Go to page: 1 - The Beginning 2 - Oil tank, seat & gas tank 3 - Coils & fender 4 - Electric box & frame 5 - Welded frame & battery 6 - Oil tank, seat & taillight 7 - Painted parts & covered seat 8 - Painting and final assembly 9 - Last minute changes & starting 10 - Final bike photos Credits: Me: guy that owns the bike and comes up with "great" ideas that usually don't work. I can't weld Dad: does most of the tack welding and brings home lots of scrap metal from the weld shop where he works. (when I say "I welded" I mean "Dad welded") Brother-in-law Rich: mechanical engineer that comes up with great ideas that do work. Also has the mig welder that my Dad and I borrow when we work on the bike. Last updated Tuesday, August 02, 2005		Since the tank mounted high on the backbone, and that cool holy frame brace is right under it, I needed a new place to mount the coils. I decided to mount them to the front of the frame right under the neck. That way I can still use the stock coils and plug wires. I used 2 - 4" long sections of 1/2" square bar. Threads were tapped in the ends of the bars to mount the cover with and in the sides to mount the coils. Here's a real rough sketch of what I'm talking about.		Click for a larger view
			The steel coil box mounts onto the end of the 1/2" square rods welded to the frame. This is the finished product. It's not painted yet, and the side screws aren't turned all the way in either, but you get the picture. The box is closed at the top and open at the bottom.		Click for a larger view
			Time for another mock-up with the new parts in place. The oil tank still needs the end caps welded on and the electrical box and battery box needs fabricated and mounted. The rear of the seat still isn't mounted yet either. It's just resting on some angle iron. I may not look at this rear fender. It just doesn't quite look right. Besides, I would rather use a steel fender. I don't trust fiberglass to hold the weight of a passenger. The whitewall tire is a new addition. I picked that Avon Gangster up at a swap meet for $20. The 15" Z-bars are new as well... another ebay find. I dig Z-bars, but still not sure if the squared off look is cool on this bike. Everything else is so round.		Click for a larger view Click for a larger view
			Another ebay score! The seller said these struts were made by Ness, but I've been told they were actually made by Donnie Smith. Either way, they look cool. At 11", they lower the rear of the bike even more. While they do have springs, they really don't provide any cushion. I'm going to run these when I'm riding solo, and when my wife rides with me, put the stock shocks on.		Click for a larger view
			I ditched the fiberglass fender for a steel one. The "new" fender is a real piece of crap. After grinding off the bondo, I found all sorts of holes that were poorly brazed. It has the look I'm going for, so I'm going to try to make it work anyway. I may just spray clear on it, and leave it crappy until I can get a better one.		Click for a larger view
			To make the fender look good, I want to cut off the extra metal and make the edge match the contour of the whitewall. So, I made a cardboard template that fits down over the axle and matches the whitewall edge. I just outlined the cardboard onto the fender with a sharpie and cut off the extra metal.		Click for a larger view
			The fender looks better now. I still need to trim some off the front edge, but I'll get to that after I figure out the seat and electric box area. Notice the little sissy bar mocked up on the rear of the fender... still not sure If I like it, but it's an idea.		Click for a larger view