Boxes, n Brass Bars

Scored a used tool chest of ebay for $66. This is a Heavy Duty 1-11 tool box.  Quality steel with 6 draws and an accessory carry tray.  Measurements are approx 670mm x 320mm x 380mm high.  Smooth draw slides.  Worth $300 new. Few light scuffs in the paint and the key is missing. On the way to get the box which was a pretty long drive. I passed a factory which buys scrap metal and also sells  machining brass. Decided to call in on the way back. My eyes lit up at the sight of all that scrap metal.  I had sat  in the car for a bit before going in and worked out what sort of sizes I would need for, grips, pegs, risers etc. Went up to the counter and asked for some pricing she said you know we only sell 6m lengths.  I said well Shit that stuffs me then. Then she suggested I look through the scrap.   The scrap is anything from Grandma's old candle stick holder to various length bar, slab and block. Price on brass  was $7/Kg, and Aluminium $6/Kg. I thought that made the brass sound better. Not sure if these are good prices or  not but seemed ok from what I remembered. Scrounged through what they had and found a few pieces and dropped $231 well that was the last of my savings. I figured though that if I was to buy a set of 4" brass risers they would set me back at least $300 bucks and I have  enough to make about 3-4 sets from the large hex bar. Also got enough of the large round for maybe 6 sets of grips, Small hex pre-bored, for 2-3 sets (foot pegs,  pillion pegs, gear lever, etc), and i can't even remember what the other bits were for now. Have to measure em up  again to jog the memory.  Also picked up a massive 50mm shell casing. Plenty of possibilities for it from fuel cap  to taillight. So set out to save some money on a used bargain box and came home broke having spent a small fortune!   Maybe I can make a few extra sets and sell some to recoup my finances………... Now I have to get those damn belts for the lathe and start turning!!!

Holy Side Cover Bashing!

Decided to play around in the shed yesterday and do a bit of bashing.

This is just a rough test run to see what it would look like and if it works ok then I can make up some tooling, mould, jigs, what ever you want to call them.

It was a piece of silver anodised aluminium so I wan't sure if it would be too brittle and crack.
I had this large lump of brass with a steel centre I use to hold me nuts so I don't loose em……Get yer mind outta the gutter boys! It is impossible to knock over it's really damn heavy.  It was a bit small in diameter than the cover but close enough. I then took to it with a BFH, followed by brass mallet and rubber mallet. First to get a bit of shape then to smooth it out a little.  Worked ok. With a slightly thicker piece of regular aluminium and a rounded mould I think I could get a pretty good item next time.

I am thinking to put some holes in it & the cover then back them with stainless mesh and a then black sheet to keep the dirt out.

While going through my hammers looking for some beaters, I found this little hammer come hatchet.

idea is to clean her up put some carvings in the handle. A nice stain and oil treatment then make some hangers to put on the bike for those road rage times! Nah actually for the road trips where I camp out. Could come in handy hey.

I got a Bone to pick……….

Was thinking about dog bone risers after my play with the bars and thought I might try and get some old conrods, looking for ones with 1" hole. I reakon it be easy to make some dog bones outta them.

Already has the top clamp.  Add a cut in the bottom one and weld a tab on each side with a single bolt…Done.

These small ones would make nice girder links.

Now look at these dog bones risers and tell me you can't see what i'm thinking….

They would look much like these ones I guess…..

So if you got some suitable conrods either give it a go and send me some pics or send me ya conrods to have a crack at it...

Parts Swap

Jason came around on Sunday night to return my chain guard he borrowed to take his XS Chop for RWC.  Unfortunately it didn't fit due to the rear shocks having been modified.  It has been konged at the back and the shock are really short and at quite an angle.  It has also been raked out at the front.

When he arrive it was on the back of the truck for me to see.

It's had a color change I saw it in burgundy paint. Above is the original blue. The frame has been this way for some 20-30yrs and had no problems. Here is what mist RWC inspector had to say

took it for roadworthy today, they hit it hard.
1. nuts on sides of headlight to be smooth?
2.front upper brake line loose. (fair enough)
3.lower brake hose dont meet standards. (fair enough)
4.slight movement in handlebars (rubber mounted if i tighten anymore ill snap a bolt)
5.left hand hand grip loose. (fair enough)
6.positive cable insurcure. (fair enough)
7.indicator tell tail light missing. (easy fix)
8.vass engineers report for rake, rear guard mods, and mounting of fuel tank, vass engineers report is a one from a certified vic roads engineer, for those that dont live in vic.

