Rearset Mounts

I've been on the fence for quite a while as to how I wanted to mount the rearsets.  I've seen a ton of bikes that just used the passenger peg mounts in one way or another so that was the first way I mocked it up but it just didn't feel right.  It also lead to some other issues like where to mount a stopper for the right rearset so that brake linkage didn't pull it out of position.  Making custom mounts seemed to be the only solution to get the result I was looking for.

Getting ready to remove the passenger foot peg mounts.

Now the hard part begins; grinding away all of the extra metal and welds.

I cut the new mounting points for the rearsets out of 1/4" steel plate.

Another view of the mounting points with the spacers removed.

Here is a look at the wood mockup I made for the rearset mounts and the
finished "blanks" for the steel rearset mounts.  I made these out of the same
1/4" steel plate as the mounting points.

I used a paper template as a guide for the hole placement.

The holes were enlarged with a step bit from both sides to create clean,
chamfered  holes.

Stainless hardware from BoltDepot.com

A perfect fit thanks to many, many paper and wood mockups.

This setup will be much more comfortable (at least for me) than using the
passenger peg mounts as I've seen done on so many other bikes.

License Plate Bracket

The last thing anyone wants to stick on the back of their bike is an ugly old license plate but I don't think I'd make it too far down the road without one.  I used the same 1" x 1/8" flat bar that I made the rear marker light mounts out of to make a license plate bracket.  I kept it clean and simple and rounded the ends to match the marker light mounts.

Clean and simple.

Nothing clutters up the back end of a bike quite like a license plate.  I used
the old one that was left on the bike when I bought it to check the clearances.
I wire-wheeled the finish off to make it a little less annoying to look at.

Mounting the Rear Markers

I used a piece of 1" x 1/8" flat bar to make a bracket for the rear markers and tacked it to the underside of the tray.  I rounded off the corners to follow the shape of the marker mounts.  The wires run through a rubber grommet in the tray and up under the battery box.

"Arrow Deco Style" marker lights from DCC.

Welding the Tail Hoop

I haven't had much time to work on the bike and I have even less time to spend blogging.  Here are some pics of the tail section.

I cut the "tray" out of 14 gauge steel.

Holes were drilled in the frame and hoop so they could be plug welded.

Clamped and ready for welding.

I'm slowly getting more comfortable with welding.

After grinding down the welds I noticed a few spots that I'll need
to go back and will with weld.

I gave the tail a quick coat of matte black to make it easier to spot the
little imperfections that I'll need to fill in.  Overall it came out pretty clean

Tail Hoop Fabrication

I haven't been able to spend much time on this project lately but I have made a little bit of progress on the tail hoop.  I wasn't thrilled with the battery tray from BCR so I opted to build my own.  I started with a DIY tail hoop from Dime City Cycles.  It seemed a little pricey but it saved me the hassle of finding a local machine shop to bend a pipe for me.

The frame hoop from Dime City Cycles.

I don't have a chop saw so to make sure I got straight cuts I used a regular old pipe cutter.

Cut to length with a pipe cutter.

I also cut some 2" pieces of 7/8" OD pipe to fit inside the ends of the hoop and frame so I can plug weld the pieces together.  The inside diameter of the frame tubing is nearly 2mm larger than the DCC hoop and a bit less than 7/8" so I had to bore out both the frame and the tail hoop with a step bit.

Pipes need to be plug welded before adding the hoop.

I want the entire tray and battery box to be removable so that if I ever decide to change the seat I have the ability to shift the position of the battery box if necessary.  I tacked in two pieces of 3/4" square tubing that will serve as mounting points for the bottom tray and battery box.

Getting the angles and curves just right took quite a bit of patient grinding.

I'm going to weld a 3rd piece of square tube to the frame.  This should provide more than enough support and mounting points for everything.

Checking the measurements before tacking in the 3rd piece of square tube.

Practice Makes...

One of the hardest things about learning to weld (other than the welding itself) is finding random junk that I don't mind ruining.  I'm practicing on an old steal aquarium stand that had very little surface area.  I have some sheet metal but I'd rather save that for the project I originally bought it for.  I adjusted the heat range and wire feed speed and I seem to be getting a slightly better bead.  It's not as thin as it was yesterday.

The new settings are producing a better bead and less splatter.

First attempt at a butt joint.

Nothing is safe from my welding rampage.

My First Attempt at Welding

Today I received a new toy via the big brown truck; the Lincoln Electric "Handy MIG."  I've always wanted to learn how to weld and with a little money coming my way in the form of a tax refund I thought this would be the perfect time.

I'm glad I decided against getting a cart for this.  I just don't have the floor space.

I was able to get the unit setup and try welding for the first time.  The welds look like crap but at least it worked.  Hopefully I'll get to spend some time with it this weekend and dial in some of the settings.

Wiggly, spattery mess.