A little smoother clutch control

Not quite where it will be later, but definitely smoother. 

A few shots from a February bike ride...

View from the Tenn-Tom.

I need to break out the real camera again soon and stop shooting pics with my cell phone.

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. 

Too good not to share....Seen at the local bike shop.

This is what real dreams are made of!

It was a good day...

Recap to follow....

Short version: My buddy Mike helped re-engineer the coil mount. My lil' man learned some things, and we took a long trip through the country.  Longer version and details later....

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. 

Seat Pan for XL 1200

This is just the beginning of the home made seat pan I'm going to do for the XL.  At this point the rough edges aren't even ground off that plate.  This is really just a little sneak preview of a project that's going to involve some fiberglass, just two or four rivets, homeade mounts, one bolt, slim padding, and a little tuck and roll action.  

I buy all my really fancy period correct parts from Lowe's.