Here's the part that confuses me, ring one of there certified engineers explained the situation he said is rake under 550 i said yes, is rear modifyed behind the shocks I said yes, he tells me dont bother just take it to another rw tester.
So I rang another engineer from there list he said it does need one. (paint cleaned of welds inspected etc,etc depending on which one you take it to) makes it hard when you get different answers from engineers of there own list. Well at least they didnt get me for the split pin I forgot to put back in the front axle.

So I referred him to my RWC guy and he has done a heap of XS that I know of and is familiar with older bikes. May be better, may not.

I also pulled out the old seat I had with the custom made base off Blacky.

We chucked it on and it fit almost perfect. The line of the seat matched the line of the konged frame. Only it sat 40mm high as the back was sitting on the fender. However if you cut a radius out of the back 40mm deep it would sit flush all around. This    A. looks much more stock   B. Makes the mods less attention focusing   C. Hides the wiring under the seat, & seals the elec box.  D, Hopefully makes it easier to RWC.
Didn't really want to get rid of it as I plan to keep Blacky's stock frame and only have the original seat to Goldy, The Naked Lady didn't come with one it had a solo seat fitted.

Anyway Jason offered to trade the seat for a set of ⅞ Bars he had bought around for me to look at.
He had brought four sets around two that he wanted for his project and two he was willing to trade a set of.   One was a set of 6 bends. Not your normal ones as they were in two pieces and had a cross brace, the end of each bar becoming it's own riser. The cross brace was a clamp on and allowed you to rotate the bars around on the tree to different widths.  Real 70s man!! I don't like the look of these, but i was certainly surprised at how comfy they were when mocked up on my bike!! Gave a nice riding position kinda layed back and the arm/wrist position was very natural.  If I didn't find the look so wierd I'd have a set tomorrow.

Original six bend pull backs

Second set were square welded mini apes. These had an engraved spiral along the entire bars and looked funky. On my bike these looked good and fit me well.

I ended up holding on to the next two to choose one for the trade.

Not sure what the differance between 'Z' bars and 'W' bars are I think it has to do with the angles of the upright section being 90Deg or less????

Looking for someone to give me a period correct answer on this one.  They seem to use 'Z' bars universally now for all of them.

According to Prof.

Z & W bars...  Getting apes in the early years was not always easy or cheap and they often only came in one size.  Solution?  Get some tube and your welder and make your own.  Much easier than trying to bend tube.  W Bars bring your hand grips to a nice comfortable angle (back and down) and release pressure on your wrists .  Drag bars, T bars and Z bars being flatter are less comfortable than a good set of W's.

This would make the one above W bars but I found the opposite the put pressure on the wrist, and the engraved ones Z bars as they were flatter and more comfortable for me.

The ones above have a nicer shape than the engraved ones aesthetically but the sharp downward angle of the pull back, has a drawback in the wrist position.  It either need to be on 20' risers, or the bars need to lean way forward.

Having done some net surfing that is how they seem to be run on bikes.  Although these are still much flatter.

Here you can see the awkward angle (as on this sweet shovel), which puts a serious kink in your wrists.

The others are window bars and would need 1"risers, not a bad feel but quite narrow, I'm not 100% on the lane splitter look or on how it would handle.  The other bar in the shot is a 1 bend prison bar I made that feels real nice but don't think it would suit this bike really.
Anyway even those these bars are in little less than average condition, ⅞, and not exactly what I am looking for. I wanted to help out a brother and agreed to trade my seat for a set.   At least it gives me options and a reference point for making some up out of the 1" & ⅞" Stainless I have.

Rigid Chop Plans

Michel over at Rigid Chop. sent me an email today.

hi, it’s cerise de rigidchopblogspot, yes i can give you the plans, it’s a job of my brother jack, it’s a favor...

 

thank for your interest

It contained two files so I'll have to open them up and see what I got.

Nice addition to my archive. Trying to gather a library of CAD files as a resource for builders reference.

Thanks Michel, Viva la France!

Different

What the hell is 1%?

