Things that make you go hmmmm.....

Kick only, magneto fired, remote oil filter, true suicide, crazy brake caliper, evo sporty with faux panhead rocker box covers, all just make you go hmmmm......

Quick Review of the Weekend

Don't Give Up...

You got a few more hours buddy....Don't Give Up...You can do it...

And thank you for the help with the coil mount....

Switcheroo...Relocation of handlebar switches on 96 XL 1200

Not much to share in the way of how this was done.  Ignition switch, hi-lo beam toggle, starter button, some scrap aluminum angle, rewire, screw switches on, sit back have a cold one and enjoy.  

On a serious note though, I'm probably about to redo the whole thing and make it at least half this size with different switches and polish the aluminum.  Some times it takes a second swing, but I was ready to get this mofro on the road! That Spring weather and the smell of Wisteria put a rush on me. 

Ignition Coil Relocation for 1996 XL 1200

Scored a motor mount for $10 from E-bay. Step 1 beat the horn bracket out flat.

Had to refuel after doing some other work like mounting my vise and making a small metal work station. My old one got commandeered when we moved a few months ago. 

Measured it out.  Used the protractor to set 90 degree lines of the flat sides of the scrap metal to make sure everything was square.  Trust me, what looks like straight cuts on a piece of metal or wood to your eye may not be. If you use this method it will help you a lot in getting accurate measurements. 

Here I was just making a flat tab to be welded to the flattened horn mount.  The horn mount will be used as a source of stability and extra material to weld to and insure no roadside failures or breakages. 

Time for a little cutting wheel, grinder, and jig saw action. 

I'm going to tighten everything up some but wanted to have excess material to look at and then trim everything down before final welding.  Also, notice that I made another 90 bend that comes off of the top out of some thinner 16 ga. for added support on the top. This will be welded as well and the coil will slide into the slot and be bolted on.  

Here you can see the material from the horn mount that will be used as stability and welded to. 

This picture shows the thickness of the metal being used for the main support on the mount. It is similiar in thickness as the stock motor mount material.  It's approximately 12 ga. material. 

 For grins and giggles, I laid the chrome ignition coil cover over the top of the coil just to take a look. It was on there from the prior owner.  Depending on how it works out, I may use it or sell it.  After giving it a thought  though, it may actually add some extra mounting stability and I may use it for the function of it as opposed to the shininess that one could use as a mirror. 

Tools and Friends Make Life Easier

That uni-bit is the best thing I've bought tool wise in a long time.  Why I haven't come off that $40 before now is beyond me.  That shit works awesome.  I needed a 5/8 bit and only had a 1/2.  

Looked at some crappy 5/8 for $15 but decided to up the ante.  I sure am glad I did.  

Now I feel like a real "master builder" too. Ha!!

Oh, and before I forget, big props and a Thank You to my buddy JG for kickin' it with me till the wee hours of the morning working on this scoot so I can hopefully ride it this weekend.  He got off work at 10 from a steel processing plant, came over, and put in about another 6-7 hours of full time work with me on the bike.  You do the math.  It was late.  I think we only took about one 30 minute break as soon he showed up just to BS a little.  I hope his wife doesn't kick me in the nuts or throw something at me the next time she sees me.  That was some real stand up shit for him to help me like that and was just another reminder of why kustom bikes kick ass. 

Why would anyone stay up this late and do this you ask?

B.S.B.S

Because Stock Bikes Suck