| Author | Message | ||
     Treadmarks |
I had a few minutes at work yesterday and decided to knock this out. Was way easy!  The sheet of paper above is standard 8.5" x 11" for size reference. (Donated from our copy machine) Different states/countries have different size tags. After marking the centerline, place your tag on the bottom as shown, then trace around tag and mounting holes. The distance between the first line from the top, and the second line is 4.7". The distance between the holes on the top line is 6.7". The distance between the holes on the second line is 2.8"  I laid out 3/4" washers just to give me an idea where my outside lines would go.  I went with oversize 1.0" washers on the top because these holes need to fit over the mounting posts for the forward mounts.  Use a straight edge and draw lines connecting all of the circle outsides. Add tabs for blinkers of your choice. Stock width was 1.2"  Cut out template, tape it to your material, centerpunch all hole locations, then trace around template with marker.  Rough cutout, with 1/8" pilot holes drilled and bend locations marked.  Smooth out all rough edges with file, use step drill to drill 3/8" holes in all locations, and 3/4" holes at forward mounting points. (I used a hydraulic greenlee hole punch for the big holes, but those are not really needed. They do look pretty spiffy tho!  I used a large vise with wood 2x4s to bend main bend. I also used a cresent wrench to bend blinker tabs. Try to get bends right the first time, as too many adjustments will cause the metal to weaken. Another option would be to go to your local sheet metal shop and ask them to use a sheet metal brake to make the bends.   Perform a rough fit to locate key lock to suit your preference. Careful not to drill hole too large like I did. File notch in hole to hold key lock so it won't rotate. Mark and drill mounting holes and locating tabs for blinkers of your choice. Mark and drill hole for blinker wires to pass through plate to harness. It may help to bend forward mounting points up on the sides, because the bottom of the tail section is not really flat.  I used 2 each, pieces of 3/4" heater hose, cut to 1/2" length with large fender washers to pull up the forward mounting points. You may also want to use weatherstrip to form a gasket to better seal out the elements.   Hope this helps 'splain things, and good luck fabbin yer own.  (Message edited by treadmarks on February 01, 2007) | ||
| Wildwilly |
Awesome! Simple, effective AND a work of art. Thanks for sharing your handiwork. You were on your lunch hour, right?  | ||
| Swordsman |
Dude, that's awesome! Well done! ~SM | ||
| Discodino |
VERY nicely done... | ||
| Javadog |
If you don't mind too much I think I'd like to steal, er, uh, borrow that fantastic design to do mine. Looks great and gets rid of some of that retarded looking plastic. | ||
| Warbaby |
Very well done...!  | ||
| Red_chili |
Nice! How is the plate illuminated? It will garner a ticket 'round here if not... | ||
| Treadmarks |
Thanks for the kudos guys.  It's all yours Javadog. Red_chili, The tail/brake lite shines on it for now. I will install a couple of them LED bolts for better light in the future. I Promise...yeah, thats the ticket..  | ||
| Etennuly |
Looks excellent! The back of that reminds me of the bed sides on my brothers new 4X4 dually, way up there! How was it moving the seat lock? | ||
| Treadmarks |
How was it moving the seat lock? Too easy. My freakin step drill got away from me and I drilled it one size too big.  If the hole was the right size, I would not have had to drill and tap for a 1/4 x 20 locating pin. Blinkers have locating pins as well. | ||
| Birdmanrh |
Very Nice Job! That looks good. | ||
| Bails |
What happens to the seat lock ? Very nice improvement in looks. | ||
| Bructer |
See pictures 8,9 & 10......underneath to view seat lock. Cheers, | ||
| Bructer |
Great job and well done. You gotta get rid of those round reflector fasteners.....looks gay. Cheers, | ||
| Danger_dave |
Beautiful. I don't have the tools or the skill. Care to nominate a fee to make me one? dc | ||
| 12x_infatuation |
Nice work, man!! I wanted the one made by hillbilly motors when i saw a pic posted here a month or so ago & visited their site to purchase & as i didnt sprechen de deutch, was left scratchin my head - especially with the seat lock relocation?? Much involved in getting the mechanism to go around a corner? Oh, almost forgot!! The buell & all parts were made to corner! | ||
| Treadmarks |
Great job and well done. You gotta get rid of those round reflector fasteners.....looks gay. They are already gone. That is all I had to hold the tag on when I installed it. I mean, thats all I need, gay reflectors on my tidy tail...  | ||
| Treadmarks |