A recent Hollywood film (Beyond the Law 1992) Written by Larry Ferguson explains it this way: "See this little 1%? This means you are a member of the totally zoned out, fucked up, badass, outlaw motorcycle brotherhood!"   Well, Larry, you SUCK!!! This has nothing to do with 1% What it has to do with is selling tickets to your crappy "B" movie. To find the real answer, you have to go back to the beginning.   I'm not certain just where that is, but we'll start with the founding of the AMA (American Motorcycle Association) in 1924.   I don't know too much about the early days of the AMA and it's really not part of the subject, so we'll skip to the end of WWII.   Our soldiers returning home from the war are finding it hard to adjust to the slower pace of peace and their civilian jobs.   Many turn to motorcycles as a form of recreation, a little much needed excitement on the weekends. At this point in time just about all the motorcycle events in this country were sponsored or controlled by the AMA. Now comes the 4th of July weekend 1947 and the AMA Gypsy Tour event in Hollister, California.   Organized by the Salinas Ramblers MC (AMA club) and the Hollister Veterans Memorial Park Association.   The events calendar calls for a hill climb at the Lavignino Ranch on Friday the 4th. Saturday the 5th a slow race, digout race and plank ride.   Prizes and trophies were given out and that night a dinner and dance at the Memorial Auditorium.   (Funny how some things stay the same, sounds like most bike events, don't it?)   On Sunday the 6th was the big AMA flat track race with a purse of $1,200.oo!
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 to 4 thousand bikers turned out for this event.   That was a lot more than anyone had expected including the organizers of the event.   Not enough of anything was the rule. The campgrounds were full on Thursday so people just threw their sleeping bags wherever they could, this included the sidewalks.   The trouble started on Saturday night when the dinner and dance was full. It was planned for only the expected AMA club members and not the 3 thousand extra that showed up.   They were turned away at the door and told sorry, you're on your own!   So the crowd headed for San Benito St. where all the bars and restaurants were.   OK, I don't care who it is, you put 3 thousand pissed off people together, pour on a lot of alcohol, no matter what, there's going to be trouble!   And there was.... Not bad, probably no worse than any modern bike event like Bikeweek in Daytona.   It was just a big surprise, no one was ready for it.   Hell, my guess is the cops in Daytona would be falling asleep, if all they had to deal with was 3 thousand drunks?   Anyway, the really bad part of the mess was a guy named C. I. Dourghty Jr.   He was a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle Newspaper.   This guy set up phony photos and pumped up every little incident into a major one.   He together with the cops in charge staged the phony picture of the cop with the teargas launcher and of course the most famous one of all the picture of the drunken biker on his bike with beer bottles ankle deep all around.   And of course, the cops puffed themselves up into the saviors of the town... With Dourghty urging them on I'm sure?
In reality, what the cops did was pretty smart!!   They raided the AMA dance and grabbed the band.   Hauled them down to San Benito St. on the back of a flat bed truck and had them play for the crowd.   Then shut off the flow of alcohol.   By the way, the bars stopped serving beer earlier, telling everyone they were out, so hard stuff only.   Were they really out, or was selling the more expensive hard liquor just more profitable?   The trouble ended almost instantly. 

Well, it all hit the fan for the AMA when newspapers across the country ran the stories of hell night in Hollister.   It even made LIFE magazine!!   The AMA leadership was stunned and in a panic.   Bombarded with demands from the press for statements. The AMA held a press conference (dumb)!
They tried to repair the damage, but these guys weren't political spin doctors, just motorcyclists and screwed it up big.   They started off with stating that the news reports from Hollister were greatly exaggerated, which was true, but this really pissed the press guys off right from the start.   When you want someone to be nice to you, never start with calling them liars, huh?   They rambled on for a while, trying to evade embarrassing questions.   The memorable quote from all this and the important one is "THE TROUBLE WAS CAUSED BY THE ONE PER CENT DEVIANT THAT TARNISHES THE PUBLIC IMAGE OF BOTH MOTORCYCLES AND MOTORCYCLISTS"   Right......Anyway, none of that made any difference, the press still beat their brains out....   They would have been much better off saying nothing.
The end of the story?   No, just the beginning.   The AMA continued to receive nothing but bad press. At every opportunity the press would kick their ass.
So the AMA leadership decided to take positive action.   But what?   How do you stop the press when they got it out for you?   Answer: You don't!!   So, who's to blame?   Not themselves, no way!!   As it happens so often, it's the little guys fault, the smallest group, least equipped to defend themselves, that's who.   In this case the guys riding chopped or bobbed bikes.   The word went out to the local AMA club leaders all over the country.   Try to get the members to not wear their old military clothes any more.   No more bomber or field jackets (this was the most common bike wear of the day) and try to discourage those drunken bums on their chopped up bikes from attending AMA sanctioned events.   This translated into: People who rode stripped down or chopped bikes were not welcome.   You were harassed and herded into a corner and made to feel as uncomfortable as possible.   In some cases even denied entry into AMA events.   Now remember most of these guys were veterans, just finished fighting a war.   To come home and be treated this way was unacceptable.   I don't know who thought it up, or who organized it or how many people were involved?   

