the buying of parts and plans. If you can't get it to work, try to call Dan tomorrow on the phone. He is the owner and designer of the cycles and plans. Thanks, Norman

[@charlesbrentner4611]

@@NormanGooch Will do. Not sure what was up but I guess it is also possible there was a glitch somewhere between me and them as well. Never can tell with the web if something has moved, been removed or there is a temp. glitch somewhere. I did notice they had a notice about parts being on backorder (from 2020) which I imagine was due to the pandemic since no one was shipping much back then. Even now there are probably a few delays in things I would guess.

[@NormanGooch]

I hope you were able to get what you needed. Thanks Norman

[@sadiamuhammadofficial6675]

I want to make thia

[@NormanGooch]

Thanks for watching my video Norman

[@MhmmdasdAsd]

سلام دوست من ایرانی هستم، و انگلیسی نمیدانم لطفاً اندازه های دقیق ماتریال را برایم توضیح دهید، لوله و اتصالات ، (How inch) و قطر ( pvc) چند اینچ می‌باشند ممنون از شما Thank for you

[@NormanGooch]

The video training segments in Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and Part 8 - Shows the PVC sizes in the videos. Most of the PVC pipe is 1-1/4". Watch each video to see the sizes of the PVC & Fittings. Thanks Norman

[@darhandarhan2092]

Mantap

[@NormanGooch]

Not sure what this means? Norman