Thanks again for the kudos guys. As much as I would love to make some of these for everyone, I did all of this by hand and it was quite time consuming. For those of you who would like to give it a go, here are a few tips: Use 1/8" aluminum, it is easier to bend and drill than stainless and can be anodized if you want. I used a very old piece of sheit bandsaw here at the shop, then used a smooth mill file to clean it up and radius the corners. Use a step drill for all the bolt holes. One can be had for about 10 bucks.  I will edit my original post to help with self fabrication. | ||
| Uselyssxb12x |
THANK YOU...this is the project I was about to tackle, but you and Routney have saved me ALOT of time. Looks great! Thanks again | ||
| Gotj |
Holy cow! Your "edit" is basically a repost. Thanks for your time, attention to detail and great pictures. I hate to ask a question but I will anyway since you have provided so much detail already. The bend mark for the license plate section; how far is it up from the top of the plate? You apparently have some metal bending experience that led you to use that dimension. It looks like you used the 1/8" aluminum that you recommend in your last post. | ||
| Paochow |
Awesome write up. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. Looks sweet. I will be copying this. Thanks again. | ||
| Treadmarks |
The bend mark for the license plate section; how far is it up from the top of the plate? Gotj, My actual bend is about 1/4" above the dotted line on the template. I elected to not use the stock license plate light at all so I could get the plate as high as possible. If you add about an inch there, you will be able to mount the factory plate light above the plate. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Before you guys get carried away with this design please take time to look at where the seat lock is. It needs to be moved to the license plate side so that it doesn't get covered with mud and gritty spray thrown from the back tire. Notice also that the Buell design covers the turn signal wires to keep them out of harms way. In other words this mod needs modifying by leaving enough room above the license plate to place the seat lock back where Buell has it. And another piece to boxcover the turn signal wires. Other than that it is pretty nice. (Message edited by electraglider_1997 on February 01, 2007) | ||
| Treadmarks |
Before you guys get carried away with this design please take time to look at where the seat lock is. It needs to be moved to the license plate side so that it doesn't get covered with mud and gritty spray thrown from the back tire. Notice also that the Buell design covers the turn signal wires to keep them out of harms way. In other words this mod needs modifying by leaving enough room above the license plate to place the seat lock back where Buell has it. And another piece to boxcover the turn signal wires. Other than that it is pretty nice. Why thank you mister helper!  Actually, you bring up a good point, especially for the mud slingers out there. I had planned to use a marine cigg lighter cover to protect it, just haven't got that far yet. I am really not worried about the signal wires as they are up high and away from the wheel and are sealed through the port in the plate mount. Might be smart to put some plastic armor over the wires just in case tho. I did however mount the plate as far up and to the rear as possible and slightly horizontal so that it would act as a mud flap and keep tag, tail light and top box clean. There is not enough cable slack to move the cable back and up that far. Additional off road cleanliness could be had by simply attaching a mud flap to the bottom license plate bolts. I designed this simple mod from a minimalist perspective and it is intended to clean up the azz end of the Uly. However, this mod is probably not for everyone. I'm sure some of you Uly pilots like all the dingleberries hanging back there, while I must have crotch rocket envy. All your tidy tails are belong to us.  | ||
| Warbaby |
"Why thank you mister helper!"  Next time, you will be expected to: 1- Peen and micro-polish it. 2- Zyglo inspect it for surface flaws. 3- Conduct a 48 hour paint-shaker fatigue test. Then, it might be acceptable (but don't let it happen again)! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
The first thing I did when I saw the above design was to go out and look above the wheel where you've relocated the seat lock and noticed all the grit and grime. Didn't mean to demean your effort, just thought that others should know about a potential problem. | ||
| Treadmarks |
No problem brother EG, I'm just having a little fun, thats all.  Another boring day in paradise for me. My new headlights came in last night, and I can't wait to get home and play with them.  | ||
| Blake |
Outstanding! Thanks for sharing your fine creative craft!  | ||
| Crusty |
I like all the dingleberries on the back of my Uly. They keep all the road phlegm, salt sand, etc. off my back. However, I think you did a great job and it looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing it with us. | ||
| Doctor_x |
wow... at night i dream about being crafty enough to do things like this. |