But 1% patches were being given out at AMA events.   The originals were hand made by the guys wives and girlfriends.   Guys started sewing them on the left sleeve of their bomber and field jackets, where their old unit patch used to be. The small army of OD green 1% patch wearing malcontents was growing. Even non chop riders were joining in, and why not.   The weirdo's in the corner were having all the fun anyway.   Of course, this pissed off the AMA leadership even more and they stepped up their policy of "discouragement"   It all came to a head at Riverside in 1948 where there was a near riot.   The AMA finally backed off from their policy of harassment, but it was too late.   The riff between the chopper riders and the AMA has never healed and the 1% patch was here to stay.   So what's it mean....
It means I won't be screwed for what I ride or what I wear!!!!
So how do I know all this?   I'm no historian or anything.   Had a friend that was there.   I want to thank Jim Hammond or "Hammer" to his friends.   You taught me so much about bikes and bikers and life in general.   Thanks for being my friend for 20 years, I miss you......RR

Road Rat Roberts

HAVOC IN HOLLISTER
    Motorcyclists Take Over Town, Many Injured
By C. I. DOURGHTY JR. San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer HOLLISTER. July, 5 (1947)
State Highway patrolmen tonight imposed informal martial law in downtown Hollister to curb the riotous activities of an estimated 4000. Almost 60 persons were injured, three of them seriously. Several more arrests were made and a special night court session was convened to punish those charged with reckless driving and drunkenness. The outburst of terrorism - wrecking of bars, bottle barrages into the streets from upper story windows and roofs and high speed racing of motorcycles though the streets - came as participants in the annual "Gypsy Tour" sponsored by the American Motorcycle Association converged on Hollister for a three-day meeting.
    EVENING LULL
Shortly after dusk tonight, the force of 40 highway patrol officers, commanded by Captain L.T. Torres of San Benito County, forced a lull in the terrorism.
Armed with tear gas guns, the officers herded the cyclists into a block on San Benito street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, parked a dance band on a truck and ordered the musicians to play. Hundreds of individuals who invaded the town yesterday for the motorcycle show, about 10 percent of them women halted their riotous "play" to dance. Their formal ball at the American Legion Hall was canceled by police orders.
The dancers scuffed their way through inches of broken glass, debris of bottle barrages thrown during the day. The officers stood almost shoulder to shoulder along the curb.
    REQUEST FOR HELP
Captain Torres and his men were sent to the scene by Charles E. Raymond Cato of the highway patrol who received a formal request of assistance from Lieutenant Roy L. McPhail of the seven-men Hollister police department. The request for aid was made at 3:30 P.M. today. As the state officers moved in, hundreds of cyclists roared through the streets of Hollister, defying traffic regulations. Many of them were injured in spills and crashes. One man's left foot was virtually severed.
Lieutenant McPhail was emphatic in his announcement to The Chronicle that he was asked for assistance by the State Highway Patrol. Police Chief Fred A. Earin of Hollister said: "It's just one hell of a mess."
    THURSDAY
The motorcyclists gathering for a three-day program of social activities, races and hill climbing events scheduled to end tomorrow began "taking over the town" the evening of July 3. The momentum of their activities gained strength during the 4th of July. By evening, they were virtually out of control, the police reported. Riders, both men and women, steered their machines into bars, crashing fixtures and bottles and mirrors. They defied all traffic regulations racing full speed through the streets and intersections. Hundreds loosed bottle barrages.
Bartenders halted the sale of beer, believing the group could not afford whiskey. Riotous activities continued. The bars closed two hours earlier than permitted by law. The same curfew was to go into effect tonight. The groups defied the officers to curb their activities. As many arrests as possible were made. Police. Judge Frank Butcher convened a special session of his court tonight to dispose of the cases as he did last night.
The sentences ranged from $25 to $250 and up to 75 days in jail. One of the participants identified by the police as Jim Morrison, 19, of Los Angeles, was given 90 days in the county jail for indecent exposure. The emergency room at Hazel Hawkins Hospital was jammed to overflowing. The first case arrived early yesterday. Late tonight, more than 40 persons had been treated. The San Benito Hospital handled the overflow cases.
    LIST OF INJURED
The most seriously injured were:
Merton Kranzman, 20, Rural Rout NO. 4, Tular. Compound fracture of the right leg.
Frank McGovern, 45, Rural Rout NO. 2, Chico. Left leg almost severed. Ted Boyde Jr., 20, 542 Williams street, Oakland. Possible skull fracture.
With the riot under control for the moment, officers said there is no apparent organized leader of the activity. The "Gypsy Tour" attracted motorcyclists from California, Arizona and Oregon. The first days meeting was attended by as many as 12,000 persons, according to official estimates.
Races were to conclude the tour today. Officers late tonight had not decided whether they would be permitted.
"You just can't run everybody out of town", said Captain Torres. The "tour" brought the largest amount of transients in recent history to Hollister. Hundreds slept in "haystacks" according to police and in the city park and squares.

