SBS Project - Sportster Chop w/ Lots of Photo's

[DK Custom Products]

They look good in black KevinThumbUp

Added plus for black is they can be "touched up" easier than chrome, after a pavement scraping session through the twisties.

Yeah, I like them in black on the DK Sporty...on the SBS Chop I think they are going to look really good in chrome.

I don't know if I am going to be scraping them at all. The lean angle is much greater with these than with the stock pegs....also, it is much more than the pegs/heel rest combo I was running on the DK Sporty.

Some of our low profile pegs can't be scraped in the twisties either...but for comfort on long distance riding, I almost always am running the heel rests...which end up scraping. (see pics below)

In the few days I have been riding with these floorboards I have leaned over trying to scrape....have not been able to so far. I think I will run out of tire/or scrape something else before these floorboards will scrape.

This is the right side heel rest ground down pretty good after some riding in the Smokeys-

You can see the right side heel rest touching down in this pic-

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Unfortunately it has been a couple of weeks since we've done any work on this bike.

With a few large shop renovations going on, it may be another couple weeks til we get time to work on the SBS chop.

I want to be riding this so bad I can taste it, but we need to get these other things behind us.

I will update this thread again as soon as we have some time to get back at it.

In the meantime, Dwayne picked up a 1985 Ironhead that he has begun working on. You can see his build report that he just started at this link-

http://www.triketalk.com/forum/threads/43980-DK-Custom-Ironhead-build-Photo-Heavy

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Still no progress on the Chop.

But we are making progress on the project that has kept me from this bike.

I anticipate that by the middle of September we'll be back working on it.



In the meantime, Dwayne is making some progress on his Ironhead Build. You can see it at this link-

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/sportster-models/1186991-dk-custom-ironhead-build-photo-heavy.html

It's a roller now...at least temporarily. He's got a springer front end coming in soon for it.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Wow! It has been a long time since we were able to work on the bike...like 3 months!

Today Devin and I penciled in some time in our schedule to work on it this coming Friday afternoon!

I did a bit on it today too.

First I had to get all the stuff that had piled up around it moved out of the way...

...there it is, just like I left it months ago.

The only thing I did today was pull the 2" fork extensions off....

...and replace them with 1" extensions.

Slide the tubes back into place...

...and it is ready for us to get some progress made on it this Friday afternoon.

Kevin

 

[Jack Klarich]

I luv that crazy shifter

It gives me ideas 4 the 74 Sporty I am working on

 

[DK Custom Products]

I luv that crazy shifter

It gives me ideas 4 the 74 Sporty I am working on

Cool!

 

[DK Custom Products]

Yesterday Devin and I spent a solid 4 hours on the bike...not a lot of pics to show.

This is a suicide (foot) clutch set up that we bought, thinking we would use it.

It's just too fugly. The principle is solid, cable goes from the primary to the bracket pictured above...then between that and the attachment made to the Shifter arm (which will now be the clutch pedal).

We had designed our own from scratch a few months ago...it got way to complicated with cams, etc.

So we are going to take this simple design and clean it up a bit, make it more stealth/streamline.

We'll be making it in the plastic printer first, then once we have it how we want it, we'll laser cut the metal.

Once we decided on all that.....we turned our attention to the electrics, specifically the switches.

Since there are going to be no controls on the handlebars, we've been tossing a lot of ideas around on where to put what.

I want as much to be invisible/not seen as possible on this bike. I really would like for folks to look at it and say that the bike is not done...there is not enough there for it to be ride-able.

I also cannot bring myself to spend the kind of $ that Exile Cycles gets for their stuff...and they have some great super low profile items.

We finally went back to an early idea that we had previously scrapped because it would be a ton of work.

But it is the only thing we can see to do that will get me where I want to go.

The turn signal switches, horn and ignition buttons are going to be built into the bottom of the frame, indicated in the photo above.

We are going to cut a rectangle out of the bottom, build a little box, 4" x 7/8", weld that box into the frame. There will be a cap that screws into the box, and that cap will have the switches built into it.

It will not be visible unless eye level gets lower than that part of the frame.

The wires will run down the backbone tube (that the rear of the engine is mounted to) and come out near the bottom, which is where we will be putting a small hidden electrics box.

There will be a fuse, a relay and the run-brake-turn controller in that box.

