PICS!

Here she is, at least for now. Like I said in my previous post, I still have more to do, including new tires, brakes, sissy bar, etc., but I thought some pics were still in order at this point.

FINISHED SPRINGER SEAT AND FENDER

After I got the seat mounted, I went back to the welding supply shop and bought a prefabbed trailer fender ($19). It was designed for a 14" wheel, but I had to cut 1/3 of it off anyway, so the length I used is short enough to look good on my 18".

I made a mounting bracket out of an old framing strap and bolted it down to the original seat mounts. In the picture, I haven't ground off the corners yet so they don't show on each side of the fender. Next I notched the sides of the fender so it fit as low as possible under the seat. I drilled out a mounting hole and bolted the fender to the bracket, and that was it. I went back and did a little tweaking here and there, including shimming the seat springs up about 1/2" with some washers for some extra clearance, and remounting the tail light on the throttle side strut.

So what's next? Hi-Beam switch, maybe a rebar sissybar... I'm also going to replace the rear sprocket with something a few teeth smaller, put on new street tires and mount new foot pegs, My new brake shoes are on the way from Ebay as I write this (I figured better braking was a priority right now.) So there's still a lot of work to do, but as it stands right now, I have a pretty badass little machine that has come a long way from it's trail bike days. Next post, some full bike pics.

SEATS AND SPRINGS

My buddy Taylor was interested in my idea of building a custom springer solo seat, and decided to make one for his sportster. So we made a template and he cut out 2 seats, one for each of us, made from some 12 gauge steel we picked up at the welding yard for $14. Once the seats were cut, we got to work with the bench grinder and a ball peen.

This was my first time trying to shape steel using only a hammer, but it was surprisingly easy... just beat the shit out of it until it does what you want.

Next Taylor welded me up some seat springs, made from 2.5" of the old rear suspension with washers top and bottom to provide a solid mounting surface.

I stopped by Ace and picked up some mounting bolts (hex drive pan head). I drilled out two holes on the seat frame bracing and did the same to the seat. My fingers are huge, so it took a while to thread the nuts on inside the spring coil, but after a good hour of pinched fingers and a shit-ton of swearing, I had the seat mounted. Next post, steel fender.

DRINKIN'

I've been working on the bike on and off this week, but before I get to those pics and descriptions, I figured I'd post a few photos I took the other night when the boys were over getting drunk in the garage. The bike at that point had just been hardtailed. All pics taken with the Toy Camera Ap for iphone.

Kenneth Bonelove, trying to calculate his Bud Light count. 

smoke break 

The Dirty Rambler himself, gettin' his lean on.

GAS TANK UPDATE:

Only time for a quick update tonight: I modified the tank lift. On my buddy Chris's advice, I used a deeper socket and got rid of the washers. I also pulled apart the front end again, took off the dust boots and flipped the headlight. I'll post some pics tomorrow. Also, soon to come, custom made 12 gauge steel springer seat... hopefully that'll be done soon.

GAS TANK LIFT: GHETTO OR BADASS???

I woke up yesterday morning with a plan already formed in my head for lifting my gas tank. Like I mentioned in the previous post, my goal here is to beef up the aesthetics of the bike, for that "gorilla" geometry. I think I got the term "gorilla" from my buddy JMan who once claimed that a dude should transform into an ape as soon as he straddles a well-built bike. So, in an effort to make myself and my motorcycle more ape-like, I headed out to the garage to forage around in my many tool boxes of random shit until I found the perfect riser mount.

I started by removing the original rubber mount that friction fit under two tabs welded to the frame. Then, I ground out the rivet on a turn of the century window sash lock that I had left over from a remodel we did on a late 1800's house a few years ago. I knew it would come in handy at some point! Thanks to homeowner Joey Meese for letting me keep all that old hardware.

I drilled out the old mounting tabs on the frame and bolted on the sash lock. Then I began the arduous task of selecting spacers. I wanted to raise the tank about 2 inches, so I started with some washers and then started trying out random other items. Finally, I found the solution.

An old, stripped 14mm socket put the tank just about where I wanted it, so I stacked everything up, ran a 2.5" bolt up the middle of the spacers and through the tank mount tab, which already had a hole in it. A couple nuts on top secured everything down, and I was done.

Next, it's time to move my headlight down, and I think I'll get rid of the dust boots on the forks. Then, I have to figure out how to fab and mount a springer seat... I'm thinking straight steel. So here's my question: is this super ghetto? Or just straight up badass? I'm ready for some feedback on my project, so let me know!

'72 HONDA SL 125 HARDTAIL

Once I decided to hardtail this bike, I had to figure out the best way to do it. I played with a few ideas, and then went down to the local steel supply warehouse to see what they recommended. I ended up with two, twelve inch lengths of 1/12" wall 3/4 square stock.

The width was the exact same as the original suspension mounts, so all I had to do was drill out the holes in the right spots for the bottom stud and top bolt. I was about to make a plywood template when I realized I have a doweling jig, donated to my garage by my father in law. The jig self-centers, and keeps the bit perfectly plumb during drilling.

Fortunately, the bottom stud diameter was 1/2" and the top bolt was 5/16- both dimensions included in the doweling jig. I clamped it down and used my corded drill for a little extra power- the holes took a while, but they came out perfect.

I set the first strut, leaving the seat frame about 3/4" off the rear tire. Then, I drilled the bottom stud hole in the second strut, so I could mount it and mark the exact center of the final top bolt hole. This strategy worked great; I drilled the last hole, mounted the second strut, and that was it. Now I've got a (sort of ghetto) hardtail frame.

The location of the rear light will have to be changed, and I'm gonna have my work cut out for me trying to figure out how to mount a fender, seat, and sissy bar., but I'm stoked on the way the bike sits so much lower now. I went back to Google Image Search to get some ideas for the fender, etc., and came across a couple pics of bikes similar to mine: small frames/motors with a bulky look to them, but I couldn't put my finger on what was different about them. Finally, around midnight, I realized that all those bikes had an elevated gas tank that provides a sort of "gorilla" geometry. Also, many of these motorcycles have a lowered headlight. I like how both these elements really make a bike stand out, and I ought to be able accomplish both pretty easily, so... I guess that'll be the next post.