Why do I live in the nanny state…..

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/kick-in-the-guts-as-fightingcage-ban-stops-30m-melbourne-bout-20120119-1q74i.html

Here is another stupid example of Vic policy.

You can fight in a ring where you can slip through the ropes but you can't fight in a mesh walled octagon… Same sort of walls as as now required around a kids trampoline..
It is not the fighting style which is banned just the type of "ring"

Again what are people basing their rulings on???


Similar to knives, can't have fancy, expensive, antique, collectable knives because they are weapon, just police reports prove it is domestic kitchen knives that are nearly always used in knife related crime….
If I can afford a $1000.00 collectable knife why would I need to rob someone? Back in my grandfathers day it was normal for kids to carry pocket knives to school. Legitimate uses cutting fruit, whittling etc. Now you must be part of a gang or a criminal out to hurt people if you have even a swiss army knife.
No Swords in vic, even non edged decorative ones require a police permit annually @ over $300 per item last time I checked. Which makes it near on impossible to be a cost effective collector.


Justification is Knife crime is on the increase. Well so is the population on the increase, so is general violence on the increase.  How ever if you look at the statistics without bias you will see that knife crime is down in the last 40 years or so per head.  In other words in as a percentage of the population knife crime is seriously less than is was say 40yrs ago.

Why is VIC such a nanny state?? Why is ACT where all pollies live the most liberal?? Fireworks, XXXX rated porn, etc which is illegal else where is ok there…


i don't condone criminal acts, nor acts of violence but there are legitimate uses for all tools, and knives are included.  When working as a photographers assistant I am required to carry a Multi tool (e.g. Leatherman) so I can modify, or repair equipment and sets. Now if I hook this on my belt and forget about it and get pulled over riding home or, walk down to the local shops I can be arrested and charged.


Don't think you can get away with that baseball bat in your car you bloody crim because that is illegal also. Same with the fishing knife in the tackle box you left in the boot, or the sling shot your kid made with a bit off a tree and a rubber band.  Please let a bit of common sense and trust in the public prevail and loose these knee jerk reactions.  have you seen the movie Footloose, either the new version or original.  The town bans music & dancing because there was a car crash after the school prom and 5 kids died in the accident.  Well this is just as reactionary and irrelevant.


Will we ban boxing lessons, martial arts, or even football. These all teach people how to use their bodies as a weapon, and promote aggressive behaviour….Or do they provide an outlet in a safe environment for testosterone, teach self defence and the need not to fight?  All depends or your perspective and level of enlightenment doesn't it.
Same thing with these regulations on vehicles which make it almost impossible to adhere to.  My old Automotive Design lecturer would say there is not a vehicle made and on he roads that can meet the Australia Design Rules. Simply because they are to strict and even contradict in may cases.  So how do we get massed produced cars on the roads?? Well they pay the government for dispensations.  So what about the small business guy trying to develop something well, he better have deep pockets for set up, tooling, design, engineering and then double that to have a bit to pay for your permits and assessments, pollution, noise and other testing required then pay the gov their bit.


Lets not even start on the red light & speed camera that are there for road safety, not revenue raising.  I used to work with some cops and they told me that on the accident report, they had to always tick the box speed as a contributing factor. Why well it helps the statistics sway the way the gov wants and well if something wasn't moving there wouldn't have been an accident.  Could be a stationary car hit buy a run away shopping trolley. Speed was a major factor in the accident.