This is the controller I am planning to get...Unless anyone knows of a better one that they can point me toward.

Details can be seen at this link- https://www.namzcustomcycleproducts...runbraketurn-module-custom-applications-only/

I am not going to use the M-Lock or M-Unit. Have already looked at both and don't want to use them.

There will be a kill switch right behind the coil...not visible.

The high/low beam switch will be a toggle on the top of the headlight bucket, and there will be an oil pressure light on one side of the toggle and a neutral light on the other side.

The wires for the headlights and front turn signals will run from the electric box all the way up the backbone and exit right near the front of the tank, then feed into the bucket, and from the bucket go to each of the turn signals.

Sooo, not a lot of pictures from yesterday, but decisions finally made and parts and CAD work already started.

Kevin

P.S. If anyone has used the Illuminator PRO-III, or knows of a better unit, please let me know.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Got to spend a bit of time on the chop today.

Got a bunch of electrical & other stuff ordered-

RBT controller

Neutral & oil indicator light

Low/High beam Toggle switch

LED Running lights that will light up the ground 360* around the bike ...for increased visibility at night

Some cloth wire (this will be the only visible wire, coming out of the backbone to the headlight bucket

Carb rebuild kit

I think there were a few other components that I'm not remembering right now

We also tested out the plastic printed Prototype for the foot clutch.

Here's a photo of the metal clunky parts, along side the plastic, more streamline parts.

Here is what the original looks like-

And what the more streamlined one looks like-

We need to tweak the angles a bit on another plastic printed piece, test it out, then cut it from metal.

Kevin

 

[peteg59]

Looks good Kevin.

Think of how much time you're saving with the 3D printer, not to mention tooling & material costs, vs the "old way" making all prototype/actual parts out of metal...

 

[DK Custom Products]

Looks good Kevin.

Think of how much time you're saving with the 3D printer, not to mention tooling & material costs, vs the "old way" making all prototype/actual parts out of metal...

Thank you!

Yes, the 3D printer is a real time saver, also lets us try out ideas that in the past we might have passed on.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

The first of some parts I ordered last week came in.

Oil pressure and neutral lights.

In keeping with the minimalist theme, these are the only two idiot lights I will be using.

I am planning on mounting them on the top side of my headlight bucket...with a toggle for the high/low beam in-between them.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Got another part in-

Badlands Controller for Running lights, Brake lights and auto-cancelling turn signals.

Photo below shows a box with just some of the wiring that came off the stock 2003 1200 Custom. Almost all of that box of wires will be replaced with the little Badlands Controller, also pictured.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Friday we decided to tackle laying out all the electrical to make sure we were getting all the components needed.

This is the factory wiring diagram for the bike.

We spent a couple of hours understanding everything....

...so we could figure out exactly what we could do away with...

...so we knew what we had to have.

This is what we came up with-

The only thing we kept that I wasn't planning on was the bank angle sensor. It feeds back an 11 volt negative, and rather than figure out how to short cut that (we've tried before, unsuccessfully), we're just going to use the factory sensor.

There are other ignitions that don't need that 11 volt negative feed, but the ignition I have works, so we're going with it.

The new wiring diagram will feed everything that's going on the bike. The only things that are not going to be on the bike that are factory are:

1. Horn

2. Accessory switch

3. Starter button

4. Less idiot lights

5. Planning on just rear turn signals, although with the Illum Pro III we can easily add front turn signals

I can't think of anything else right now

The pared down wiring will have self canceling turn signals, front and rear brake light, running lights, flashers, on/off switch, kill switch, high low beam toggle, oil light, & neutral light.

It will have a manual solenoid starter button.

We did more on Friday, but am out of time right now, will continue soon.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

The other thing we worked Friday on was the rear axle spacers, & a fender mounting bung.

We don't have a motorcycle jack or lift at the shop...Devin and I both have one at each of our home shops.

We both thought the other had brought theirs in.

No problem...

...we used 2x4's.

This mounting bung was too long...

...so we removed the rear wheel, and cut it off to length.

These three points are where the fender will mount to the frame.

We thought we had the spacers right months ago....but when we looked at it Friday, it was obviously off...and we could not find any combination that set it right.

So we started from scratch.