Lock the hoons up, drink drivers etc. But seriously I got booked for clearing an intersection which I had been sitting in the middle of on the bike waiting for a safe opportunity to finish my right hand turn. Because the light had turned red by 0.4 of a second by the time the intersection had cleared and I could get the bike moving and finish the turn.  I often spend more time watching the speedo than I do the road scared I will get booked than more than I am of crashing and being killed.  You can get booked for being 3kms over the limit.  My old bike vibrates so much the needle can bounce around anything like 10kmh, Change the tyres on your car and you can be out more than 3kmh easy. What about different after market rims?  Well you should have your speedo recalibrated and regularly tested also drive 5kmh under the designated speed just for safety.


What about improving the condition of the roads, promoting advanced driving or defensive driving courses. How about getting people to pay attention when their on the roads, instead of lulling them into sleep with nanny conditions and false sense of safety.


What about stoping the propaganda machine and actually serving the publics interest which is what you job actually is. "Democracy".  What if we charged all the politicians with fraud who don't live up to to their election promises.  If I lie on my job application I can be charged, why not them?


Stop trying to protect us from ourselves and let people learn to take responsibility for themselves and their actions. Bring in tougher penalties for serious crime, and let people go about their business with out all the petty laws and red tape.





There will be a ban on farting soon cos it usually offends someone!




Rant over………….

What is a Chopper???

That is a lovely bike but it's not a chopper!

No bikes were harmed in the building of that bike……Off the shelf bolt together etc.


Now this is a chopper, Shed Built, cut, chopped, welded and maimed, butchered and stitched back together doner bike!!!!

Decided on Two Frame Designs……..

Inspired by the old BMX days…….what a ripper

and how about a suicide shift trike!

Grinding out Girder Details…….

Here is a discussion point for you. How girder forks affect the 550 rule.

For my non Australian followers we have design rule which bikes must comply with that states the forks may not exceed 550mm in a horizontal plane from centre of the head stem to the centre of the front axle.

If you have a bike that is exactly on the 550mm max point stock type trees and forks. and then switch to a girder you will be over by about 150mm due to the width of the offset to the axle to neck stem. 

I imagine the same to be true with a springer front end. Therefore in Aust if you want a max height and length but comply with the rules, these types of front ends are not your friend.

Again I am not commenting on handling or looks, etc. That is a whole other discussion but could be considered relevant due to trail reduction in longer front ends.

It just goes to show how a simple blanket rule really doesn't work for producing a correct handling bike.

The designs I just did for my frame started with 545mm, 40Deg rake, trail was about 5.6"

I swapped the drawings to a girder and ended up with 709mm, 40Deg rake, trail was about 4.5" on an XS650…

Basically I can't build this bike with a girder unless I keep stock neck height (0 up) which defeats the purpose of trying to make the bike a little bigger to suit my height.  It will also have very be right on the minimum trail.

Above are some examples

(Left) 40 Deg rake, 0 offset, Mid point neck 920mm vertical x545mm horizontal to axle, 225mm Trail.
 (Right) 437 Deg rake, 3 offset, Mid point neck 917mm vertical x552mm horizontal to axle, 140mm Trail.

Most of the change here is in the trail due to the 3 Deg offset trees.

(Centre) 40 Deg rake, 0Ddeg-140mm parallel offset, Mid point neck 700mm vertical x550mm horizontal to axle, 107mm Trail.

So due to the parallel offset you loose a lot of height keeping in the 550 rule.
Also if you wanted to have more height, so reduce the angle you will run into potential problems with short or negative trail.  As it is in the example above at just above 4" of trail you are looking at poor handling at higher speeds.

Basically you can't legally & safely run a girder in Aust!!!!

Ponderings……...

• Wondering if the frame 1.25" tube would hold up at the joints without gussets

• Question on welding - Can you weld S'Steel to standard steels? Or only braze?

• If you were going to brass sleeve a steel rod permanently, ie heat the the bass tube slide it over the steel and have a shrink fit. How would you prep the steel so it won't rust sight unseen under the sleeve? 

• On girder forks does it matter if the two sides of a single girder (one fork) are the same thickness or would this make it prone to buckling in one direction as the tension in the fork is not balanced????

• Could you twist the steel in a girder?? like they do in sissy bars and some spring

Wire Work

I have gotten my XS motor now as a dxf

This is a isometric sketch of the current frame concept (MK. IV)  Not to scale, If you couldn't tell……..

As it turns out the motor in this sketch is roughly to scale

Will do the tank more like this tapering into the frame. Wish the motor was closer to this size.