The tire is now dead centered. The chain is almost straight, but we can't move the wheel over that last 3/32" of an inch. So we will be milling just a touch off the front sprocket to get it in line with the rear sprocket.

Bungs are in line, and this is very close to how the fender will be mounted...

There will be a Run-Brake-Turn LED on the underside of the fender, above the tire.

Next week we will put an additional support on the underside of the fender, then drill it and bolt it up.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

So we got a good amount done yesterday, even though we only ended up with 3 hours to work on the bike.

First thing we did was get the tire ready for fitting the fender-

Took a look at it from all directions...

...making adjustments to get it...

...sitting symmetrically over the tire.

In theory it seems like a simple task, but getting it an even distance from the tire, front to back on both sides, then an even distance from the center of the tire, top to bottom....lol, it can be a challenge.

Once we got it how we wanted, we measured, in mm, how much distance was needed between the bungs and the fender, taking into account the leather washers that will be used between fender and bung, as well as the thickness of the powder on the frame and the paint and clear on the fender.

The bottom left bung was perfect.

The top left bung needed just a bit taken off...

Note the welding aprons covering all chrome and powder finishes. The top right bung needed more taken off...used the cutoff wheel first, then the finisher.

Next up was marking where the pilot holes need to be drilled for the fender bolts.

If we get these wrong, then the fender is not going to be straight over the tire. X marks the spot.

Pilot holes drilled.

More in next post.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Next up is adding one more support brace for the bottom left bung.

Notice how there is one brace running the length, and then several cross braces.

The purpose of these is two-fold:

1. To give the fender some strength to withstand the vibration over a long period of time.

2. To give strong mounting points for the three bolts holding the fender in place.

Measuring for the last brace.

Taking some flat stock and starting to bend it...

Still needs more...

That looks pretty good...

...now to weld it up.

I really don't know what I'm doing....but I like to weld a bit here and there on the bike...in places it doesn't show!

I forgot to get a photo of the last brace after it was welded in.

I also forgot to get pics of the last thing we did...

The bottom of the seat shock body was hitting the shock tabs as the shock pivoted on the bolt while being compressed. So we re-shaped the tabs to give some additional clearance.

Here's a pic of the seat mounted with the re-shaped tabs.

We won't have any time next week to work on it. But week after, we'll be back at it. We'll finish the holes on the fender, get some button head fasteners to use with it.

Then we'll either get back to the electrical, or choose one of the myriad of other items that need attention.

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Last Friday we had a few hours to work on the chop. (not going to have any time to work on it this week...but we'll be back on it next week).

First thing we did was lay out everything that we still had to do.

We've been working on (and off) on this bike for so long, I gotta say I had lost my focus...plus the whiteboard I was using before wasn't big enough. :laugh

We listed everything we could think of that still needed to be done, dividing it up into-

Metal

Electrical

Engine

Misc.

Then prioritized it.

After doing that, I felt much better...even though there is still a bunch to do...at least it is all laid out.

After finishing the list, we went over to the bike and finished up the fender. I'll be posting pics of that later this week, after I get the flash drive with the photos on it back.

Kevin

 

[peteg59]

"We've been working on (and off) on this bike for so long, I gotta say I had lost my focus..."

^....No worries Kevin, it'll still be there when you get back to it.

Sounds like the "punch list" is now made to finish it, and it looks real good, to dateThumbUp

 

[DK Custom Products]

"We've been working on (and off) on this bike for so long, I gotta say I had lost my focus..."

^....No worries Kevin, it'll still be there when you get back to it.

Sounds like the "punch list" is now made to finish it, and it looks real good, to dateThumbUp

Thanks man!

Kevin

 

[DK Custom Products]

Here are the pics from last Friday.

First we drilled the holes out, 1/8" larger, to give us a little fudge factor. Also, note they are drilled in the extra supports we put in the fender to make it stronger.

Only 3 mounting points...bottom left, and then in the center, on either side.

Mounted up, with the leather washer between the bung and the fender.

From the top down-

These washers will compress more, but they are tight for now...we will be having powder on the frame and paint on the fender that will be eating up some space.

Looking at it from the right. Sproter and brake caliper in place. RBT LED goes under the fender...will eat up a bit of the space between the tire and the fender.

For all the photos that I've posted with the fender on the bike...this is the first time the fender is secured in place.

It is very solid, which is what we were looking for.

Kevin